SOUTH PITTSBURG, TN (April 11, 2016) – Lodge Manufacturing Company and the Michael P. Hennen Hospitality & Culinary Center in Chattanooga, TN are pleased to announce the competitors for the Lodge Cast Iron National Cornbread Cook-off:

Crystal Schlueter, Southern Croque Monsieur On Poppy Seed Cornbread, Northglenn, CO
Ronna Farley, Cornbread-Topped Cordon Bleu Skillet, Rockville, MD
Karen Harris, Mexican Style Cornbread with Chipotle Shrimp Salad, Littleton, CO
Naylet LaRochelle, Bayou Smoky Shrimp and Fried Cornbread Green Tomato Arepas, Miami, FL.
Paula Todora, Open Face Beef Chile Cheeseburger Hoe Cakes, Fort Worth, TX

The Cook-off is part of the 20th Annual National Cornbread Festival, held here April 23-24, 2016. The Lodge Cornbread Cook-off begins at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 23 on Second Street’s cook-off stage.

The judges for this year's contest are representatives or various print media outlets and food professionals. They include:

Josh Miller, Taste of the South Magazine, Birmingham, AL
Mary Constantine, Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville, TN
Pam Lolley, Southern Living Test Kitchen, Birmingham, AL
Bob Carlton, Birmingham News/AL.com, Birmingham, AL
Chef Shannon Johnson, Michael P. Hennen Hospitality & Culinary Center, Chattanooga, TN.

Sponsored by Lodge, Five Star Range Company and Martha White, The Lodge Cast Iron National Cornbread Cook-off is a main dish contest, with competitors required to use a cup of Martha White Cornmeal and a Lodge Cast Iron Skillet or Dutch Oven for the preparation of recipes.

Lodge accepted recipe submissions for the cook-off and Chef Shannon Johnson of the Michael P. Hennen Hospitality & Culinary Center in Chattanooga, TN at Chattanooga State Community College tested the recipes. The winner of the Lodge Cornbread Cook-off will receive $5,000 and a Five Star Range.

As part of Lodge’s commitment to culinary education, the company and Michael P. Hennen Hospitality & Culinary Center developed a collaborative relationship to enhance the careers of new culinary professionals and enrich the flourishing food community in the Tennessee Valley.

At 1 p.m., the Martha White Past Judges Cook-off will begin Second Street’s cook-off stage. The Martha White Cornbread Cook-off is comprised of bloggers and past judges of the National Cornbread Cook-off. A 4-H Cornbread Cook-off, consisting of nine-year-old competitors, kicks-off at 9 a.m.

Contestants for the Martha White Past Judges Cook-off include:

Chris Chamberlain, Nashville Scene / Food Republic, Nashville, TN
Jennifer Justus, Food Writer and Cookbook Author, Madison, TN
Mary Constantine, Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville, TN
Bob Carlton, Birmingham News / AL.com, Birmingham, AL
Chef Walter Lambert, WVLT-TV Knoxville, Knoxville, TN

The winner of the Martha White Cook-off will receive $2,000 and will donate the money to their favorite culinary charity.

Judges for the Martha White Past Judges Cook-off include:

Linda Carman, Martha White
Pat Powell, J.M. Smucker Company
Christy Jordan, Southern Plate
Stacey Little, Southern Bite
Chadwick Boyd, Food & Lifestyle Expert

Founded in 1896 by Joseph Lodge, Lodge Manufacturing Company is the largest domestic manufacturer of Cast Iron Cookware and the oldest family-owned cookware company in the country. Two great-grandsons and a great-great grandson are on the management team.

Chattanooga State offers an AAS degree in Hospitality Management. The degree offers four specific concentrations: Culinary Arts, Hotel Management, Food and Beverage Management and Tourism.

The Culinary Arts curriculum is taught in the Michael P. Hennen Hospitality and Culinary Center, a state-of-the-art culinary kitchen, which opened in 2015. Specific required training in the Center helps to prepare students to assume positions as trained culinary professionals in a variety of foodservice settings including full service restaurants, hotels, resorts, clubs, catering operations, contract foodservice and health care facilities.

The focus of the Hennen Center is to provide Chattanooga and the surrounding area with a well-educated and skilled hospitality workforce to meet a growing demand. The goal of the program is to directly link with the community to continually improve the guest experience in local restaurants, hotels and regional attractions. These operations provide over $1 billion to the local economy annually