Thursday, January 27, 2011

Swanson Chicken Ultimate Football Challenge {and Giveaway #2 at the bottom!}

 GIVEAWAY CLOSED!!  The winner is momof2girls who said:

momof2girls said... I love eating with my family at Rainforest Cafe in Las Vegas. The kids are entertained by the decor and the food is great.

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What a whirlwind of fun!!

As I mentioned, I was chosen as one of 3 finalists chosen for Swanson's Chicken Ultimate Football Challenge.  I went to Philidelphia, PA and Camden, NJ to participate in a cook-off, trying to win the title.  I'm so glad that Laura of Real Mom Kitchen was one of the other finalists, and I had a travel buddy since we both are in Utah!

The trip started off a little rough.  We were supposed to fly out at 7:10am, but our flight was delayed.  We were a little worried because we had a connecting flight in Chicago, and if we missed that connection, we wouldn't make it to Philadelphia in time for dinner.  But luckily, our second flight was delayed, and we were able to run from plane to plane, just in time.  (But then as we got on the runway, the flight got delayed for another 45min-1hr...) 

Laura and I were the last ones there, but we made it to dinner at Tinto.  I think I was more excited about this dinner than I was for the cook-off.  Tinto is one of Jorge Garces' (the Iron Chef!!) restaurants in the Philadelphia area.  And it was very cool, because it was restaurant week, so we got to sample many of the dishes there!  We were greeted by many employees of Campbell's and their other brands - and they were all wonderful company for the night!


I loved everything I ate. In fact, everyone raved about almost all of the food.  The sea bass had mixed reviews, but no one complained about anything else!  My first course was La Peral Cheese (semi-firm, bleu, pasteurized, cow & sheep's milk), and Chorizo Pamplona (smoky pork sausage, hint of garlic).  For my second course, I had Beef Brochette (hanger steak, cider, guindilla aioli, crushed peanuts) and Duck Montadito (duck confit, serrano ham, black cherry, la peral spread).  And for dessert, I went with the Bananas y Azafran (chocolate cake, caramelized bananas, saffron crema).  That cake - which was more like fudge - was so rich.  I don't think any of us finished our piece!  I was trying to think of what my favorite dish was, but it was all so amazing.  Easily one of the best meals I've had.


Early the next morning, we headed to the Campbell's headquarters in Camden NJ.  We were taken to the Campbell's Kitchen for a light breakfast and a few introductions before the competition began.  I was so surprised and delighted to learn that their test kitchens are set up just like any home kitchen would be.  In each kitchen, they had different appliances and cookware - the stuff most of us cook with at home.  They really do aim to make sure their recipes can be duplicated in the home kitchen!


We had a few minutes to familarize ourselves with the kitchen we were assigned and to go over our recipes.

And here was my competition:

Laura from Real Mom Kitchen

and Cathy from Hazzard in the Kitchen (wearing her game face!)

Let the competition begin!!

There was a photographer there as well as a videographer.  I didn't take many pictures during the actual competition, so these are shamelessly stolen from the Campbell's Kitchen twitter page!!

We all finished in the hour and a half time limit.




It's kind of funny, because I wasn't nervous with the camera man and the video man in my face the whole time, but when we went before the judges, I all of a sudden got nervous!

And the winner is.....Laura with her Quick Chicken Enchilada Nachos!!

Win or lose, I just had a lot of fun.  I was glad to get to spend some time with these other wonderful bloggers, as well as with so much of the Campbell's staff.  They were wonderful and welcoming and just all around nice people.  I wish my trip wouldn't have been so short, but it was packed full of fun!

 
And although I didn't get to see much of Philly, I did manage to snap a few pictures from the window of our car.  It's definitely a place I want to come back to visit and explore one day.  Our driver said that it is a city full of stories, and that's my favorite kind of place!!


And finally - onto the giveaway!!


This giveaway includes:
*1 Pepperidge Farm Cheese cutting board & kit (there are also cheese knives underneath the board)
*1 Campbell's cookbook - Potluck for All Occasions
*1 Pace Family Recipe Round-Up Cookbook
 *1 box of Godiva truffles

And here's how you can enter!

Mandatory:  Comment below about your favorite dining experience.

Extra entries:
*Follow Taste and Tell on Facebook and share this giveaway with your Facebook friends.
*Follow Taste and Tell on Twitter and retweet this:

Come and enter to win goodies from the Campbell's store & @tasteandtell! http://bit.ly/hFHijK

*Follow Campbell's Kitchen on Facebook or Twitter
*Follow Taste and Tell via RSS feed.

Note:  for any of the extra entries, make sure you leave a separate comment for each.

Details: 
*This giveaway will go from today until midnight MST on Tuesday, February 1st.  The winner will be announced on February 2nd.
*Please make sure you leave a way I can contact you - either via blog or email.  If you don't, I will automatically choose a new winner.
*This giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere!!


*Disclosure:  I was sent on a shopping spree at the Campbell's store, courtesy of Campbell's Kitchen.  I'm just sharing the love with all of you!!  My trip to Philadelphia and Camden was also paid for by Campbells.

97 comments:

  1. Your taquitos sound delicious! A Potluck cookbook would be a great addition to my selection as my husband and I love to get together with friends for meals.

    ~Stephanie

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  2. It was so fun. I am glad i got to do it with you.

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  3. My favorite dining experience was at Margaritaville in Myrtle Beach.! The whole atmosphere was very "beachy" and fun. (: I will never forget that place!

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  4. I follow taste and tell on facebook :)

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  5. I follow campbell's kitchen on facebook!

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  6. My favorite recent dining experience was at Papa Gallo's Mexican restaurant in Syracuse, NY!

    F. Plvan
    fsplvan@syr.edu

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  7. Outdoor dining in the streets while in italy

    Thanks

    zekks at yahoo dot com

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  8. I don't get much gourmet dining but I enjoy any meal with my honey - esp if he cooks!

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  9. I follow you on facebook and I shared.

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  10. I follow you on twitter and I tweeted your giveaway.

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  11. I like Campbells kitchen on facebook

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  12. Yum!! Taquitos look delicious and we have a SB party every year....after church of course :) I'll have to try them. I don't fine dine much but I love a big baked potato and salad with some warm sour dough bread.....at a local restaurant with my hubby.

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  13. I follow taste and tell on facebook

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  14. I follow Campbells on facebook at your suggestion :)

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  15. Anything seafood makes me happy...really most foods make me happy...I just love to eat!

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  16. My favorite dining experince was several years ago while on vacation in San Diego in the winter. We live in the midwest and it was a treat to eat outside in the winter. Plus they had the best, freshest salsa I have ever tasted.

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  17. My favorite dining experience was at Jacks Firehouse in Philadelphia. My husband (then boyfriend) drove me to Phili so we could eat there for Valentines day. The food was amazing and the experience was so fun. Best crab cakes ever.

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  18. I follow Taste and Tell by rss feed.

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  19. My favorite dining experience was at 82 Queen in Charleston, SC on the night before my wedding. Superb...and we've gone a couple of times since then, and it was just as amazing.

    caroline@chocolateandcarrots.com

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  20. I hate that I can no longer remember the name of the place but my favorite dining experience was in San Francisco on a trip I took by myself. I went to this fancy little restaurant and had one of the best meals of my life and had just about every waiter in the place come and talk to me since I was alone to give me pointers on where to go in town while I was there. All in all it was just a great night.

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  21. I follow Taste & Tell by RSS feed!

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  22. My favorite dining experience would be when we ate at in Indian restaurant in Vancouver last year. Best Indian food I've had, and the host was this big guy wearing earrings and necklaces. So fun and delicious food.

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  23. My favorite dining experiences generally include those in which I am not cooking. Since I am the cook, I would have to say that my favorite dining experience was eating at this Costa Rican hole-in-the-wall yesterday. The flavors were new and intricate, and even though I would never crave those flavors I can certainly appreciate them!

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  24. My favorite dining experience was in a great little Steakhouse up in Park City, UT when I went on a trip there with my Mom. I cant remember the name of it but the steak I had there was thee BEST steak of my life!! : )

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  25. Those taquitos sound delicious, especially the dip! I have so many "favorite" dining experiences, but my most memorable was a picnic my husband and I had in the bed of our pickup truck. We had stopped to get sandwiches with the intent of going back home but then we decided it would be more fun to go to the park, watch the people and animals out and about, and eat there. It was such a great experience!

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  26. I follow you.

    My favorite dinner was at 333 Pacific in Oceanside.
    The list of food:
    Seafood Tower
    Roasted Beet Salad
    Trio of Filets with toppings
    Chocolate Cheesecake
    Flights of Vodka
    + 1 great husband

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  27. I get to travel for my work and I love trying the local favorites.

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  28. I follow T&T in my Reader

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  29. I follow Campbell's on Twitter

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  30. Wow, I just had to enter in the competition when you said it's open to everyone, everywhere! Usually US bloggers only let people in US participate in their giveaway competitions. Which I understand, but still I see a lot of giveaways I'd like to be given a chance to win.

    So on to the topic... My favorite dining experience. That is a really hard one... There's been a lot of them... Maybe I'll have to name my visit to "Jamie's Italian" restaurant in London's Canary Wharf a year ago in November. It was something I had looked forward for a while and the dinner was very very tasty. The price range was also affordable for my and my husband at the time when only one of us was working, I was still a college student. I liked the atmosphere and the decoration of the hotel.

    That was one of my top favorites, but there are many others too!

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  31. My favorite dining experience was when my husband hired a personal chef to cook for us for Valentine's Day!

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  32. There used to be this wonderful French restaurant I loved. Everything was amazing, from the ambinace, the food, the service. I always had the best time, whether it was Sunday brunch with friends or a romantic Valentine's Day dinner with my (now) husband or a family get together. I was so sad when new owners bought it and promptly ran it into the ground (elegant, charming French restaurant with live djs spinning Techno on a Tuesday night? Really??)

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  33. My favorite dining experience was just a couple of weeks ago. My partner and I treated ourselves to a fancy dinner, at a place called Kushi in DC - out of our usual zone of pizza and it was absolutely delicious - it's a Izakaya GRill and Sushi place - I don't really like sushi so stuck to things off the grill - every bite was better than the last! It was so much fun.

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  34. What an exciting adventure for you! Sounds like a fun trip.

    My favorite dining experience was at Salty's in Seattle. The food was so fresh, and I loved the view!

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  35. I think my favorite dining experience is a little place in Lake Tahoe that is right on the lake called Beacon. You get the peace of the lake at night and there are even raccoons that come up on the deck. I love it.

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  36. My favorite dining experience was a family meal I hosted at our home about a year ago. My nephew who is 4 was sitting and eating very quietly and looked like he was crying. I asked him why he was crying and what was wrong. He said "I'm not crying, I have water in my eyes because I love this food so much".
    That meal will always be my favorite.

    Love the recipe and will make them for Super Bowl...thanks for the idea.

    Debbie
    dkal85@aol.com

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  37. Im so glad you had a good time and thanks for sharing!!

    My fave meal was at a restaurant in Santa Cruz that is now closed...Theo's. The food and company was amazing.

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  38. Deb, I am so impressed with you! I just love that you got to do such a super fun thing! You famous little blogger you! love ya!

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  39. Those taquitos sound delicious and I am so jealous of your trip :) It sounds like so much fun!!

    One of my favorite dining experiences was last New Years Eve dinner.. it was just me and my man and lot of delicious sushi!

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  40. My favorite dining experience would have to be at a restaurant in Asheville, NC called Tupela's Honey Cafe. I had a delicious chicken sandwich on yummy sourdough bread!

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  41. I love just eating the street food in Taiwan.

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  42. That looks like so much fun. I would love to eat at a nationally famous-big deal restaurant. (I know, I dream big.) It is so cool that you were a finalist for a -well, nationally famous-big deal- contest! (Yea, it just seemed to fit, so...)

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  43. Killingworth Cafe in Killingworth, CT is so exceptional. I always start with the artichoke dip appetizer and then have either garlic encrusted rack of lamb or the bourbon glazed steak tips. Oh my gosh, it is so good!
    tshaw6580@yahool.com

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  44. I follow Taste and Tell on Facebook and shared this giveaway on Facebook.
    http://www.facebook.com/#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=174366835939892&id=100000813204601
    tshaw6580@yahoo.com

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  45. I follow Taste and Tell on Twitter and retweet about this giveaway
    http://twitter.com/#!/Terri6580/status/30855325372391424
    tshaw6580@yahoo.com

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  46. I follow Campbell's Kitchen on Facebook and Twitter
    tshaw6580@yahoo.com

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  47. I follow Taste and Tell via RSS feed.
    tshaw6580@yahoo.com

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  48. Lord, I would have been a nervous wreck! You did good.
    There's a little restaurant in Paris that has the most divine frisee salad. Odd thing to like, I know, but I have dreams about that salad.

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  49. I love eating with my family at Rainforest Cafe in Las Vegas. The kids are entertained by the decor and the food is great.

    katiemur@gmail.com

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  50. I am a fan onf Facebook ofTaste and Tell.
    katiemur@gmail.com

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  51. I am a fan of Campbell's on Facebook.
    katiemur@gmail.com

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  52. My favorite dining experience was eating at Mesa Grill in NYC. Even though I didn't get to see Bobby Flay ;)

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  53. I also subscribe to your RSS feed.

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  54. My favorite dining experience is any quiet dinner that I get to enjoy with my husband (usually after our 4 kids are in bed!)

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  55. A wonderful french restaurant in Lexington, KY of all places that I went to over Christmas. Best scallops I have ever had!

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  56. My fav dining experience was an anniversary/valentines day dinner(yes I got married on valentines day...corny, I know) at a fancy french restaurant. We were very young and yet they treated us like royalty. The Duck ala Orange was flamed at our table by a delightfully unpretentious waiter and we ended with flaming Cherries Jubilee for desert.
    Then we went dancing downstairs at their disco(forgive me, it was the 70's). I remember having my first Banshee made with real bananas, it was to die for.
    The luv of my life took me there and he is still the luv of mt life!

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  57. My favorite dining experience was with my husband at an Indonesian Restaurant in Georgetown while visiting Washington DC.

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  58. I now follow Taste and Tell on Facebook.

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  59. I now follow Campbell's Kitchen on Facebook.

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  60. My favorite dining experience was eating spicy Indian street food a month ago in India while attending a local food festival...Thanks for this giveaway...

    ramvinayak_81@rediffmail.com

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  61. I follow taste and tell via RSS feed...

    ramvinayak_81@rediffmail.com

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  62. What a great experience!

    I have had so many great and memorable experiences dining in restaurants around the world. But my favs have been a Scottish pub in Edinburgh, Scotland and Cafe du Monde NOLA!

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  63. My favorite dining experience is full-service with an attentive service person and the whole shebang :) *Thanks* for the giveaway!
    theluckyladybug[at]gmail[dot]com

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  64. I Like Taste and Tell on Facebook and shared the giveaway on Facebook
    theluckyladybug[at]gmail[dot]com

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  65. Following @tasteandtell on Twitter and Tweeted the giveaway
    theluckyladybug[at]gmail[dot]com

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  66. I had a great one last Saturday, but I don't know if you would call an ancient diner turned Mexican hole-in-the-wall that's painted bright pink outside, with two 2 person tables and 7 counter stools, and a menu written on a white board a "dining experience". We had Pork & Cheese Arepa's and it was absolutely some of the best food I've eaten!
    susitravl(at)gmail(dot)com

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  67. bobby flay's mesa grill. i doubt it will be topped until i find my way to one of rick bayless's restaurants. :)

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  68. My favorite dinning experience would be Joe's crab shack 1st time Galveston beach Texas just off the beach sun had just gone down eating sea food with the sound of the ocean outside!

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  69. I also follow Taste and Tell via RSS.

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  70. My favorite dining experience was at a little bed & breakfast that my parents got for me and my hubby's 1st anniversary. Loved the atmosphere and the breakfast was so yummy!

    mdlangmead at gmail dot com

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  71. Subscribed with Google RSS!

    mdlangmead at gmail dot com

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  72. Like Campbell's on Facebook!

    Like you on FB as well!!

    mdlangmead at gmail dot com

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  73. My favorite experience was dinner at Alinea with my wonderful boyfriend. 26 courses of AMAZING food.

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  74. First thing that pops into mind is having a night picnic with the kids. It was just fun eating in the dark and we all remember it.

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  75. My favorite dining experience is when my husband (then fiance) and I went to our favorite Mexican restaurants. It's where our first date was and where he proposed. Delicious Mexican food + a sparkly ring + the man I love? You can't beat that! :)

    lisaberkery at gmail dot com

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  76. I follow on Twitter & tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/BerksGirl/status/31379904704544768

    lisaberkery at gmail dot com

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  77. I follow Taste & Tell via Rss feed.

    lisaberkery at gmail dot com

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  78. I follow Campbell's on Twitter under @Berksgirl
    lisaberkery at gmail dot com

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  79. I follow Campbell's on Facebook under Lisa Berkery.
    lisaberkery at gmail dot com

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  80. I love finding new restaurants; generally my newest dining experience is my favorite. :)

    urchiken at gmail dot com

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  81. holy cow- I would have peed my pants! :)

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