• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, February 11, 2015

Sargento Cheese is sponsoring the first at-home version of the chef competitions featured on the Food Network's popular "Chopped" series.

In the "Chopped at Home Challenge," consumer entrants compete for a $10,000 grand prize by using specified "mystery basket" ingredients, including a Sargento Cheese variety, to create a dish.  

There are three rounds, and individuals may enter only once per round. In each of the first two rounds, judges will choose 10 semifinalists to be posted on the contest platform on the "Chopped" destination on the Food Network site, and public voting will determine the finalist in each round. In round three, judges will directly chose two finalists. 

The champion will be determined by a panel-judged cookoff of the four finalists, to be held in New York City in July or August. The cookoff will be filmed and aired as a vignette on the Food Network. The winning recipes will be featured on Sargento product packages later this year. 

In addition to on-air videos, the competition is being promoted on Sargento's Web site, on Sargento and "Chopped" social media channels, and in three issues of Food Network Magazine.