http://blogs.jta.org/ENTRY_PERMALINK_HERE/manischewitz-seeks-the-next-kosher-food-star/ Step aside, Top Chef!  Bravo no longer has a monopoly on celebrity-studded gastro-competitions. Manischewitz, the kosher food giant of gefilte fish fame, is hedging into pop culture territory with the launch of their 4th Annual Man-O-Manischewitz Cook-Off. The challenge invites home cooks to prepare a kosher meal using, of course, Manischewitz all-natural Broth.  The competition invites would-be kitchen stars from across the country to complete an original, kosher recipe in less than an hour. Acclaimed television chef Jacques Pépin will serve as celebrity guest judge.  According to an article on Forward.com, Pépin’s involvement was a no-brainer for Manischewitz. “We really were looking to align with a well-known chef who cooked with broth, and who we felt represented diversity in recipes,” Manischewitz spokeswoman Stacey Bender told The Forward. “Jacques uses broth in his recipes, and he enjoyed using the Manischewitz broth, so we invited him to be a part of our contest where he will judge and demo some of his recipes.” Alrighty then.  Seems that ‘broth’ is the tie that binds.  I can dig it. Last year’s cook-off drew over 10,000 submissions (that’s a lot of matzoh balls!), with the top honor going to Amy Siegel for her “Marvelous Mediterranean Falafel Sliders.”  This year’s winner will receive a free trip to New York, $25,000-worth of new kitchen appliances, a $5,000 check and a gift card for groceries. Yowsas.  Where do I sign up?  I have a feeling my ‘Luscious Latkes with Nutmeg and Naches’ might just take the kosher for Passover cake. en-us rtepper@jta.org Copyright 2009 2009-11-09T;22:10:01-05:00