<p>Food Marketing Institute (FMI) is announcing the 25 chef finalists for the Supermarket Chef Showdown.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The finals will be held on <B>June 11, 2014</b> at FMI's new annual show, FMI Connect, where five grand-prize winners and one overall champion will be determined, according to a press release.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Contestants entered their recipes in one of five categories: Healthy Meals, Family Meals, Ethnic Meals, Dessert, and Side-Dishes/Mini Meals/Snacks.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">In order to qualify, the recipes needed to include at least <B>three eligible sponsor ingredients</b> and take <B>20 minutes or less</b> to prepare.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">There were 130 entries represented 30 different retailers from across the country. The finalists included those from Foodland Super Market, Ltd., Hy-Vee, Inc., The Kroger Co., Meijer, Inc., Publix Super Markets, Inc., ShopRite, Whole Foods Market, and Winn-Dixie, as well as several others.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img class="small-cropped-image" src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacySmallCroppedImages/chefkeoni.jpg" alt="cropped_images_041614" /></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The reigning 2012 champ, <B>Keoni Chang from Foodland Super Market</b>, will also be returning to defend his title.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"Participating in and then winning the inaugural Supermarket Chef Showdown was extremely exciting, and one of the highlights of my career," said Keoni Chang, Foodland Super Market Corporate Chef. "The competition is a great opportunity to gain wider recognition for the talents of Supermarket Chefs as we challenge ourselves to creatively incorporate sponsor ingredients into meals that satisfy our customers’ tastes. The atmosphere of a live cooking challenge is invigorating, and I am excited to participate this year at FMI Connect to defend my title of Grand Champion."<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The prizes include an all-expense paid trip for two to <B>Mardi Gras 2015</b>, an all- expense-paid trip to the <B>Country Music Awards in Nashville</b>, cash prizes, bragging rights, and more.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Sponsors for this years' Showdown include McCormick, Cans Get You Cooking, Campbell’s, ConAgra Foods, Hass Avocado Board, Hershey’s, Hillshire Brands, Mondelez International, Musco Family Olive Co., Pictsweet, Supermarket News and Smucker’s.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Good luck to all of this year's participants! It will be exciting to see who wins the title this year.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.supermarketchefshowdown.com/showdown/" target="_new"> FMI's Supermarket Chef Showdown </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
