Did your non-profit organization publish a community cookbook in 2008 or 2009?

If so, consider entering it in the 20th annual Tabasco Community Cookbook Awards; entries will be accepted until Friday, September 25, 2009.

McIlhenny Company (makers of Tabasco products) established these awards to recognize the role these community cookbooks play in chronicling and preserving local culinary traditions. Community cookbooks were first published during the Civil War.

To date, these awards have honored more than 250 exceptional cookbooks. Winner receive the following (for local charities of their choice) first place, $2,500; second place, $1,000; third place, $750; and regional awards $500 — and they receive awards stickers for their books.

I have a few shelves of these community cookbooks — some bearing that sticker — in my extensive cookbook collection, having found that they provide an interesting record of the regional culinary traditions over time in their various communities.

If your non-profit has a book to enter – official entry forms and awards rules are available a by clicking here and then clicking on “Enter the 2009 TABASCO® Community Cookbook Awards” to download the pdf.