“The 12 Days of Christmas” Coastal Food Tours Getaway Giveaway Contest

 Contest Contributed By: Virginia Beach CVB

Break out the cookbooks and secret family recipes: Virginia Beach is giving away a getaway for the season’s best dish! “The 12 Days of Christmas” contest pits recipe against recipe for the best culinary interpretation of the famous holiday song to win a Three-Day Coastal Food Tours Getaway.

 With the holiday season in full swing, families across the country will be spending extra hours in the kitchen – crafting up the perfect holiday meal, tastiest treat or most delectable hors d’oeuvre. Beginning December 5, the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau is looking for the fruits of that labor with the “12 Days of Christmas” Coastal Food Tours Getaway Giveaway Contest, a virtual cooking competition that will earn the winner a three-day, two-night stay in Virginia Beach for two people, with the chance to experience the new Coastal Food Tours program.

From December 5 – 16, visitors to the Virginia Beach Facebook page can submit a favorite recipe based on one of the days in the holiday classic, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Got a favorite recipe for partridge or pears? Maybe your true love’s favorite “piping” hot pie is a winner? Or, perhaps you have the best “golden” onion rings around? The Virginia Beach CVB invites folks to get creative and use their imagination, submitting their best recipe and how it relates to the song. Individuals can enter one recipe per day (12 total), and the recipe can relate to any day of the song you’d like. Recipes will be sent to 12DaysofChristmas@VisitVirginiaBeach.com.

After the contest ends on Dec. 16, all recipes received will be routed to an expert panel of judges, including Patrick Evans-Hylton, a local chef and editor of Virginia Wine Lovers magazine, as well as Greg Burroughs, a chef instructor at the Culinary Institute of Virginia. The panel will review and select the top five based on the written recipe alone. From there, the top five recipes will be prepared by students at the Culinary Institute of Virginia  and reviewed by the same panel of judges to select the grand prize winner.

In addition to free transportation and accommodations during their three-day, two-night stay, the winner and a guest will receive complimentary tickets to the Boardwalk Food Tour in Virginia Beach, a walking excursion of the famed byway that stops at three oceanfront mainstays where participants can sample local creations, fresh seafood and refreshing beverages. Additionally, the winner will embark on the Granby Street Food Tour, which highlights a variety of food including traditional coastal dishes to modern, ethnic and sustainable cuisine of Virginia Beach’s sister city, Norfolk. While in Virginia Beach, the winner also will enjoy complimentary tickets to other attractions, including the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center. Estimated value of the package is $2,000.

For a complete list of contest rules, visit the Virginia Beach CVB Facebook page at www.facebook.com/VirginiaBeachVA.  For more information about Virginia Beach, visit online at www.VisitVirginiaBeach.com.