he first-ever (but not the last!) Bolton Free Library Pro-Am Cook Off took place November 3 at the Conservation Club, was great fun, and the food was fantastic! There was no entry fee for the contestants, and the judges were the finest available – all our friends and neighbors! For a suggested donation of $5 every guest received two voting tickets – one for the professional entrants, and one for the amateurs – and service plates so you could taste every entry – some people even tasted twice just to make sure the offerings were as good as they thought the first time! All the dishes were excellent – a lot of people went back to buy two more tickets so they could vote for more than one favorite.
There was no age limit for contestants, and every entrant could prepare anything they wanted – Megan said, “Anything you are famous for!” – some even prepared two entries. All dishes were prepared off site and brought ready-to-serve. The tasting and voting was from 4 to 6 pm. There was also a wine tasting table donated to the library. 
Notable entries were biscuits and gravy, vegetable quiche, chicken Parmesan, lovingly prepared seafood appetizers served from a hot plate, different varieties of salads, and a wonderful array of deserts: bread pudding with caramel sauce, petit fours made so perfectly you could use the edges for a ruler and served with silver tongs, pecan pound cake, chocolate confections of every kind, including heavenly brownies (that contestant said her son used to ask her to make those brownies every day for his school lunch, and she later found out the budding entrepreneur was selling them to his friends for $1 apiece – he could always get more at home! You know those had to be good!)
The winners were: In the Professional category: Noelle and Bob of Pub on 9 – a fantastic cream of mushroom soup. The Amateur champion was Kathy Conerty with chocolate coal cookies. Judge Harry Demerst won the 50/50 raffle. Congratulations everyone!
And wait for next year!
Penelope Jewell
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