Rating: 
Summary: Contagious!
Review: A smokin' hot tip from Amazon's Best of 2003 list! This hilarious book recounts a year on the road with the hardcorps of the cookoff world, recipe-inventors who battle it out to win KitchenAid mixers and lottery-sized cash prizes. Big surprise: The, uh, quality of so many winning dishes. Big laughs: The teetering, white-knuckled, very-high drama of competition. Big warning: If you cook, you may find it impossible to resist entering the fray.
Rating: 
Summary: contestant observations
Review: An otherwise interesting book is marred by the author's snippy and mostly unneccessary comments about the contestants and/or their spouses. It did nothing to add to the book-but detract it did.
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT READ AND A REAL HOOT
Review: As an avid recipe clipper, I've come across some pretty odd concoctions and sometimes just have to wonder, who thinks this stuff up? Thanks to this warm, funny, and engaging book, I now know that I can thank the hardcore recipe "contesters" who focus their considerable energy on finding yet-unheard-of ways to prepare chicken, discovering new uses for processed foods, and building a better burger. Chronicling a year's worth of the most high-profile cookoffs, Sutherland presents affectionate and often hilarious portraits of some of the most creative and competitive amateur cooks in America. She places the recipe-contest phenomenon in a cultural and historical context, but generally keeps the social commentary to a minimum in favor of great reporting from the front lines of the cookoff circuit. Delicious fun!
Rating:
Summary: Delicious fun for recipe clippers and creators
Review: As an avid recipe clipper, I've come across some pretty odd concoctions and sometimes just have to wonder, who thinks this stuff up? Thanks to this warm, funny, and engaging book, I now know that I can thank the hardcore recipe "contesters" who focus their considerable energy on finding yet-unheard-of ways to prepare chicken, discovering new uses for processed foods, and building a better burger. Chronicling a year's worth of the most high-profile cookoffs, Sutherland presents affectionate and often hilarious portraits of some of the most creative and competitive amateur cooks in America. She places the recipe-contest phenomenon in a cultural and historical context, but generally keeps the social commentary to a minimum in favor of great reporting from the front lines of the cookoff circuit. Delicious fun!
Rating:
Summary: It's All About Winning
Review: Before I read this book, I was only vaguely aware of the competitive cooking circuit. That is, I'd heard of the Pillbsbury Bakeoff, of course, and knew of chili contests. I had no idea there was a year-round series of national competitions, a la the PGA Tour or perhaps more appropriately, the Pro Bowling Tour.The whole concept of a year on the competitive cooking circuit was a new one for me and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about it. Sutherland's reporter-style writing, lots of facts and descriptions, not too much analysis, really works. She examines the competitions, profiles some contestants, looks into the preparation for an event, discusses the history of cooking contests, and addresses the phenomenon of "contesters". I have to agree with another reviewer that photos would have been a welcome addition to this book, the few on the jacket are great, but left me wanting more. Apparently, cooking contests are uniquely American. According to Sutherland, "Through contests we embody the founding fathers' ideal... to make of ourselves what we can... Even if you are stuck in a dead-end job in a dead-end marriage on a dead-end street, in America you can rise above your station and reign supreme at the bowling alley or the dog show or the poker table." Cookoff isn't really about cooking, it's about the competition.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but the bad editing is distracting!
Review: Cookoff is pretty interesting, but did anyone proofread it? If you're at all aware of correct grammar, spelling, or usage, this book will drive you nuts. So far (I'm about halfway through) I've found proper names spelled two different ways in the same paragraph, common words that are misspelled, and turns of phrase that are just wrong (for example, someone is described as "flaunting" a convention).
If you're not someone who notices these things, it's a good read. If you are, it'll set your teeth on edge. Maybe someone will bother to run the spell-checker on it for the paperback edition...
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: Cookoff: Recipe Fever in America is a delightful book, especially for readers who enjoy cookbooks and cooking magazines. Amy Sutherland, a journalist from Maine, got invited to the Pillbury Bake Off rather serendipitously and decided to go, pretty much as a lark, figuring that it would prove an amusing piece of Americana. Sutherland was surprised to discover an entire cookoff subculture, with an entertaining cast of characters and no shortage on drama. Her experience at the Bake Off inspired her to spend over a year traveling around the country, spending time at cookoffs and time with contesters: cookoff professionals, some of whom have won substantial sums of money for their devoted cooking efforts. Each chapter focuses on either a particular cookoff, or a particular aspect of cookoffs, such as what happens when cheating occurs. Sutherland is a wonderful writer, able to keep you in suspense (and actually make you care!) over who would actually each cookoff. I really enjoyed reading this book; it is pretty much a refreshing change from anything I have read in a long time. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading about food. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: Cookoff: Recipe Fever in America is a delightful book, especially for readers who enjoy cookbooks and cooking magazines. Amy Sutherland, a journalist from Maine, got invited to the Pillbury Bake Off rather serendipitously and decided to go, pretty much as a lark, figuring that it would prove an amusing piece of Americana. Sutherland was surprised to discover an entire cookoff subculture, with an entertaining cast of characters and no shortage on drama. Her experience at the Bake Off inspired her to spend over a year traveling around the country, spending time at cookoffs and time with contesters: cookoff professionals, some of whom have won substantial sums of money for their devoted cooking efforts. Each chapter focuses on either a particular cookoff, or a particular aspect of cookoffs, such as what happens when cheating occurs. Sutherland is a wonderful writer, able to keep you in suspense (and actually make you care!) over who would actually each cookoff. I really enjoyed reading this book; it is pretty much a refreshing change from anything I have read in a long time. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading about food. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Treat
Review: Food writer Amy Sutherland has written a fascinating behind-the-scenes expose of cook offs and recipe contests. From the outside, such contests seem rather boring, with middle-aged housewives preparing grandma's handed-down recipes. However, much more is percolating under the surface! Sutherland traveled around the country for over a year, attending cook offs and interviewing numerous contestants to write her book. She covers many of the biggest contests, such as the Pillsbury Bake-Off, as well as smaller ones, including State Fairs and chili cook offs. These cook offs, some of which have been around for decades, have become big business with huge purses and prizes, leading to increased drama. Sutherland details the cooking disasters, failed recipes, and occasional squabbles. Sutherland also paints a vibrant portrait of the cook-off regulars, who calls themselves "contesters." These contesters enter numerous cook offs, make many of the finals, and are absorbing to read about. At the end of most chapters, she includes winning recipes from the contests she discusses - so don't flip ahead or the suspense will be ruined! The final chapter gives practical advice to readers about recipe contests and cook offs. After reading this book, I'm eager to enter a contest on my own. A most enjoyable book - highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Treat
Review: Food writer Amy Sutherland has written a fascinating behind-the-scenes expose of cook offs and recipe contests. From the outside, such contests seem rather boring, with middle-aged housewives preparing grandma's handed-down recipes. However, much more is percolating under the surface! Sutherland traveled around the country for over a year, attending cook offs and interviewing numerous contestants to write her book. She covers many of the biggest contests, such as the Pillsbury Bake-Off, as well as smaller ones, including State Fairs and chili cook offs. These cook offs, some of which have been around for decades, have become big business with huge purses and prizes, leading to increased drama. Sutherland details the cooking disasters, failed recipes, and occasional squabbles. Sutherland also paints a vibrant portrait of the cook-off regulars, who calls themselves "contesters." These contesters enter numerous cook offs, make many of the finals, and are absorbing to read about. At the end of most chapters, she includes winning recipes from the contests she discusses - so don't flip ahead or the suspense will be ruined! The final chapter gives practical advice to readers about recipe contests and cook offs. After reading this book, I'm eager to enter a contest on my own. A most enjoyable book - highly recommended!
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