WINNERS NAMED IN IGA'S NATIONAL HOMETOWN HOLIDAYS RECIPE CONTEST

Chicago, IL – IGA today announced the names of the top three winners in IGA's 2003 National Hometown Holidays Recipe Contest. A panel of culinary chefs from the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC) selected the winners' recipes from the more than 300 original recipes submitted to IGA stores across the country during IGA's annual Hometown Holidays marketing event, held each November.

Grand Prize:

Devon Delaney's recipe for Turkey Pesto Pumpkin Pasta-entry received at Avon IGA in Newark , N.J. ; Delaney received three new kitchen appliance provided by Whirlpool valued at $3,000.

Second Place :

Nikkie Norman's recipe for Beer Broccoli Cheesecake-entry received at Hometown Foods IGA in Clermont , Fla. ; Fontana received an eight piece set of Wearever Aire cookware, courtesy of the Calphalon Corporation.

Third Place :

Leslie Fontana's recipe for Sweet Savory Stuffing-entry received at Van's IGA in Great Falls , Mont. ; Fontana received an eight piece set of Wearever Aire cookware, courtesy of the Calphalon Corporation.

The winners traveled with eight other finalists to Chicago with a guest for a three day and two night prize package stay at a downtown hotel while their recipes were judged in the Grand Prize competition. Each of the 11 finalists' recipes were prepared and evaluated by a panel of culinary masters from the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. The recipes were judged on three criteria: taste, creativity and ability to reproduce the desired dish based on recipe directions. Recipe entries were also required to include at least two products from Hometown Holidays promotional sponsors.

While at CHIC, contestants participated in a team building cooking exercise during which they worked with master chefs to prepare a menu featuring many of the contestants' recipes. The winners were announced as contestants dined on the menu they prepared.

"This year's Hometown Holiday's event was the most successful to date," Zorona Chapman, IGA marketing event coordinator said. "Our panel of master chefs was extremely impressed with the caliber of recipes submitted, and each said that declaring the winners was a very difficult task. IGA offers its congratulations to all our finalists, and especially our top three winners."

IGA, the only global supermarketer based in the United States , is the world's largest voluntary supermarket network with aggregate worldwide retail sales of more than $21 billion per year.  The Alliance includes more than 4,000 Hometown Proud Supermarkets worldwide, supported by 36 distribution companies and more the 55 major manufacturers, vendors and suppliers encompassing everything from grocery to equipment items.  IGA ranks in the top 10 in world food supermarketing.  IGA has operations in 48 of the United States and more than 40 countries, commonwealths and territories on all six inhabited continents.