ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — The attitude at the Alfa Insurance hall on Highway 59 was tense. Bragging rights were at stake. Two good home cooks were going to duke it out for the honor of representing this area in a statewide cooking contest.

No, nobody laced on gloves, and no blows were exchanged, but when the steam cleared, Jean Fontaine of Silverhill emerged as the winner and champion of this year’s cooking contest with her “New Year’s Day Black-Eyed Pea Soup” recipe. She is headed for the Alabama Heritage Cooking Contest scheduled for Sept. 4 of this year in Montgomery. A first-place finish there could earn $150. Only members of ALFA were eligible to enter the contest.

“Well my goodness,” is all an excited Fontaine could get out at first. “I got this recipe from a friend.”

Norma Waters of Robertsdale was philosophical about her second-place finish, and happy for her friend, Fontaine. She also knows that in addition to being tasty, the dish is also family-approved, so both were winners.

“My three sons love this dish,” Waters said.

The contest came down to one of taste vs. convenience, and it was tough on the judges.

“They are both good, but I like this one the best,” said judge Reagan Scroggins, indicating Fontaine’s soup.

Yes, but how easy is it to make?

“The second (recipe) has all canned beans,” said judge Bobbie Lane. “You can get those at the store and have them ready without cooking. I would cook this.”

Before the competition, Lane, president of the Baldwin County Cattlewomen, said she looks for a few things in any recipe.

“I want to know how much it costs to make it. A lot of times, the cost for the ingredients is expensive. I like to use things I already have on hand. I want to know how much time it takes to make. I also want to know how good it tastes,” said Lane.

Scroggins had very simple criteria for the winning dish. “It’s taste, all taste,” he said

Fontaine also knows how to make a good impression while being thrifty. Her elegant cream and blue soup tureen created a lot of positive comment from observers at the contest.

“I found that at a yard sale a few years ago,” said Fontaine. “I needed a soup dish and didn’t have one.”

Fontaine is going to need all her skills when she gets to the state competition, says Lane. She has been to Montgomery with her favorite dishes a few times herself.

“I placed one time at state,” said Lane. “They have some tough competition there. Dishes have to be well seasoned, attractive and interesting or different.”

While Lane is a frequent competitor at the cooking contest, she decided to sit out this year to be a local judge.

“Lots of folks have recipes out there,” Lane said.