**UPDATE** HERE’S THE RECIPES TO RICHES GRAND PRIZE WINNER

[twitter] The Food Network Canada show, Recipes to Riches, is a brilliant twist on your classic battle of the chefs. Where Top Chef or Master Chef or Hell’s Kitchen take people who can cook and award them a restaurant, Recipes to Riches takes a person’s signature dish and puts it on grocery shelves across the country.

Like American Idol is all about creating a hit record, Recipes to Riches is all about creating a hit product. It’s brilliant. Thousands of people across the country, from sweet little old ladies to backyard barbecuers, entered the contest to have their product made by President’s Choice. Each category winner was awarded $25 000, while the grand prize winner from the 7 finalists will win $250 000.

Here are the category winners and my thoughts on each:

Week 1: Luscious Lemon Pudding
Glo McNeill won the first product category, Sweet Puddings and Pies, with her scrumptious Luscious Lemon Pudding Cakes. This dessert is very sweet. The lemon custard-y pudding has the perfect tart / sweet balance and the biscuit topping is soft.

Week 2: Multi-Layered Peach Cake
Jacqui Keseluk won the second product category, Cakes, with her delightful Rock N Peach Bliss Cheesecake. This cake was turned into a cheesecake for the marketplace and tastes similar to other PC cheese cakes but with a peach topping.

Week 3: Grilled Chicken Skewers
John Grass’ savoury Chicken Grenades won the Appetizers category. Wow. If you like heat, you’ll dig these. They’re simple chicken chunks wrapped in bacon and then dipped in fire (at least it tastes like it).

Week 4: Bannock Hazelnut Pie
Melaney Gleeson-Lyall’s Bannock topped Pie won the Savoury Pies category. If you’re into vegetarian dishes, you’ll like the big chunky vegetables in this pie with a nutty crust.

Week 5: Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sonya Walos’ Smart Cookies won the Sweet and Savoury Snacks category. Sonya has a family member involved in the show, so her dessert has been removed from the grand prize competition and so it wasn’t tasted.

Week 6: Creamy Kulfi
Rosy Soobrattee’s smooth Kulfi Karma won the Frozen Treats Category. I loved the cardamom and pistachio flavours in this ice cream.. If you’re a fan of chai lattes and Indian sweets, this dessert wins.

Week 7: Pulled Pork
Robert Luft’s savoury Pulled Pork won the Entrees Category. Bobby’s Slow and Low barbecue brings hours of backyard slaving to your table in minutes. Inside the box is merely meat in a bag, but o.m.g. is it the smokey goodness that even a seasoned southerner would appreciate.

My Grand Prize Winner:
While I love the “meat in a bag” from Robert Luft, I picked Rosy’s Kulfi Karma ice cream. It is just so rich in flavour and priced perfectly at just $3.99.

If you want to try it at home instead of buying the finished product there’s a full Recipes to Riches recipe page where you can test the winners, and the finalists in each category.

You can vote for your pick online and the Recipes to Riches Grand Prize Winner will be announced on December 14.