The Home Sweet Home Amateur Bake-Off Contest (the "Contest") is sponsored by the Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund (www.CHAFund.org), how2heroes and the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts ("Sponsors").

There are four (4) dessert categories and three (3) finalists in each category, for a total of twelve (12) finalists with one (1) winner selected in each category by the judges at the Home Sweet Home Event Tasting Competition on October 22, 2011 at the Cambridge Hyatt Regency (575 Memorial Drive, Cambridge) at 6:00 P.M.

PRIZE CATEGORIES

1. PIE & TARTS RECIPE PRIZE: (e.g. cheesecake, tarts, fruit and creme pies):
2. CHOCOLATE RECIPE PRIZE: (e.g. brownies, fudge, candy, or any other chocolate item)
3. COOKIE RECIPE PRIZE (e.g. peanut butter, sandwich, filled, grasshoppers, sandies, any holiday cookie)
4. CAKE & CUPCAKE RECIPE PRIZE (e.g. cupcakes, coffee cakes, petit fours, sponge, devil’s, angel food, Tiramisu, pound cake, Genoise and dessert breads)
5. GRAND PRIZE (JUDGES’ BEST IN SHOW): (chosen by the panel of celebrity judges at the HSH event)
6. BEST LOCAL INGREDIENTS DESSERT* (desserts must be made with local ingredients on the approved list found below. This is not a separate dessert category but will be chosen from all entries by the judges)

All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply; void where prohibited.

ELIGIBILITY: The Contest is open only to individuals, 18 years or older at time of entry, excluding professional chefs and professional food writers (does not exclude culinary students or unpaid bloggers). Employees of how2heroes and the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts and its parent companies, subsidiaries or agents, their immediate families (defined as parents, children, siblings, spouse and grandparents), and those domiciled with any of the foregoing are not eligible.

TO ENTER: Submit your original dessert recipe with a digital photo of your prepared dessert on the electronic entry form on the link found at www.how2heroes.com. Your recipe will be disqualified if you do not include a photo. You will also need to provide a brief biography and history of your recipe with your entry. All information provided by entrant must be complete, true and correct. Submissions to the Contest must be received by midnight, September 12th, 2011 in order to be eligible; entries received after that date will be deemed ineligible to win. All submitted entries become the property of Sponsors and will not be acknowledged or returned; Sponsors are not responsible for lost, late, inaccurate, incomplete, damaged, illegible, or misdirected entries. All entries may be published on the how2heroes web site or used by the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts or the Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund at their discretion, whether selected for a prize or not. Nothing in these Contest rules obligate Sponsors to publish or otherwise use any recipe or photo submitted in connection with the Contest. Each entry must be submitted on an individual basis (i.e., no team, joint, or corporate entries) and all components of the entry must be the original creation of the submitting participant. Multiple entries can be submitted but each entry can only be submitted in one category. Only non-commercial work may be submitted. Entries may not contain profanity, nudity, pornographic images, violent images, anti-competition messages, illegal material, or material that violates the rights of third parties. Entries may not include confidential information, trade secrets, trademarks or copyrighted material belonging to any person or entity other than the participant absent a suitable license or permission agreement (proof of which is required). Entries containing any forbidden matter or material otherwise deemed by Organizer to be inappropriate will be disqualified. Online entries will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry.

ENTRY FEE: All funds raised by the Home Sweet Home Dessert Event benefit the Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund (CHAF), a non-profit organization that raises money to open doors for the homeless. CHAF provides a bridge to housing for homeless and near homeless families and individuals by assisting with the initial costs of renting an apartment and providing one time assistance grants to families at risk of becoming homeless. Participants in the Amateur Bake-off Contest are asked to donate a minimum of $10 for their participation at www.CHAFund.org. Larger donations are welcomed. Entries are limited to the first 100 submissions in each category and then the category will be closed to further entries.

JUDGING: A panel of judges consisting of Lee Napoli (owner of Chocolee Chocolates and founder of New England's first and only association for pastry professionals), Clara Silverstein (author of three cookbooks including The Boston Chefs Table, The New England Soup Factory andA White House Garden Cookbook, and a long-time food writer in the Boston area) and Lynne Viera (President & CEO, how2heros) will select the winning entry based upon the criteria of originality (25%), taste (50%), and presentation (25%). By entering, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules, and that the decisions of the judges are final and binding in all respects. The top ten desserts in each of the food categories will be invited to a preliminary judging by a separate tasting committee of Boston area food bloggers to be held at the how2heros offices in Cambridge, MA on September 21st, 2011. The top three finalists in each category from this preliminary tasting will be notified by e-mail on or before September 30th, 2011. The names of the semi-finalist and finalists will also be published on the how2heros website. Based upon the content of submissions, Sponsors reserves the right not to select any winning submissions. The top three finalists per category will prepare their entries for a live tasting for the judging panel at the Home Sweet Home Event on October 22, 2011 at the Cambridge Hyatt Regency (575 Memorial Drive, Cambridge) at 6:00 P.M.  Finalists will be announced at the Event by 11:00 P.M. Finalists winners will be required to sign and return a sworn Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release. If required documentation is not returned within seven (7) business days of notification, or if notification is returned as undeliverable, finalist participation will be forfeited and an alternate finalist will be selected.

PRIZE AWARDS: Prizes will be awarded within sixty (60) days after winner verification. No prize substitution or transfer is permitted, except that Sponsors reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value for any reason. All taxes and any other incidental expenses on Prizes are the sole responsibility of each winner.

GENERAL RULES & LIMITATIONS: By entering, you represent that: (i) your entry is your own original work; and (ii) you own or have the rights to convey any and all right and title in any material submitted as part of your entry into the Contest. By entering, you grant to Sponsors and their designees a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to edit, publish, promote, republish at any time in the future and otherwise use your submission, along with your name and likeness, in any and all media for possible editorial, promotional or advertising purposes, without further permission, notice or compensation (except where prohibited by law). By participating in the Contest, you agree to release Sponsors and its parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, directors, officers, and agents and their designees from any and all liability, claims or actions of any kind whatsoever for injuries, damages or losses to persons and property which may be sustained in connection with the receipt, ownership, possession, use, or misuse of any prize. Sponsors are not responsible for technical, hardware or software failures, or other errors or problems which may occur in connection with the Contest, whether computer, network, technical, mechanical, typographical, printing, human or otherwise, including, without limitation, errors or problems which may occur in connection with the administration of the Contest, the processing or judging of entries, the announcement of the prizes, in any Contest-related materials, or that may limit prize fulfillment or a participant's ability to enter the Contest. Sponsors reserve the right to permanently disqualify from the Contest any person it believes has intentionally violated these official rules.

WINNER IDENTITY: Finalists and Winners will be announced on the how2heroes website and on the Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund website at www.CHAFund.org. 

*Eligible Local Ingredient List