The search for the great cooks of tomorrow has been narrowed to 56 area kids who will compete at the Wegmans Food You Feel Good About/Pillsbury Kids Bake-Off® Contest at The Strong Museum, One Manhattan Square, on January 20. The competition will take place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., with the winner being announced at 3 p.m.

Each finalist will be assigned a one-hour period to prepare the recipe they submitted. Although a Wegmans or Pillsbury assistant will be assigned to each child to help operate appliances and read recipes, participants must be able to prepare their recipe alone. Recipes will be evaluated by a select panel of judges in the following categories: taste, appearance, preparation, and creativity.

The Grand Prize winner receives a trip for four to Sea World in Orlando, Florida to compete in the First Ever National Kids Bake-Off® Contest June 16-19, 2001 plus $350 in spending money. Four first prize winners will receive a weekend trip for four to New York City plus $350 in spending money. Each finalist will receive a Pillsbury Kids Bake-Off® T-shirt, chef hat and apron. All finalists' recipes will be included in the 3rd Annual Wegmans Food You Feel Good About/Pillsbury Kids Bake-Off® Recipe Book.

Finalists from the Westside News readership area include: Jared Davis of Churchville, Ethan Nicodemus of Spencerport, Brianna Versluys of Churchville and Christina Vitelli of Hamlin.