Just Like Mom's: Congrats to the Winners of Chow Bella's Mother's Day Essay Contest

From Jamaica to Panama, the entrants in Chow Bella's first-ever Mother's Day essay contest took us on a whirlwind tour of maternal culinary inspiration. And boy, are we hungry. Thanks to all who entered, and particularly to Gayle Shanks, co-owner of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, who graciously judged all...

By Amy Silverman

May 8, 2012

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From Jamaica to Panama, the entrants in Chow Bella's first-ever Mother's Day essay contest took us on a whirlwind tour of maternal culinary inspiration. And boy, are we hungry.

Thanks to all who entered, and particularly to Gayle Shanks, co-owner of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, who graciously judged all the entries.

We have first-, second-, and third-place awards to hand out, as well as an honorable mention.

Drumroll, please.

First Place: Kim Kunasek, for an essay about her German-born mother's cooking.

Second Place: Elizabeth Maria Naranjo, for a story about her mother and rice.

Third Place: Emily Hinchman, for an essay about her quest to become as good a cook as her mother -- with a little help from the Food Network.

Honorable Mention: Margaret Burch, for a piece about her mother's Spritz cookies.

Thank you to all of our entrants. Stay tuned -- later this week, we'll share Kim Kunasek's essay and her mother's recipe for pfannkuchensuppe, or pancake soup.

One more thank you -- to Vincent on Camelback, Renegade Canteen, Beckett's Table, Honey Moon Sweets and Changing Hands, businesses that provided prizes.

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Amy Silverman is the former managing editor of Phoenix New Times. She is a two-time winner of the Arizona Press Club’s Journalist of the Year award. Her work has appeared on the radio show This American Life and in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Lenny Letter, and Brain, Child.