COMPETITOR

Laurie Lufkin

COMPETITION: Bacon World Championship

QUALIFYING EVENT: FoodChamp Challenge - Bacon

Let's face it. In a food-centric family, I had no choice...it was either cook...............or do dishes (and I hate doing dishes)!. Now as an adult, I love to spend time in the kitchen whipping up delicious meals and desserts for my family and friends. Whether its a traditional family favorite or a new creation for a recipe contest my "happy place" is in my kitchen. If I go for a stretch not cooking in my favorite room in the house, when I return, and I know this may sound strange, but it's like catching up with an old friend. No matter how long you stay away, you will be comfortable, feel content and be familiar when you return to your kitchen. I was never really good at sports, I can't carry a tune in a bucket and I am not Top Model material so I never found the need to be outwardly competitive ( my sisters, however, will beg to differ--I am family Scrabble Champ!). However, in 2007 that all changed, when I won a blue ribbon and $10 in a cookie contest at our county fair. With that little ribbon I had unknowingly stepped in to the world of competitive cooking and I have never looked back. From the fair to Cooking Channel to competing at the CIA in Napa for a contest sponsored by Delta Airlines, not to mention winning $10,000 in 2010 in the Hood New England Dairy Cook-Off! Not too shabby! I really love to compete--it get's my creative juices flowing and I have won so much more than money and prizes along the way......I have made lifelong friends that are as crazy about our "sport" as I am! I know that I am not alone in taking pictures of everything I cook, tweaking recipes 4 or 5 times to get them just right and owning more than 500 cookbooks--there's a whole crazy wonderful crew of people just like me and I am going to see a ton of them in Vegas! I am admittedly unschooled in culinary arts, but feel I have found my niche and true passion and it is powered by my enthusiasm for cooking. I was born in to a family of cooks. I have developed instincts along the way, coupled with experience, that make up for my lack of formal education. My recipes have been in such publications as "Family Circle," "Bon Appetite" and "Taste of Home" magazine and I have been a featured cook in "Yankee" magazine and several other regional, local and national publications. I have been to cook offs all over the country from Maine to California and traveled to fabulous places and met amazing people that I never would have met if it were not for this hobby. I have appeared on regional and national cooking television shows, online webisodes and have a blog that features contest recipe and recipes from my local cable self produced television show entitled "Inspired Cooking." I am the proud parent of my 12 year old daughter, the fabulous Lily who once was quite the little cooking contestant herself but now focuses on her passion, theater and singing. I am so proud to be raising such a wonderful, bright and creative young lady! I am so excited about returning to Vegas this November not only to reunite with my cooking gals and guys but hopefully take home some big money! This year, my sister, Kate Lufkin will be joining me in this big adventure....Look Out Vegas....the Lufkins are coming!