Crunchmaster® Kicks Off Six-Month Gluten Free Recipe Challenge

LOVES PARK, Ill., Dec. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Crunchmaster^®, America's #1 selling brand of gluten free crackers, kicked off a monthly recipe challenge on Monday, Nov. 18. The six-month competition seeks the best original, gluten free recipes from chefs across the country.

Crunchmaster will award monthly prizes of $500 and $250, and a grand prize of $2,500 for the best recipe submission. All winning recipes will be featured in a unique Crunchmaster cookbook. Home chefs are encouraged to develop and submit several recipes throughout the six-month recipe challenge.

"The Crunchmaster brand is committed to making gluten free foods that taste great. We thought it would be fun to take it a step further to see what tasty recipes can be developed using any variety of Crunchmaster crackers as an ingredient," stated Dani Dahlberg, Marketing Manager for the Crunchmaster brand. "Crunchmaster crackers can be used to create many dishes including appetizers, main courses, sides and desserts. We anticipate receiving creative gluten free recipes that everyone will love."

In addition to including a Crunchmaster product, each recipe submission must include a secret ingredient that Crunchmaster will announce each month at Facebook.com/Crunchmaster. The secret ingredient for November was apples. The secret ingredient for December is Greek Yogurt.

A judging panel will identify the winning recipes. After verifying submissions are gluten free, the panel will prepare the top recipes and score each based on specific criteria including simplicity, creativity and flavor to identify the monthly winners and runners-up. Chef Jim Faretta will be selecting the top recipes and preparing them at the end of the contest.

Recipes will be judged on:

• Simplicity – recipe is easy to prepare with readily available ingredients and clear directions.
• Creativity – the secret ingredient and a Crunchmaster product are well incorporated and the recipe is out of the ordinary using ingredients in a unique way.
• Flavor – final product is a great-tasting, gluten free dish.

Monthly winners will receive $500 cash and runners-up will receive $250. After all of the monthly winners and runners-up are selected, the winning recipes will be posted on the Crunchmaster Facebook page where consumers will be able to vote for their favorite one. The recipe with the most votes will win the $2,500 grand prize. For the complete official rules click here.

About Crunchmaster and TH Foods, Inc.
Crunchmaster^® is a registered trademark of TH Foods, Inc. Headquartered in Loves Park, Ill., TH Foods is a leading manufacturer in the natural snack food industry. The company was founded in 1984 and joined with Mitsubishi International Corporation and Kameda Seika (the leading producer of rice crackers in Japan) as a joint venture in 1989. TH Foods strives to bring innovative, authentic "Better for You" balanced nutrition, rice-based crackers and snacks to North America. For more information, visit www.crunchmaster.com or Facebook.com/Crunchmaster.

SOURCE Crunchmaster