SC Pimento Cheese Festival- Pimento Cheese Competition

Does your pimento cheese have what it takes to win "South Carolina's Best Pimento Cheese" title?

Registration

$25 per entry

• This fee includes entry into the competition and parking pass into the SC Pimento Cheese Festival on March 14, 2026

Prizes:

1st Place $100
2nd Place $50
3rd Place $25

Judges will award 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prize money and ribbons to winning participants based on total points received out of 110 Points. Pimento cheese samples will be judged on:

Taste (50)

Creativity (25)

Appearance & Texture (10)

Use of ingredients (25)

Winners will be announced at the SC Pimento Cheese Festival on March 14, 2026 at 3pm

About

*Please bring your pimento cheese sample in a labeled disposable container to Saluda Shoals, 6071 St Andrews Road, Columbia, SC 29212 on Tuesday, March 10th from 5pm-6:30pm.

After registering online, you will receive an email with a form that will need to be filled out and brought with the sample on Tuesday, March 10th.

Contest Rules 

Contestants will bring their best homemade pimento cheese to be presented to a panel of judges for evaluation 

Entries will be judged on taste, appearance, and texture 

All skill levels of home cooks can enter the Pimento Cheese Contest. Professionals in the culinary field are not eligible for participation in the Pimento Cheese Contest.  A Culinary Professional is an individual who is a chef or cooks professional as a source of income, an individual who has edited, produced, printed, and/or published a cookbook for professional gain, or an individual who owns a food company that distributed pre-packaged food items on a personal website, global marketing platform, social media site, or in a physical store. If you’re a culinary professional, you can enter the Pimento Cheese contest for the day of the SC Pimento Cheese Festival (March 14, 2026). You will need to email RMeventsSC@gmail.com if you are interested in entering the professional competition. 

Contestants are required to clearly write or type on the form below and bring with their pimento cheese sample. 

4oz to 8oz sample should be chilled and brought in a disposable container and be assembled with toppings (if needed) when delivered. Can be paired with dipper of choice.  

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