Best Dish in NC Contest Rules & Details

Best Dish in NC Contest Rules & Details

What is the Best Dish in NC Restaurant Contest?

• The Best Dish in NC contest is the official restaurant competition of the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and its Goodness Grows in North Carolina marketing program. 
• The Best Dish in NC contest consists of two categories:
• Fine Dining
• Casual Dining
• The Best Dish in NC contest is a statewide restaurant competition to determine which restaurant utilizes the abundance of products and ingredients grown and processed here in North Carolina and markets the use of those products to their customers on an everyday basis. 
• This is a restaurant contest, NOT a chef’s competition.
• The whole staff of a restaurant is judged and can be judged at any time during the time frame that the restaurant is promoting the courses they enter in the competition.

What is the purpose of the Best Dish in NC Restaurant Contest?

• The Best Dish in NC contest recognizes and rewards the efforts of restaurants and chefs who use NC products.
• The Best Dish in NC contest features and highlights the top chefs in North Carolina.
• The Best Dish in NC contest encourages restaurants to source, buy and promote local products through the dishes they create for their menus.
• The Best Dish in NC contest creates publicity and generates excitement for each participating restaurant by bringing them in to a statewide movement of showcasing the food products grown in North Carolina.
• Publicity for participating restaurants is done through press releases, advertising, web exposure, food shows, NCDA events and other foodservice promotions.
• The Best Dish in NC contest encourages consumers to dine at restaurants that serve and feature local products on their menus.
• The Best Dish in NC contest increases the sales of NC products which in turn helps the restaurants and farmers involved.

Who can enter the Best Dish in NC contest?

• Any restaurant or restaurant group that owns and/or operates a location in North Carolina is eligible to enter the Best Dish in NC contest.
• Best Dish in NC finalists from the previous year are encouraged and welcome to enter.
• A finalist from the previous year may not enter the same dish as the year before.
• A finalist from the previous year may enter a dish using the same ingredients or product as the year before, but it must be prepared in a different way.
• A finalist from the previous year may promote their dish in the same manner as their previous dish was promoted.

Where does the contest take place?

• The contest takes place in each participating restaurant.  Judges visit each finalist restaurant and judge their food in house.  Each restaurant has the opportunity to use their own kitchen and own staff in the comfort of “home”.  As the saying goes, “A restaurant is only as good as their last meal served.”  This contest puts that saying to the test. 

What are the criteria for entry in the Best Dish in NC contest?

• The main ingredient of each dish entered must come from North Carolina
• Proof that ingredients are from North Carolina must be provided with entry forms.
• Name and city of farm or company from which that product is purchased is acceptable.
• Written statement from distributor stating product is from North Carolina is acceptable.
• NCDA&CS may choose to verify the ingredient’s origin.
• Restaurants may enter a combination of dishes for the contest but will be recognized as only one entry.  For example, a restaurant may enter anything from one course to a five course meal for their entry. 
• Restaurants may only enter one dish for each course.  For example, only one entrée or one soup may be entered, but restaurants are free to enter an appetizer, a soup, a salad, an entrée and a dessert.
• There are NOT separate categories for different courses.  Fine Dining and Casual Dining are the ONLY categories.
• Restaurants may enter only one category; Fine Dining or Casual Dining.

How do I enter?

• Create a dish or combination of dishes that incorporate North Carolina ingredients.
• Fill out the Best Dish in NC entry form and submit it to the NC Department of Agriculture (mailing address and contact information are listed on entry form).
• Make sure the entry form is accompanied by the marketing plan for your entry.

When is the deadline for entry?

• The DEADLINE for the 2010 Best Dish in NC Restaurant Contest is Wednesday MARCH 31.

Who judges the Best Dish in NC contest?

• Six individuals with prominent but separate roles in North Carolina’s foodservice industry serve as judges for the Best Dish in NC contest.  Three serve as Fine Dining judges while the other three serve as Casual Dining judges.  The same judges who choose the finalists for each category visit those finalists as mystery judges during the restaurant’s designated promotional time frame.
• No one employed by the NCDA&CS will judge any aspect of the contest or have any bearing on who is chosen as finalists or contest winners.

What is each restaurant judged on?

• Each restaurant that sends in an entry for the contest is judged on three criteria to make it into the finals:
• Use of North Carolina products that include but are not limited to seafood, meats, produce, sauces, mixes, breaders, jellies, beverages, or any other item that is grown and/or processed in North Carolina (0-40 points).
• Marketing plan for featuring and promoting the dish(es) being served (0-40 points).
• Marketing plan must accompany entry form for the restaurant to be chosen as a finalist and include how the dish(es) will be promoted, the creativity of the promotion and how it ties everything in with local products and food producers.
• Creativity of the ingredients and how they’re utilized (0-20 points).
• It is logistically impossible to try everyone’s food that enters the contest, so a restaurant MUST SELL THEMSELVES ON PAPER!
• After the ten finalists in each category are chosen, the judges will visit each finalist as a mystery shopper and judge that contestant on five criteria:
• Use of NC products and ingredients in the dish(es) being featured (15%)
• Creativity of ingredients (15%)
• Marketing (20%)
• Plating and Presentation (20%)
• Taste (30%)

When do I run my promotion for the dish(es) I enter in the contest?

• Any consecutive four week period from Friday, April 30th through Sunday, August 1st.
• Restaurants are given 13 weeks to run their promotion so they can use seasonal items throughout the spring and summer.
• Restaurants are welcome and encouraged to run their promotions longer than the required time, but must run for four weeks during that time to allow judges ample time to come in and judge each entry.  August 1st is the deadline for all judges to visit each restaurant and turn their scores and notes in.

How are finalist chosen?

• Judges will meet and go over all entry forms to choose the top ten finalists that will compete for prizes.
• Judges do not see who the restaurant is or where they are located when choosing finalists.  They see what is being served and how it is going to be promoted.
• All restaurants that enter the Best Dish in NC contest are contacted and told if they are finalists or not. 

What happens if I’m chosen as a finalist?

• Ten finalists will be chosen in each category to compete for the Best Dish in NC Title.
• Each finalist must provide gift certificates for each judge (3) and a guest.
• The gift certificate must cover entire cost of each dish entered in the contest and a non-alcoholic drink.
• No gift certificate amount may be carried over by the judges.
• Gratuity and alcoholic beverages should not be covered by the gift certificate and are the responsibility of the judge and his or her guest.
• Once chosen as a finalist, a Foodservice Marketing Specialist with the NCDA&CS, will visit each restaurant to take food pictures of each dish entered in the contest.  These pictures will be used for the Best Dish web site along with other marketing tools for the contest.  A picture of each chef will also be taken for promotional use.
• Each restaurant is free to use these pictures in the promotion of their restaurant and dishes featuring NC products at any time. 
• The NCDA&CS reserves the right to use these pictures during any promotion of NC food products. 
• Each finalist will be added to the Best Dish in NC web site, www.bestdishnc.com, under their category and be given their own bio page with information on the restaurant, chef and link to the restaurant’s web site. 
• Each finalist is required to have the Best Dish logo with a link to the Best Dish in NC web site on their web site.
• Any dish featured by a finalist is eligible for a future Best Dish in NC cookbook, a collection of recipes from finalist from each year of the contest.
• Any funds generated by the cookbook are for use of the NCDA&CS and promotion of the contest.
• NO restaurant is eligible for royalties or funds of any kind from the sale of the Best Dish in NC cookbook. 

What happens if I’m not chosen as a finalist?

• Each restaurant that enters the contest and is not chosen as a finalist is encouraged to still run the entered courses and promote them the same way you intended to.  If the restaurant chooses to do so, they will be mentioned on the Best Dish in NC web site.
• Restaurants not chosen as finalist are not eligible for prizes.

How are the winners chosen?

• The same judges who choose the finalists will visit each finalist as a mystery shopper.  They come in as mystery shoppers to make sure they are being served the same meal as anyone else who dines at that particular restaurant and to make sure the dish(es) are being promoted in the same way as the marketing plan states.  Judges should not receive special treatment or be served a higher quality product/meal than anyone else. 
• Scores are tallied up from all three judges and added together to determine the final outcome.
• A total of 300 points can be earned by the following criteria: (100 points from each judge)
• Use of NC products and ingredients in the dish(es) being featured (0-15 points)
• Creativity of ingredients (0-15 points)
• Marketing (0-20 points)
• Plating and Presentation (0-20 points)
• Taste (0-30 points)

What can participating restaurants win?

• Prize money
• First place - $1,000 for both categories
• Second place - $500 for both categories
• Third place - $250 for both categories
• Prize money will be awarded to the restaurant or company, not to individuals.
• Advertising in Our State Magazine.
• First place in each category gets to choose the look of the ad and gets ¾ of a full page to promote whatever they choose.  Second and third place for that category gets mentioned on the bottom quarter of the page along with a food picture of one of their dishes along with the restaurant’s contact information.
• The ads will run in the October edition of Our State Magazine.
• The NCDA&CS will design and create any and all advertisements for the contest and its winners with the input from the first place winners.
• Exposure through the Best Dish in NC web site, social media, press releases, food shows and NCDA events.
• Increased sales of NC products being used in participating restaurants.
• Customer loyalty for using local products.
• Bragging rights for serving the best local fare and being the best restaurant in the state of North Carolina.

When are the awards presented?

• Once the winners are determined, each winner should invoice the contest for their prize money.  Invoices must be turned in by the end of September in order for the winning restaurant to receive their earnings.
• The advertising for Our State Magazine along with the article on the winners will be featured in the October edition of Our State.
• Awards are presented during a ceremony to be determined by the NC Depatment of Agriculture (in prior years, awards have been presented at the NC State Fair). 

Where are the award ceremonies?

• TBD for 2010.