Emily Hobbs and her tilapia tostadas.
She’s 24 and still lives with Mom and Dad. But don’t you dare assume Emily Hobbs lacks ambition. This determined waitress has been scrimping pennies for eight years with the hopes of fulfilling her dream in the next year of attending the French Culinary Institute in New York, a goal that was spurred by a trip to France when Emily was a senior at Ozark High in Missouri.
Now, thanks to Regal Springs Tilapia, it looks like Emily might be one step closer to that dream.
Emily, who cooks constantly in her spare time, says she enters hundreds of cooking contests. She’s had some success, winning a few hundred bucks here and there or a trip to compete in a contest, but she hit the jackpot recently when she won top prize in the company’s cooking contest. Emily beat out 300 other entrants nationwide to bring home the $5,000 prize, by far the most money she’s ever won.
“When I got the call that I had won, I was in shock,” Emily said. “I’m so grateful.”
When Regal Springs Tilapia put out the call for creative and cost-conscious cooks to devise frugal family meals that cost less than $15 to prepare, Emily went to work. When she wasn’t serving tourists chicken gizzards at Lambert’s Café, she was thinking about cooking the mild whitefish.
In the back of her mind were a couple of heart-breaking near misses.
In January, she competed against three other contestants on the Food Network’s “Ultimate Recipe Showdown.” Despite the recipe category being one of her favorites–comfort food–she came up short, losing by just one point. In 2006, she won a trip to New York to compete in a beer cook-off. She prepared a tempting caramelized onion and eggplant crostini, but again missed out.
This time she was determined the outcome would be different. Emily, a huge fan of Mexican food, started tinkering with tostados.
“I was thinking about fish tacos with this contest, but everyone does a fish taco. So I thought about a tostado and how fun it would be for kids to put their own toppings on them.”
The result was clearly a winner.
A team of four restaurant chefs judged the contest, pouring over the entries to determine the winning recipe based on its creativity, ingredients and thoroughness of instructions. Judges were: Tony Priolo of Piccolo Sogno, Roger Herring of Socca, Chris Macchia of Coco Pazzo and Dirk Flanigan of The Gage, all restaurants in Chicago.
“The thought that went into these recipes was unbelievable,” says Flanigan. “The winning recipes were created by grandmothers, soccer moms, culinary students and even professional chefs. I was surprised by how creative they were and how they could integrate a mild-tasting fish like tilapia into a meal for under $15. The top recipes included tostados, tilapia cake and lettuce wraps.”
Mike Picchietti, president of Regal Springs Tilapia, said:
“We were amazed at the response we received from coast to coast. We look forward to sharing these healthy recipes on our website so that more families can enjoy incorporating tilapia into their weekly menu plan.”
Click here for the prize-winning recipe, Tilapia Tostados.
In addition to the grand prizewinner, Emily Hobbs, who took home $5,000, there were five finalists who each earned $150 and a three-month supply of Regal Springs Tilapia. There were also five honorable mentions.
Finalists:
- Brent Bennett, Charleston, SC, Tilapia Cake
- Sheri Bowling, Ormond Beach Fl, Tilapia Lasagna
- Janice Elder, Charlotte, NC, Lettuce Wraps
- Shannon Kohn, Simpsonville, SC, Peppered Tilapia Salad
- Nancy Smith, Elgin, IL, Crunchy Tilapia with Spinach Salad
Honorable Mentions:
- Edward Leonard, Rye, NY, Zucchini-Wrapped Tilapia
- Cinthia Mendez-Chavez, Indio, CA, Parmesan Tilapia
- Blaine Burgess, Little Rock, AR, Buttercrumb Tilapia
- Veronica Callaghan, Glastonbury, CT, Tilapia Joes
- Roxanne Chan, Albany, CA, Tilapia Salad Pizza
Image Credit: Regal Springs Tilapia
