The Pudding Contest
Calling cooks all over New England - and beyond! The Merry Lion Press
and the Sons and Daughters of Hawley
are seeking recipe entries for the
2008 Pudding Hollow Pudding Contest.
This fun culinary event will take place on Saturday, October 18,
2008, at the Federated Church on Route 2 in Charlemont, Massachusetts.
The deadline for entries is Monday, September 15.
As a special incentive, anyone who sends in an entry before January 31, 2008, will receive a coupon for a free pint of ice cream!
The $10 entry fee will help the Sons and Daughters of Hawley, Hawley's
historical society, in the ongoing task of restoring the old East
Hawley Church and its environs as a community center.
Fun, food, and a worthy cause. Who
could ask for anything more? |
Pudding Contest 2007
Winner! 
Cyndie Stetson of Hawley, Massachusetts, holds her Autumn Comfort Pudding.
|
Contest Rules
- Contestants must be able to come to Charlemont on October 18 for
the final round. At that time, the finalists will be asked to bring
enough pudding to serve at least eight and to march in the pudding
parade. (If finalists are coming from far away, they may arrange with
the Sons and Daughters to prepare their puddings in local kitchens.)
If you cannot attend in person, you may send a representative, but
you will be ineligible to win the first place.
- All recipes must be original or from original sources. That is,
the formulas for your own squash pudding and your Aunt Myrtle's rice
pudding are eligible. A chocolate pudding recipe from a cookbook is
not.
- Ingredients must be listed in the order used. All ingredients listed
must be used in the recipe instructions, and all ingredients mentioned
in the instructions must be accounted for in the list of ingredients.
- No pudding that has been a finalist in a previous year is eligible
to be re-entered.
- All recipe entries must be accompanied by a completed official entry
form and must include a check for $10 made out to the Sons and Daughters
of Hawley. Entries should be mailed to:
The Pudding Contest
84 Middle Road
Hawley, MA 01339
If contestants do not believe they will be able to make their
own puddings for the semi-finals in September, an additional $10 fee
is required for testing expenses. (This may be paid later if contestants
are unsure when entering.)
- Recipes will not be returned. The Sons and Daughters of Hawley and
the Merry Lion Press reserve the right to reprint and prepare all
recipes.
What is a Pudding?
The term pudding is used in many ways in many places - and we want
to leave it that way for the purposes of this contest. Many puddings
are made with milk and eggs; many are steamed. Many are neither. Some
puddings (plum puddings, upside-down cake puddings) are desserts; others
(steak and kidney pudding, corn pudding) are main courses or savories.
Basically, if you call your dish a pudding, you may enter it in the
contest.
The Original Pudding Contest
Not much is known about the pudding contest that inspired this one. Hawley's first (and until now its only) culinary event took place in the late 18th century. Here is what historian Louise Hale Johnson wrote in her History of the Town of Hawley (1953):
In the primitive days, probably before 1780, Mrs. Baker, wife of Timothy Baker, was matched against another woman, to see which would make the largest hasty pudding. Mrs. Baker made hers in a five-pail kettle, and came out triumphantly the "pudding head" of Hawley.
"Pudding Head" Abigail Kibbe Baker and her husband Timothy moved to Hawley in 1772 from nearby Sunderland when she was 22 and he 24. The contest probably took place in the eight years between their arrival in town and 1780. Not much is known about the contest; Hawleyites would love to have the name of the other contestant, or Abigail Baker's winning pudding recipe. Nevertheless, the sheer practicality of the event, which highlighted a nourishing staple of daily New England life and emphasized the ability to feed a crowd, has appealed to generations of Hawley residents. It is immortalized in the name of the neighborhood in which the Bakers lived, Pudding Hollow.
The current contest emphasizes
quality rather than quantity: there
will be no prize for the largest
pudding, and contestants are urged
to leave their file-pail kettles
at home. Nevertheless, the Sons
and Daughters of Hawley hope that
this year's contest will prove as
memorable as its 18th-century predecessor.
If the last few Pudding Days are
anything to judge by, it will be!
The Sons and Daughters of Hawley
 The
Sons and Daughters of Hawley are
the historical society of Hawley,
a tiny town with a population of
300-odd souls nestled in the hills
of western Massachusetts. Started
more than 100 years ago, the society
brings together Hawley's diverse
population - the farmers, carpenters,
teachers, and telecommuters who
make up a typical New England town.
It sponsors a number of yearly events,
including the annual town celebration
known as Hawley Day. The Sons and
Daughters hope to increase the range
of community activities by using
the old church and neighboring buildings
as a performance space, a venue
for community suppers, and a repository
for historical materials. Thanks
to the generosity of a number of
merchants who are underwriting the
costs of the Pudding Contest, each
entry fee goes directly to the building
project.
Questions?
If you have questions about the
contest, the eligibility of recipes,
or the Sons and Daughters of Hawley,
please send an e-mail to info@merrylion.com
Prizes and Donors
This project has been funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council as administered by the Charlemont/Hawley Cultural Council.
Many thanks to the terrific companies
and individuals who have donated funds
and prizes to support the Pudding
Contest.
Pudding Contest Sponsors for 2007:
A.L.
Avery & Son General Store in
Charlemont, Massachusetts
The Bridge of Flowers Road Race Grant Committee
Cabot Creamery
Calphalon
The Charlemont/Hawley
Cultural Council
Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen
Cuisinart
Hearth
Kitchen Company
Lamson
& Goodnow
Tuckaway Farm
Our Special Hosts for the Pudding
Contest Semi-Finals:
Lamson
& Goodnow
Our Fabulous Luncheon Donors:
Bart's Homemade Ice Cream
The Donovan Farm, Hawley, Massachusetts
Grand Prizes:
A 5-quart cast-iron enamel Dutch oven and soup bowls from Calphalon
A Food Processor from Cuisinart
A
HearthKit from the Hearth
Kitchen Company
A forged 7" Kullenschliff
Santoku knife from Lamson
& Goodnow
Other Prizes:
Cookie dough for each finalist from 600 Lb. Gorillas
A barbecue board from the Kitchen Store at J.K. Adams
A hand-quilted culinary pot holder
from Ann
Brauer Quilt Studio
A hand-decorated pudding bowl from
Bald
Mountain Pottery
A coupon for ice cream for each
finalist (plus ice cream for lunch!) from Bart's
Homemade Ice Cream
A gift certificate from Big
Y Supermarkets
Crated finishing sauces from Bittersweet
Herb Farm
Dr. Weil omelet pans from Sajal Hamilton of Bloomingdale's
Goodies from Boston
Vanilla Beans
Pasta sauce from Bove's
of Vermont
Aromatic loaves from Bread Euphoria
in Haydenville, Massachusetts
Blinq cookware from Breville USA
A gift box plus cheese for each finalist and judge from Cabot Creamery
Easy clair
pans for each finalist from Chicago
Metallic
Maple
syrup from Chickley Alp Farm in
Hawley, Massachusetts
A gift certificate from the Ciesluk
Farm Stand in South Deerfield, Massachusetts
A
basket of seasonal fruit from Clarkdale
Fruit Farm
A
1-year subscription to Cook's
Illustrated, plus cookbooks
A
gift basket from Curtis
Country Store
Maple syrup from Davenport Maple Farm in Shelburne, Massachusetts
A
gift certificate from the Deerfield
Inn
Gourmet
organic potatoes for each finalist
(plus potatoes for lunch!) from
Donovan Farm in Hawley, Massachusetts
A Vermont breakfast crate, plus a coffee sample for each finalist, from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Cookbooks galore from Lisa
Ekus Public Relations
Local goat cheese
from Goat
Rising
A pint of ice cream for each finalist
(it could be Sticky Toffee Pudding
flavor!) from Häagen-Dazs
A
four-slice toaster and 10-cup programmable coffee maker Krups
USA
A
coupon for a cooking class in the
Northampton Cooking School from
Lamson
& Goodnow
A wooden Chinese grain scoop from Li Asiatic Antiques in Charlemont, Massachusetts
Schmear
filling for each finalist from Love
'n Bake ingredients by American
Almond Products
A
measuring spoon rack from metalsmith
Marian
Ives of Hawley, Massachusetts
Sunday Breakfast Fixings (New
York Times included) from McCusker's
Market
A copy of The Pudding Hollow
Cookbook from the Merry
Lion Press
A 9-inch pillar
from Mole
Hollow Candles
A product coupon for each finalist from Newman's Own
Sticky toffee pudding cake mix for each finalist from
Nordic Ware
Maple
Syrup from North
Hadley Sugar Shack
A gift basket from Old Sturbridge Village
A
floral arrangement from Plants for
Pleasure in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts
A family pass, 17th-century reproduction
pudding bowl, and a vintage pudding
recipe from Plimoth
Plantation
Organic sauerkraut, dill pickles,
Asian cabbage, and red cabbage from
Real
Pickles
Pita Chips for each finalist from Regenie's
All Natural Snacks
A
gift certificate for 1 pound of
chocolates from Richardson's
Candy Kitchen
Horseradish
products from Saw Mill Site Farm
in South Deerfield, Massachusetts
Coffee for each finalist from Shelburne
Falls Coffee Roasters
Puddings from the Sticky
Toffee Pudding Company
A gift bag from Trader
Joe's in Hadley
A set of Kenyan banana fiber napkin rings and heritage breed lamb from
Tregellys Fiber Farm
A split of organic, extra-virgin olive oil for each finalist and judge from
Tuckaway Farm
A gift basket from Walker's
Shortbread
Cider from West
County Winery
Maple syrup from Doug and Julia
White of Charlemont, Massachusetts
Maple syrup from Wilder Brook Farm
in Charlemont, Massachusetts
Other Donors:
Here's a look at the 2007 Pudding Contest Finals:
Hawleyites reenact the original
pudding contest.
Young Brandon Root in the pivotal role of Marigold the Cow
Alice Parker presides at the piano.
Judge Stephen Dias tells the crowd about vanilla beans. |
Judge Michael Collins prepares to chow down on pudding. |
Judge Kathleen Wall describes the first pudding eaten at Plimoth
Plantation. |
The Pudding Parade.
World Premiere: Tinky sings Alice Parker's "Find Me a Man I Can Cook
For."
Photograph courtesy of Carolyn Halloran/The West County News
Audience members swarm to taste pudding at the contest's end.
Cyndie is astonished at her victory.
Hawley's selectmen made this official
proclamation in 2004. They also presented
the Sons & Daughters of Hawley with
a plaque praising the historical significance
of pudding to the town - and declaring
June 20, 2004, Pudding Day in Hawley. |
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