Lindsey Nair

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Michael Inge graduated Liberty High School in 1995 and left Bedford County for Tennessee in search of a musical career.

Since then, the singer-songwriter's tunes have been recorded by major artists and featured in television shows and on movie soundtracks.

After all that, it probably wasn't his ultimate dream to hit the hometown newspaper because of a mayonnaise jingle.

But he just did.

Michael, 31, who now lives in Nashville, tied for first place in a jingle contest held by Duke's Mayonnaise. Both he and Dwayne White of Florida were named winners after six weeks of voting on the Duke's Web site resulted in a draw.

Now, each contestant has won $500 and will have his name, picture and jingle lyrics printed on jars of the Southern staple. Michael is also waiting for a year's supply of mayonnaise to arrive in a big box on his doorstep.

I had to know, just what is a year's supply of mayonnaise?

Aarti Mehta, a spokeswoman for Duke's, informed me that both contestants will receive a dozen 32-ounce jars of mayonnaise, one for every month of the coming year.

Here's the best part: Michael Inge does not even like mayonnaise that much. He'll eat it in recipes, but not on sandwiches.

"Well, they never said you have to like it," said his mom, Betty Inge, laughing. "But he has a lot of friends and family members who do like it."

Betty, who still lives in Bedford, has kept a jar of Duke's in her refrigerator since Michael and his sister, Nancy, were kids. She said that while her husband, Rucker, likes a thick slathering of mayonnaise on his sandwiches, he jokes with her that she "puts it on and then wipes it off."

It was Betty who read about the contest and called her son to tell him about it. With his musical experience, she figured he'd be perfect for the Duke's challenge.

Michael sang in school and church choirs in high school and excelled at his piano lessons, but his mother thought art would capture his fancy in college. Instead, he surprised them by announcing that he planned to study music.

In 2005, the artist Haddaway (famous for that club hit, "What is Love?") recorded Michael's song, "Catch U if I Can" on his CD "Pop Splits."

Then, "All Night" was recorded by Korean pop artist Se7en on his album 24/Se7en. Other tunes, sung by Michael, were featured on the ABC series "Lincoln Heights" and in the action film "Redline." His song "Irresistible" is scheduled to appear in the film "American Violet," which is expected to hit theaters in April.

In between the big successes, he has paid the bills doing background singing and performing jingles for companies such as Checkers fast food chain.

When he sat down to write the mayonnaise jingle, though, it was no piece of cake.

"I just thought, 'It's going to be a challenge to write about mayonnaise, of all things,' " he said.

So he started thinking about Duke's slogan, "The Secret of Great Southern Cooks." About the fact that Duke's, which has been around since Eugenia Duke invented the recipe almost 100 years ago, isn't even sold north of the Mason-Dixon line. And about all of the dishes he does like, such as potato salad or chicken salad, that wouldn't be possible without mayonnaise.

The words began to come, accompanied by piano notes and finger snaps:

"For a recipe like Grandma used to make,

For a one-of-a-kind smooth and creamy taste,

For a flavor that says it's homemade!

Duke's ma-yo-nnaise,

the secret of great Southern cooks."

"He called and sang it to me," Betty Inge said. "and I said 'Yeah! It sounds OK!"

For weeks, Inge and White were neck and neck on the Duke's Web site. Friends and family logged in faithfully every day to vote for Michael's tune.

White's jazzy tune was tough competition.

In late January, Inge learned that he and White would split the grand prize. He plans to sock away the $500 for travel or for the album he hopes to someday release.

Winning a mayonnaise jingle isn't going to rocket him to the top, but it's one more thing for his friends and family to be proud of.

"I have told friends who voted, 'You know you are getting some mayonnaise, right?' "

Calling all chili heads

I noticed last week that my tulips had already begun to peek up out of the earth in my flower bed, and that means spring must be just around the corner.

That also means the annual Virginia State Championship Chili Cookoff is just a couple of months away.

Organizers are looking now for contestants for the 30th annual event, which takes place May 2 at Railside Plaza in downtown Roanoke.

If you think you've got a winning chili recipe, contact Jenny Green, director of development at the Greenvale School, at (540) 342-4716 or jlee@greenvale-school.org.