Updated w/ video: Travelers Rest chef wins $50k grand prize in nationwide contest

UPDATE (06/22/16):

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. — Christina Halstead, the executive chef at the Cafe at Williams Hardware, was selected as the $50K grand prize package winner in General Mills Foodservice's 2nd Annual Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest, it was announced this afternoon.

Halstead will receive a check for $40K and nonprofit Foothills Family Resources (the charity of Halstead's choice) will receive $10K in her name.

Original story below...

ORIGINAL STORY (06/08/16):

TRAVELERS REST, S.C. — Christina Halstead, the executive chef at the Cafe at Williams Hardware, has been named one of the top three contestants vying for a $50K prize package in General Mills Foodservice's 2nd Annual Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest, it was announced today.

The top winner will be announced at General Mills' headquarters in Minneapolis on June 22.

Halstead's entry — a BLT on pimento cheese buttermilk biscuit with red pepper jelly — is up against a waffled salmon with spicy orange maple sauce and a chocolate Snickers candy bar cookie pie.

The three finalists and their one-of-a-kind dishes will enjoy their time in the limelight during a trip to General Mills’ headquarters in Minneapolis on June 21-22, where they will be joined by celebrity chef Amanda Freitag of Food Network’s “Chopped” and “American Diner Revival” for a celebration and the official grand prize announcement.

The Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest was open to foodservice operators, chefs and line cooks who develop and prepare recipes for menu items served at independent, commercial restaurants, and asks them to submit an original recipe using at least one ingredient from General Mills’ list of eligible products. The grand prize recipe winner will receive $40,000 and a $10,000 donation for a local charity. The first place recipe winner will receive $15,000, and the second place recipe winner will receive $10,000.

For more information on Neighborhood to Nation, the finalists, the finale celebration and the announcement of the grand prize winner, please visit www.NeighborhoodtoNation.com.