Rules & Guidelines
Participation Guidelines
- All Battle for the Blue Ribbons contests are open to ALL AGES.
- Cooking Contests are open to amateurs only. No professional cooks or culinary teachers may enter.
- Contestants may enter all three (3) contests as part of this program, however, Contestants are limited to six (6) entries per contest and one (1) entry per category.
- Contestants cannot enter the same recipe twice in any 2024 contest.
- See individual contest rules for contest-specific requirements and changes from last year.
- Ribbons will be awarded for First, Second, Third, and Honorable Mention.
- Contestants earning a Blue Ribbon in the Cookie, Cake, and Bread contests are eligible to compete in the Best of Show-Down contest during the Fair on Sunday, 10/6/2024.
- Decisions of the Director of Creative Arts will be final. No person is allowed to interfere with judges or Fair staff assisting judges during the judging process. Violators will be disqualified and asked to leave the judging area.
Recipe Submission
- Contestants are required to include the recipe for each entry typed on an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of white paper. In addition, the contestant’s name, address, and phone number must be printed on the backside of the recipe.
- All recipes must list all ingredients with instructions on preparation in the order of ingredient usage. Incomplete recipes will not be used in the cookbook.
- Any recipe that has been precisely copied or photo-copied from any magazine, letter, newspaper, cookbook, or other publication will not be accepted.
- Must use U.S. standard measurements in the recipe. The use of metric system measurement is not acceptable.
- By entering a cooking contest(s), each contestant who places or receives an honorable mention hereby grants to the State Fair of Texas a perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive right, and license to use the entry (recipe and/or image) in association with the State Fair of Texas, including without limitation, events, and promotions, in all media now known or later developed. This license includes allowing the State Fair to publish the recipe and/or image in the State Fair of Texas annual cookbook, any special edition cookbooks, recipe blogs on the Fair or its sponsors’ websites, and in third-party media placement. The contestant will receive recognition in published uses of the entry.
Ribbons and Prizes
Contestants earning a Blue Ribbon in the Cookie, Cake, and Bread contests are eligible to compete in the Best of Show-Down during the Fair on Sunday, 10/6/2024.
Best of Show awarded at the Best of Show-Down during the Fair on Sunday, 10/6/2024. Other ribbons awarded in each category.
CAKE CONTEST
PURPLE / Best of Show | $200 | |
BLUE / 1st Place | $25 | |
RED / 2nd Place | $15 | |
WHITE / 3rd Place | $10 | |
YELLOW / Honorable Mention | Ribbon |
COOKIE CONTEST
PURPLE / Best of Show | $200 | |
BLUE / 1st Place | $25 | |
RED / 2nd Place | $15 | |
WHITE / 3rd Place | $10 | |
YELLOW / Honorable Mention | Ribbon |
PIE CONTEST
PURPLE / Best of Show | $200 | |
BLUE / 1st Place | $25 | |
RED / 2nd Place | $15 | |
WHITE / 3rd Place | $10 | |
YELLOW / Honorable Mention | Ribbon |
If you need assistance or have questions, please contact us.