Is this dish worth $50K? West Egg chef competes in national contest

An Atlanta pastry chef has a shot at winning $50,000 in a nationwide contest from a major food company.

West Egg Cafe is one of three restaurants competing in the third annual Neighborhood to Nation Recipe contest, General Mills announced Tuesday. The contest calls for original recipes from independent family or neighborhood restaurants in the following categories: breakfast, entree and dessert.

Pastry chef Carrie Hudson’s recipe for butternut squash and goat cheese turnovers — thyme-seasoned squash and goat cheese wrapped in Pillsbury Puff Pastry — won the breakfast category. Hudson runs the bakery at West Egg, which has offered all-day breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch since 2004.

Hudson attended The Art Institute of Atlanta for Culinary Arts after her first job as a baker, according to a news release. She is also a known pie crust master and gingerbread man expert. 

The contenders will travel to General Mills' headquarters in Minneapolis on June 13. Chef Amanda Freitag, a judge on Food Network's "Chopped," will announce the winner June 14. Freitag will also visit the winner's restaurant later this summer.

If Hudson wins, she’ll receive $40,000 cash; an additional $10,000 would go to a local charity. First and second runners-up get $15,000 and $10,000, respectively.

Before Hudson heads to Minneapolis, a General Mills representative will present a blank check to the baker at a public event at West Egg. Guests who attend the event, on June 7 at 2 p.m., can try Hudson’s recipe. The check will be filled in, of course, after the winning announcement.