Chefs.com, a passionate online culinary community that shares recipes, culinary insights, and discussions about food and its social connections, today announced the top-five finalists and their recipes for the inaugural Treasured Recipe Contest. The contest spanned three months and received over 1,600 submissions which were initially narrowed down to the top 100 semi-finalists. The final cook-off is scheduled to take place in San Francisco on Feb. 17 at the California Culinary Academy. Over 400,000 votes were cast to select the top-five finalists (in alphabetical order):

Brian’s Cheesecake/ Anne Kornow/ Dexter, Mich.

Crispy, Golden Pork Loin Chops with Caramelized Pan Gravy and Braised Green Onions/ Nancy Mauer/ Minneapolis, Minn.

Grandma’s Shoebox Cookies/ Julie Dickens/ Westerville, Ohio

Italian Rice Balls/ Gregg Miliacca/ Milwaukie, Wis.

Mouthwatering Cheddar Popovers/ Deborah Schachtel/ Nutley, N.J.

“We’ve been very pleased with the participation and caliber of recipes we’ve seen from the onset of the competition. To be honest, both the recipe submissions and the voting phase of the contest exceeded our expectations,” says Executive Chef Ken Rubin. “Having the top-five semi-finalists selected brings this program to a new phase. The winning recipes are truly representative of what Chefs.com set out to achieve–celebrating family traditions, cultures, and history.”

By logging on the Chefs.com Web site (http://treasuredrecipes.chefs.com/#top100) an individual can listen to a live podcast of the cook-off. The celebrity judging panel includes: Martin Yan, Devin Alexander, Ken Rubin, Survir Suran, and Stan Bunger.

The five finalists will receive Hamilton Beach Electrics(TM) All-Metal Appliances, a trip for two to the final cook-off in San Francisco at the California Culinary Academy, and lodging at the San Francisco Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel. Each Finalist will be required to prepare and cook their recipe in front of a celebrity panel. The final winning recipe will be selected based on overall flavor (40%), creativity (30%), and appearance/presentation (30%). The finalist with the highest overall score will be declared the Grand Prize Winner and will receive a prize of $10,000.