OXNARD : Strawberries the Key Ingredient in Contest

From strawberry salsa to strawberry soup, the red fruit was the common denominator among an array of savory recipes presented at the California Strawberry Festival’s annual recipe contest Saturday.

The event, held at Oxnard College, featured a variety of desserts, hors d’oeuvres and main dishes prepared by students from the college’s school of hotel and restaurant management.

A panel of judges tasted 18 original recipes, which were selected from a field of about 450 submitted from 26 states.

Margaret Pache, a retired waitress from Mesa, Ariz., won the $500 top award for her Strawberry Tart Caribbean, which was prepared by Oxnard College student Janet Shelton of Ventura.

“They (the recipes) are still coming in,” said coordinator Mary Barajas, adding that, like the festival, the recipe competition has grown in recent years. “The first one was held at the Esplanade and I think we had 22 entries.”

Judges at the event were impressed by the variety of dishes.

“You don’t see any strawberry shortcake here,” said Michael Dunn, food editor for the Sacramento Bee, while sampling a strawberry and brie quesadilla.

Judge Lance Orozco was bewildered by the Sesame Strawberry Won Ton Ravioli.

“I’m actually trying to figure out what I have here and how to eat it,” said Orozco, a producer at KEYT Television. “It doesn’t have a lot of strawberry taste to it.”

Oxnard College student Lisa Beamer, 35, of Ventura prepared another of the more unusual recipes presented Saturday: A strawberry-lobster-jalapeno appetizer stuffed in a fried corn tortilla.

“We thought it was a little weird, but it tastes great,” Beamer said. “I don’t think I would have put this combination together.”

Cooks from all walks of life sent their favorite strawberry recipes to Oxnard this year, Barajas said.

“I’ve got executive women, I’ve got men, I’ve got homemakers, I’ve got seniors,” Barajas said. “And lots of people who grow their own strawberries.”

Camarillo resident Cindy Luedes’ strawberry-chocolate scone was one of the final 18 selected. Luedes, who used to sell folk art at the festival, was surprised her creation had fared well.

“My husband’s favorite (dessert) is chocolate-covered strawberries,” Luedes said, explaining that one day she added a few to her raisin scone recipe. “It was just a fluke.”

Shelton, 29, had cooked Pache’s variation on a strawberry pie only a few times before baking the award-winning dessert sampled at Saturday’s contest.

“I was really worried,” she said. “The one I had done the night before didn’t turn out that well.”