After a month and a half of waiting, the winner of the 29thannual Wooden Spoon Cook contest was announced Thursday evening toa packed house.

Finalists in the cookbook were invited to attend the awardsceremony which was held at the Episcopal Church of the RedeemerThursday evening.

Ramona Cambell, of Brookhaven, was named the grand prize winnerfor her recipe “Polynesian Chicken Salad With Baby Spinach.”Cambell entered this recipe in the Soups, Salads and Fruitcategory. Cambell had also entered several other recipes in thisyear’s cookbook.

This was her first time to enter the Wooden Spoon Contest, whichproved to be very lucky for Cambell. As winner of this year’scontest, she was awarded $50 for her category win and $300 forwinning the grand prize.

A lifelong resident of Brookhaven, Cambell said she loves tocook, but hates the clean up afterwards. She mainly cooks for herfamily, which includes her children and grandchildren.

When asked what she will do with her winnings, Cambell said shewill probably take her grandchildren to the beach.

Over 170 recipes were entered in this year’s contest whichincluded eight categories. Each category winner was awarded $50 anddrew from over 40 door prizes donated by area merchants.

Category winners are:

@Subhead:Category 1 – Appetizers

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Sandra Massey was the top winner in the Appetizer category. Shewon with her recipe “Bacon Tomato Cups” that she received from hersister-in-law.

@Subhead:Category 2 – Soups, Salads, Fruits

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Cambell’s “Polynesian Chicken Salad With Baby Spinach” was thecategory winner and the grand prize winner in this category.

@Subhead:Category 3 – Main Dish

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Debbie Durr won Category 3 with “Chicken Ring.”

@Subhead:Category 4 – Vegetables

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Peggy Bessonette’s “Cabbage and Shrimp” won the Vegetablecategory. Bessonette was a grand prize winner several years agowith her “BBQ Shrimp.”

@Subhead:Category 5 – Desserts and Sweets

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Kelli Neal’s “Carrot Cake Cookies” was the winner in theDesserts and Sweets category.

@Subhead:Category 6 – Breads and Rolls

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Jimmie Ballard’s “Blueberry Banana Bread” was the winner in theBreads and Rolls Category.

@Subhead:Category 7 – For Your Health

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Zenus Owens, who was a finalist in three categories this yearand a finalist in years past, was the For Your Health categorywinner for his reduced calorie “Mexican Fiesta Dip.” Owens has beenentering the contest for several years, and has been a finalist forseveral years.

@Subhead:Category 8 – Employees

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Each year The DAILY LEADER opens the contest to its employees.Employees are not in the running for the grand prize, but like theother categories, the winner receives a $50 prize.

This year’s winner was Carrie Bergeron for her Main Dish recipeof “Shrimp Fetticine.” Bergeron is employed in the ClassifiedDepartment.

Employee and finalist Sharla Lambert’s dessert of “ChocolateDelight,” was the winner of the annual “Chucky Award.” PublisherEmeritus Charles Jacobs chooses a favorite recipe each year fromall of the finalists. Lambert received $50 for her recipe.