Do you have what it takes to make the best gourmet macaroni and cheese in the country? Are you looking for an excuse to take your gourmet mac and cheese to the next level? Then you might want to enter Tillamook Cheese’s 5th Annual Macaroni and Cheese Recipe Contest.

Now celebrating their 100th anniversary as a locally owned farmer owned cheese and dairy cooperative in Tillamook County, Oregon since 1909, entering Tillamook Cheese’s annual recipe competition is free of charge and open to amateur cooks only.

This year, the contest deadline is Monday, August 17th (midnight PST) if you’re entering online or Wednesday, August 12th if you prefer to submit your entries via postal mail. You can submit up to three gourmet macaroni and cheese recipes per person.

Finalists will receive an all travel expenses paid trip to the grand finale cook-off in Oregon.

As it says on Tillamook Cheese’s Cookoff Contest Judging and Prizes Page:

• The Grand-Prize Winner will receive $5,000 cash, 25 pounds of Tillamook cheese, and other various prizes.
• The First runner up will receive $2,000 cash, 20 pounds of Tillamook cheese, and various other prizes.
• The Second runner up will receive $1,000 cash, 15 pounds of Tillamook cheese, and various other prizes.
• The People’s Choice winner will receive $1,000 cash, 10 pounds of Tillamook cheese, plus various other prizes.

You can read the full rules for Tillamook Cheese’s Macaroni & Cheese Recipe Contest Here. The online entry form for this year’s contest is here.

Interested in finding some inspiration for your own original gourmet macaroni and cheese creations (whether or not you plan to enter the contest)? You can see last year’s 2008 Grand Prize winning mac and cheese recipe for Caramelized Sweet Potato, Garlic, & Rosemary Macaroni & Cheese by Angie Phillips of Tarzana, California here as well as delicious recipes from 4 other Tillamook finalists.

Wondering what last year’s macaroni and cheese cookoff and judging was like? Below is a video that share’s some highlights from the 2008 competition.

Enjoy!

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(Photo Credit: Orange Macro Macaroni and Cheese by Pink Sherbet Photography.)