The ninth annual timesunion.com/Table Hopping Mac-n-Cheese Bowl will be held Saturday (3/24) at Marcelle Athletic Complex at Siena College in Loudonville. In its first eight years the event raised more than $300,000 for the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York. That is the equivalent of nearly 1.2 million meals provided by the food bank, according to its longtime executive director, Mark Quandt.

Attendees will have the chance to sample variations on macaroni and cheese from 30 from area restaurants, including frequent award winners Valente's in Watervliet, Slidin' Dirty in Troy and Schenectady and Wolff's Biergarten, with locations in Albany, Schenectady and Troy.

A new component this year is a children's category for the home-cooks competition. The kids and the dishes they will be making:

  • Madelyn Bevins, 9 Colonie; Double Bacon and Potato Chip Mac-n-Cheese.
  • Penny Converse, 9, Albany; 3-Cheese Mac-n-Cheese.
  • Braeden Mateja, 12, Colonie; Lobster Mac-n-Cheese.
  • Olivia Roberts, 8, Colonie; 4-Cheese Sriracusa Bacon Mac-n-Cheese.
  • Henry Rulison, 11, Delmar; Henry's Bacon Cheeseburger Mac.

The adult home cooks:

  • Caitlin Abram, Cohoes; Breakfast Mac-n-Cheese.
  • Craig Couture, Stillwater; Jalapeno Popper Mac-n-Cheese.
  • Allegra Edelman, Colonie; Creamy Mac-n-Cheese.
  • Alan Edstrom, Saratoga Springs; The Great Edstrombolli Mac-n-Cheese.
  • Kristin Lee, Menands; Mrs. Lee's Mac-n-Cheese.
  • Meagan Mann, Watervliet; Macaroni and Wine and Cheese.
  • Tresa Matulewicz, Altamont; Tomato Mac-n-Cheese.
  • Don Miller, Ballston Spa; Coast-to-Coast Mac-n-Cheese.
  • Stephen Piorkowski, Delmar, defending champion; Italian Mac-n-Cheese.

Home cooks will receive two passes to the Mac-n-Cheese Bowl; the ultimate winners get a cash prize or gift card, a trophy and will have his or her recipes printed in the Times Union and on Table Hopping next week.

Get more details about the Mac-n-Cheese Bowl in Table Hopping, and continue viewing the slideshow to see photos from last year's event.