This year’s finalists have been chosen for the Great Dandelion Cookoff. The cookoff is part of the Dandelion May Fest, which will be held May 6 and 7 at Breitenbach Wine Cellars, located just west of Dover on SR 39. Finalists have submitted recipes from appetizers to soups and pasta dishes to desserts using dandelions. One recipe uses dandelion wine in the marinade while another recipe uses a variety of cheeses. Many of the recipes chosen this year have an Italian influence. There is a dessert recipe using dandelion blossom syrup. The program will be held in the barn, beginning at 10:30 a.m., on Saturday, May 7, with Jennifer Kohler from Café Breitenbach making Dandelion Hush Puppies. Ruth Ham, from Schoenbrunn Landscaping, will speak at 11:30. Cheryl Cohen, a culinary specialist for the Taste of Home Cooking School, will be cooking at 12:30 p.m. Judging for the cookoff begins at 2 p.m.

The distinguished panel of dandelion judges includes Doug Oster, writer for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Beverly Keller, editor of The Budget, Cheryl Cohen from the Taste of Home Cooking School, Margie Wuebker, food writer for Country Living magazine, Jennifer Kneuss, writer from The Bargain Hunter, and Adam Wilson, director of the Viking Cooking School in Beachwood. The winners will be announced at 3 p.m. Spectators will be permitted to sample all of the dishes after the judging.

Here are this year’s finalists:

Nancy Radke, Gahanna; Sherry Schie, Dover; Phyllis O’Beollain, Dayton; Gail Harshbarger, Akron; Peggy Roll, Cincinnati; Barb Wheeler, Royal Oak, Mich.; Pete Dressen, Aurora; Heather Dumermuth, Concord; Martha Torok, Columbus; Sally Sibthorpe, Shelby Township, Mich.; Heather Scott, Dover.