(AANEWSWIRE)BENTON HARBOR, Mich., September 19, 2005 - After reviewing hundreds of heavenly recipes from across the country, Whirlpool selected four winners from each of the Whirlpool Brand Spirit of Cooking Contest categories.

Participants were able to submit recipes in four categories: Main Dish, Side Dish, Dessert and Health Conscious Alternative. A panel of judges, including famous restaurant owner and cookbook author, Sylvia Woods, critiqued and tasted entries and chose a winner from each category.

l Main Dish: Oxtails in a Bag - Lesia Harris, Homestead, FL - Greater New Covenant
PRIZE: $5,000 church donation from Whirlpool brand and Whirlpool Gold® kitchen suite of appliances. Lowe's will be providing wall coverings, flooring, window treatments and lighting for her church.

l Side Dish: Baked Beans - Shelia Clark, South Holland, IL - Christ Community Church
PRIZE: $5,000 church donation from Whirlpool brand and Whirlpool Gold® kitchen suite of appliances. Lowe's will be providing wall coverings for her church.

l Dessert: Melt in Your Mouth White Chocolate Almond Cheesecake - Gloria Jones, Woodbridge, VA - Yeshua Church of God in Christ
PRIZE: $5,000 church donation from Whirlpool brand and Whirlpool Gold® kitchen suite of appliances. Lowe's will be providing lighting for her church.

l Health Conscious Alternative: Mutha's Favorite Chicken Salad - Margrett Caldwell, Pontiac, MI - Welcome Missionary Baptist Church
PRIZE: $5,000 church donation from Whirlpool brand, Whirlpool Gold® kitchen suite of appliances and a Whirlpool® refrigerator.

"The uniqueness and originality of these recipes is what won me over," said the Queen of Soulfood, Sylvia Woods. "I can see how these dishes would bring congregations to their knees." Entries were judged on taste and quality, ease of replication/duplication, uniqueness of ingredients and preparation and cooking time.

Whirlpool brand developed the contest earlier this year to celebrate the value and pride surrounding traditional Sunday meals in African-American churches. The Whirlpool Brand Spirit of Cooking Contest provided an outlet for creative cooks to share their best recipes, while vying for the chance to significantly support their church.

"As an African-American woman, I was excited to receive such an enthusiastic response to this contest. "During the judging of this competition I was reminded of the church potlucks I attended as a child," said Audrey Reed-Granger, Whirlpool director of consumer insight. "The kitchen and church are such a focal point for so many American families that this seemed like a natural fit for Whirlpool appliances."

"We were excited to partner with Whirlpool on this program because it was a great way for us to connect with customers who are so closely tied to their community," said Robert Gfeller, Lowe's senior vice president of marketing and advertising. "Like these winners, Lowe's remains committed to the local neighborhoods we serve."

In addition to the donation and makeover, the winner's recipes will be featured on www.whirlpool.com/spirit. Whirlpool also will be creating a cookbook with the top recipes and distributing it to the winners.

About Whirlpool Corporation
Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of over $13 billion, 68,000 employees, and nearly 50 manufacturing and technology research centers around the globe. The company markets Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Brastemp, Bauknecht, Consul and other major brand names to consumers in more than 170 countries.