The search is on for Iowa’s best breaded pork tenderloin. The Iowa Pork Producers Association has extended the Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin Contest nomination process this year to give consumers more time to submit their favorite. The contest opens April 20th and will continue through June 8th.

Click here to submit a nomination or on the “Tenderloin” link on the IPPA home page. The form also is available in the May issue of the Iowa Pork Producer magazine due out in early May. Nominations are limited to one per household.

Last year’s Best Pork Tenderloin in Iowa was from the Belmond Drive-In.

Any café, restaurant or tavern that serves hand-breaded or battered pork tenderloins is eligible to be nominated. An establishment must be open year-round to win, but seasonal restaurants can make the top five. The top five restaurants with the most nominations from each of the eight IPPA districts will be judged. The IPPA Restaurant and Foodservice Committee reserves the right to add additional restaurants to the judging process as it sees fit. Restaurant owners and operators are prohibited from nominating their own establishment.

One person who nominates the winning restaurant will be entered in a drawing to win $100. The winning restaurant will receive $500, a plaque to display in the establishment and statewide publicity.

The 2015 contest produced 1,161 nominations and nearly 40 tenderloin sandwiches were judged on the quality of the pork, taste, physical characteristics and eating experience. The Belmond Drive-in was judged last year’s winner. Iowa pork industry representatives will judge the tenderloins and IPPA will announce the winner during October Pork Month.