Posted by Herald Tribune, FL on July 04, 2010 at 12:38:03:
Her recipe for $25,000: Apples, sugar and passion
K.C. Quaretti-Lee, of Venice won first place for desserts in The Real Women of Philadelphia competition presented by Paula Deen at the Lucas Theater in Savannah, Georgia.
By KEN HAGGERTY
Correspondent
VENICE - A self-confessed "lark" has landed Venice resident K.C. Quaretti-Lee some major culinary kudos.
Capping a competition that began in March, the former Venice MainStreet executive director found found her French apple cake the runaway winner of the dessert category and her bank account $25,000 healthier after the Real Women of Philadelphia on-line cooking competition.
Potential foodie fame aside, the Washington State native and former resident of France insists her motives were based on a simple philosophy:
"I cook all the time," she said. "It's something I love to do and my family enjoy my efforts. I wanted to share my passion with more people."
Speaking from her home following what she described as a surprise win over 15 other finalists in Savannah, Ga., Quaretti-Lee was quick to compliment the other competitors.
"We were all winners," she said. "It's great to think this competition has put a smile on so many faces.
"All those who took part in the competition are home-based chefs," she said, as opposed to professionals. "And that's our attraction -- we're everyday cooks creating simple meals for all our families."
Quaretti-Lee was endorsed by Southern cooking doyenne Paula Deen in the event sponsored by Kraft's Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
The field of more than 1,500 entrants created and cajoled recipes for the competition's four categories -- side dish, appetizer, main dish and dessert.
Required to create recipes from scratch that incorporated cream cheese, the finalists suddenly found themselves in front of hand-held cameras, forced to become Web savvy as each stage of their recipes had to be filmed and uploaded to the competition's Web site for judging.
Quaretti-Lee and the 14 other finalists in the categories were invited to Deen's hometown of Savannah for a cook-off. On a closed, custom-made set Tuesday, Quaretti-Lee prepared her entry before a battery of TV cameras and the critical eyes of four judges, including Deen.
With success comes responsibility, and Quaretti-Lee will travel back to Savannah on July 11th to fulfill her part of a talent contract that involves a publicity tour and filming the first of 20 cooking videos that will eventually be posted on the Real Women of Philadelphia's website.
"I've discovered I like being in front of a camera," said Quaretti-Lee, who left the Venice MainStreet downtown promotional program job in February after about three years. "I'm still pinching myself at what I've achieved."
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