Dunkin' Donuts names consumer-created donut winner
June 7, 2009
CANTON, Mass. — Dunkin' Donuts has announced the winning donut in the company's first-ever "Create Dunkin's Next Donut" contest. The grand prize winning donut is "Toffee for Your Coffee," a glazed, sour cream cake donut topped with chopped Heath Bar created by donut devotee Jeff Hager of Hoover, Ala. Hager wins $12,000 and his winning donut will be sold in Dunkin' Donuts locations throughout the country beginning this fall.
Hager's inspiration for his donut creation was simple: "Glazed sour cream donuts are my absolute favorite, Heath toffee is by far the best candy treat, and Dunkin' Donuts sells the best coffee. Put that all together and you've got 'Toffee For Your Coffee," he said.
Hager was selected as one of 12 contest finalists from nearly 130,000 donut contest creations submitted online. As a finalist, he received $1,200 and traveled to Dunkin' Donuts' headquarters in Canton, Mass., last week for a bake-off before Dunkin' Donuts' culinary team and company leaders.
Judges included Paul Mullins, author of Glazed America: A History of the Doughnut, and Diane Werner, food director for Taste of Home, the No. 1 cooking magazine in the country. The winning donut was selected based on the vote of the bake-off judging panel, as well as America's online vote at www.dunkindonuts.com/donut.