California Milk Advisory Board launches the 2024 Great Mozzarella Showdown

The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) has launched a new recipe contest, starring mozzarella. Professional chefs and culinary students can enter the contest by creating a non-pizza dish using the ingredient.

The goal behind the contest, according to a statement, is to build on the ongoing popularity of mozzarella in foodservice and showcase how it can be used in menu innovation.

Food service judges will select eight winning recipes from the online submissions based on the following criteria: innovation, use of cheese as a primary ingredient and flavor expectations. Chefs can submit their recipes in two categories: California mozzarella and California fresh mozzarella.

Professional chefs will then host a cook-off featuring the eight winning recipes in order to name grand prize champions in each category. Each finalist will receive $2,000 with the winning dishes receiving an additional $2,000.

“This recipe contest is part of our continued efforts to partner with chefs and next generation culinary professionals to showcase the versatility and performance of California mozzarella as a key foodservice ingredient,” said Mike Gallagher, business and market development consultant for the CMAB, in a statement. “While we’ve done a lot to focus on the use of California mozzarella in the pizza and entrée space, as the reigning cheese in our foodservice portfolio, the Great Mozzarella Showdown will serve to inspire awareness of the endless opportunities for use in appetizers, handhelds, flatbreads, salads and more.”

Chefs and culinary students can enter the contest online until Feb. 16th. The winning recipes will be announced on Feb. 29th, and the grand champions will be revealed in mid-April.