PITTSBURG, TEXAS - February 23, 2010 - The 21st Annual Winning Taste Recipe Contest® winners were recipes with intense, bold flavors inspired by Asian, Latin and American cuisines. The grand prize winning recipe, Sweet Chili Chicken with Asian Vegetable Rice, was entered by Kristine Snyder from Kihei, Hawaii.

A professional harpist, Snyder has always loved to cook and has been entering contests for the past 10 years. She has won several other contests including the National Chicken Cooking Contest, Sutter Home's Build a Better Burger and LG's Life Tastes Goods and has been a semi-finalist in the Pillsbury Bake-Off. "It's a wonderful challenge and satisfaction to create a recipe that most people will like. I became a huge fane of Thai sweet chili sauce after moving to Hawaii. I use it often to coat grilled chicken; but with this recipe I wanted to turn it into a light, healthy main dish," said Snyder.

Snyder and the other winners will share more than $6,500 in cash and prizes. The other winners were:

• First Place, Buffalo Chicken Turnovers with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce, created by Kelly Boe, Whiteland, Indiana. An accountant by trade, Boe uses cooking as an outlet for her creative side. Cooking was the only badge she received in Girl Scouts.
• Second Place, Lime Grilled Chicken with Roasted Poblano and Grilled Mango Salsa, entered by Greg Fontenot, The Woodlands, Texas. Fontenot holds a doctorate in reproductive physiology. His favorite cooking experience was meeting Julia Child and having her sign his copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
• Third Place, Savory Chicken Cakes with Creamy Dijon Sauce, submitted by Gidget Gorgone, Mableton, Georgia. Another accountant, Gorgone enjoys cooking and baking with her 2-year-old son, who has his own chef's hat and apron.

More than 1,000 cooks from across the country entered their original recipes in five categories: 1) Appetizer/Snack, 2) Main Dish/Entrée, 3) Light Eating 4) Grilling and 5) Quick and Easy. Recipes were judged on taste, originality, ease of preparation and appearance. The winning recipes and photos are available at www.winningtasterecipe.com.

The Winning Taste Recipe Contest, created to promote and encourage creative cooking with chicken, is celebrating its 21st year as one of the nation's longest running and most widely recognized chicken cooking contests. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation conducts the contest, which has awarded more than $600,000 in cash and merchandise to amateur cooks across the nation.