The Food Charlatan Cooking Challenges!
Cook, share & Win
Cooking together is way more fun! Join the challenge and master your favorite recipes with a community of “charlatan” cooks. Win fun prizes along the way! I’ve dreamed about doing challenges on The Food Charlatan for YEARS. Let’s gooooo
I can’t wait for you to join me in the kitchen!
Join the Challenge
Sign up for my emails and you’ll get the details when our next challenge is happening!
Previous Challenges
SIGN UP BELOW TO JOIN FUTURE CHALLENGES!
Summer Cookout Challenge
July 2025
Actually getting dinner on the table, night after night after night?? It never stops. BUT it doesn’t have to be impossible! All you need are a few fast, easy, crowd-pleasing meals in your recipe binder. I gotchu.
“So it’s official, you’re Royalty! 👑 My sons have dubbed you the Queen of Internet Recipes. All three of us religiously use your recipes. Me? Not a day goes by without making something from your blog. And, you know what? I’ve never had a fail.”
Marilyn
The Challenge Recipes
Beef Recipes
Homemade Smash Burgers (Cast Iron Burgers)
Side Dish Recipes (& Veggies)
Easy Broccoli Bacon Salad Recipe
Pies, Pastries & Tarts
Homemade Peach Cobbler
Get Dinner Done Challenge
April 2025
Actually getting dinner on the table, night after night after night?? It never stops. BUT it doesn’t have to be impossible! All you need are a few fast, easy, crowd-pleasing meals in your recipe binder. I gotchu.
“I have to say I thoroughly enjoy your stories and recipes and my family reaps the benefits and have no complaints!! My daughter and husband live 2 and 1/2 hrs away and had their first baby in January, when we go spend time with them I pack my cooler and grab my recipes and treat them with providing all the meals while we are there! They have enjoyed all the challenge recipes!!“
Connie
The Challenge Recipes
Mexican/Tex Mex Recipes
Best Chicken Tacos Recipe (Stovetop or Crockpot)
Healthy Dinner
Laura’s Fresh Veggie Sandwich
Quick and Easy Dinners
30 Minute Korean Beef Recipe
The Details
Make the Recipes
Make the 3 easy summer recipes (Smash Burgers, Broccoli Bacon Salad, and Peach Cobbler) in the month of July.
Take Pictures
Take pictures of your awesome food and share a photo on Instagram, on Facebook, (tagging @thefoodcharlatan) OR send me an email at challenge@thefoodcharlatan.com.
Win!
On August 1st I’ll randomly select from those who entered the challenge and shared a photo of at least one of my summer recipes to win a $200 Visa gift card!
Additional Details
- You’ll get one entry for each recipe you share photos of via email or social media, up to a total of 3 entries (one per recipe). Email, or social: it’s your choice!
- For BONUS entries, leave a star rating and review for Easy Broccoli Salad, Homemade Smash Burgers, or The Best Peach Cobbler! 3 additional chances to win 🤩
- Along the way, I’ll drop into your inbox with grocery lists, soccer-mom-level-cheering, and tips for how to make these easy recipes even easier.
- Give back: For every person who joins the challenge, I’m donating $1 to Feeding America. They rescue surplus food, and help get it to hungry people using a nationwide network of food banks. I’m super excited we get to support this awesome organization together!
Challenge FAQs
Snap a picture of your meal and share a photo of each recipe you make on Instagram or Facebook, tagging @thefoodcharlatan so we can see it. OR send me an email with your photo at challenge@thefoodcharlatan.com.
I would love to see photos as you take them! So if you make Smashburgers the first week, snap a photo and post it and tag me. Then the next week snap a photo of your Broccoli Salad and email it, or post it. You choose! Photos must be shared before midnight EST on July 31, 2025.
Anyone! NO robots or lizard people allowed. 😂 If you’re under 18, get permission from your parents :) You don’t have to live in the US. You don’t have to be an amazing cook or photographer (ugly photos were like, my whoooole thing back in the day).
A $200 Visa gift card! Think of the possibilities. You could buy a chicken lamp with a glowing egg protruding from its behind, or an inflatable lobster costume (this is the one I wore for Halloween last year, see photos here). Or 3000 ladybugs (no, those aren’t extra zeros). Or just a year’s supply of butter. I mean, or a month’s supply…I guess that depends on your butter needs!
Randomly. Look, I was a real fake in the kitchen when I started this blog (honestly, still am!) and this prize is for trying something new, not for impressing me with your culinary skills. The real prize is the recipes we learned to make along the way! (too cheesy?? sorrynotsorry). I told my dad about the challenge yesterday and he thought it was a contest. He was like, how will you know whose is the best?? I was like, oh, NOPE, everyone gets a participation trophy!! (don’t FedEx me your burgers so I can taste them plz.)
If you are not into this challenge, check back later to see what our October Challenge is! We run challenges at The Food Charlatan in January, April, July, and October.
It’s totally okay to make substitutions! If you want to try making the Smashburgers with venison meat, or change the dried cranberries for raisins in the Broccoli Salad, that’s cool. The challenge police will never find you.
