3 tablespoons bacon drippings or butter

1 pound ground bear meat

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups water

2 beef bouillon cubes

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 medium Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced

3-4 tablespoons blackberry brandy

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blackberries

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup milk

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot, heat the drippings or butter and fry the meat and onion until browned. Spoon out the fat, then add water and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil and simmer until the liquid is reduced by a third.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, boil the sweet potatoes in lightly salted water until tender. Drain.

Add the sweet potatoes, apples and brandy to the meat. Simmer until the apples are tender. Add the blackberries and cook for about 2 minutes if the berries are fresh or for 5 to 10 minutes if they are frozen.

Combine the flour and milk. Add this to the pot, stirring gently so the berries don't fall apart. Allow to thicken, then season to taste.

Pour the mixture into a prepared pastry shell. Gently make steam vents in the top of the pastry and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

By day's end, the distinguished panel of judges pronounced themselves pleased with just about everything.

"A culinary experience," said Michael Williams, president of the Pocahontas County Arts Council. Charles Richardson, who owns a hardware and appliance store in Marlinton, added, between bites: "Excellent. If I was hungry I could eat all day."

But this wasn't all serious culinary inquiry. The cook-off had a festive atmosphere to it, as the rabbit dish prepared by Chris Canfield, the director of public relations for the Snowshoe Mountain resort, amply demonstrates: