1. All Recipe Entries Must be Received by June 23, 2012.

          • By hand delivery to
                     the Gift Basket counter at West Point Market
          • By e-mail to
                     entries@westpointmarket.com
                     Subject line “The Finest Cut”
           • By mail to
                     West Point Market Steak Cook-Off
                     1711 W. Market Street, Akron, OH 44313

            All entries should include:
            1. Your Name, Address, Phone, E-Mail
            2. Your Written Recipe
                      a. Ingredients list
                      b. Instructions
            3. Any brief comments you would like to share about your recipe

2. Based on submitted recipes, 8 finalists will be chosen to compete live in the cook-off at the Taste of Akron on Thursday evening, July 26 from 5:30 pm - 9 pm @ Akron's Hardesty Park.

3. West Point Market will provide competition steaks, grills, charcoal, and presentation plates to finalists at the event.

4. Steaks will be cooked over wood coals on Weber© Grills only --- no gas grills. Grills and charcoal we be provided to finalists at the event.

5. Beef steak recipes only. Steak cuts from the rib, short loin or sirloin beef sections only; no chuck or round.

6. Steaks must be either whole or cubed, bone in or boneless, and be up to 2" pre-cooked thickness (3” for tenderloins).

7. Preparation time (includes trimming, marinating, seasoning, tenderizing and grilling steaks and other recipe ingredients) approximately 2 hours. No marinating before the evening of the event.

8. Each finalist will be given a judging time between 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm. Steaks must be plated and ready for presentation at that time. Winners announced on the Hardesty Park band stage at appx. 9 pm the evening of the event.

9. Scoring. 6 judges will individually score each entry on 4 criteria (10 point scale). Those criteria will be 1) Appearance, 2) Taste, 3) Texture. Additionally, each entry will be judged on 4) Originality. Originality will be tabulated separately and used only in the event of a tie. The maximum possible total score per entry is 180 points (Appearance + Taste + Texture), plus 60 points (Originality) in this 6-judge format.

10. Plated recipe steaks may be sliced, chopped or presented whole, either directly on the plate’s surface or between a bakery product, and may be accompanied by toppings, sauces or condiments.

11. Plate presentations should include only the recipe and no decorative accompaniments not part of the recipe.