Ladies and gentlemen, start your ovens. The Pillsbury Bake-Off is back.
After a three year hiatus, the granddaddy of cooking contests is returning for a 48th year. The national contest sponsored by General Mills, partnered with the Food Network to “reimagine” the contest, according to the official website.
While full details of this year’s contest won’t be disclosed until Oct. 1, the contest page says, “We are in search of the best made-at-home recipes, and the heartfelt, funny, crazy, family stories behind them!”
Entry will official open next month and the winner announced in February. According to a company statement, “the prize will be an experience that money can’t buy.”
The Bake-Off started in 1949 as the Grand National Recipe and Baking Contest. The event was held in honor of Pillsbury’s 80th anniversary and a promotion for its flour. It evolved into a baking contest and then into a general recipe contest with many General Mills-owned products allowed.
After 1976, the contest was held every other year. In 1996, the grand prize was raised to $1 million, but the contest was held less frequently. It returned as an annual event for two years, but was then canceled in 2016. General Mills claimed the event would eventually return, and it looks like the company is staying true to its word in 2018.
