It was another year of fun in the food competition at the 2024 Iowa State Fair!
In case you didn’t know – the Iowa State Fair has the largest food department in all of the state fairs across the country. There were over 140 different divisions, hundreds of classes within those divisions and over $58,000 in prizes in the food department at this year’s fair!
2024 Iowa State Fair
Competing in the Iowa State Fair Food Department is always a mix of anticipation, yet trepidation. There is a sense of pride in taking your best recipes you have worked hard on all year (or maybe even many years!) to compete for that coveted Iowa State Fair ribbon. And let me tell you, the judging and competition can be really stiff! Taste is not the only factor judged; there are actually a lot of technicalities to follow such as using the correct pan size, presenting the exact number of items for judging (6 cookies and nothing more or less!) and allowing a 1 inch border around your entry for display. You can actually be disqualified for not following some of these rules!
All seriousness aside, one of my favorite things about competing are the other competitors in the food department. I have so many friends I’ve met through competition and we look forward to seeing each other each year. You might think “why would you be friends with someone you are competing against?” but there really is a camaraderie among fellow competitors. We cheer for one another, celebrate our victories, share many laughs together and support each other when things don’t go how we had hoped.
I also owe so much gratitude to my friends and family during the fair time. It’s such a busy 10 days – early mornings, late nights and countless dishes. Thank you to everyone who helped me (shoutout to my friend Suellen for helping me transport 10 cakes to the fair!), encouraged me and supported me. I couldn’t have done it without you all!
2024 Results
I had a record number of blue ribbons during the 10-day fair and I also got a new ribbon this year – a reserve sweepstakes ribbon. Sweepstakes ribbons are awarded to the individuals who receive the most blue (1st place) ribbons in a division. I received the second most blue ribbons in the quick breads division, which earned reserve sweepstakes.
Below are some of my ribbon winning recipes from this year’s fair that are shared on the blog. My #1 requested recipe this year by far was my Grandma’s whipped cream cake that earned a blue ribbon. Be sure to check the notes in each recipe for any variations and stay tuned for more ribbon winning recipes to come throughout the year.
Until next year, Iowa State Fair!
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