Football season is just around the corner, and it is time to get your tailgating game on point. See how your tailgating skills compare to the competition by participating in the 2nd-annual Coastal …
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Football season is just around the corner, and it is time to get your tailgating game on point.
See how your tailgating skills compare to the competition by participating in the 2nd-annual Coastal Tailgating Cook-Off Challenge on Aug. 24.
The Coastal Alabama Business Chamber launched this new fundraising competition last year, and it was such a success it is back. Last year's competition saw 15 teams compete not only for bragging rights but a golden ticket to compete in the World Food Championship (WFC). The 2023 Coastal Tailgating Cook-Off Challenge winner, Maegan Bratton, owner of Cowbell Rolled Ice Cream, received a golden ticket to the WFC in the seafood category and did well. This year's WFC golden ticket is in the bacon category.
The competition is made up of teams of up to four cooks ranging from professional chefs to backyard grilling gourmets. This year, it is recommended that each team highlight the star ingredient, bacon, in their dish. Teams will plate a presentation dish and five sample plates or bowls for the judges.
Competitors cannot do any prep for the competition dish before their cooking start time on the day of the competition.
Another aspect of the competition is the People's Choice Award. This competition will have hundreds of hungry spectators. Teams are not required to serve their competition dish to attendees but must offer 150 samples of any dish. The people will vote, and the People's Choice will be crowned.
Just like in real tailgating, the only thing provided to teams is a 10-foot-by-15-foot space to setup and team banners. Each team is responsible for providing their cooking equipment, ingredients, tables and more.
The Coastal Tailgate Cook-Off Challenge was born of the brain of Penny Hughey, Coastal Alabama Business Chamber vice president of education and programs. The foodie, avid cook and personal chef was trying to think of new and creative ways to raise money for the educational programs she leads.
"People down here love to cook, and they love to eat," Hughey said. "We also have a lot of our local Chamber members that are affiliated with the World Food Championship. We were able to make the connection with them and then got on board as a qualifying event. We landed on the fact that we wanted to do it as a kickoff to football season, and that's how it all came together."
Last year's event, while a great success for the first year, happened to fall on one of the hottest days in recent memory. With this summer already off to a scorching start, organizers are taking precautions.
"This year, in order to prevent that and take measures against the heat, we have some shade tents that we're going to have set up as well as fans and misting stations," Hughey said. "We will even have a cooling trailer and some other things on-site to be able to help people battle the heat this year in the event that we end up with another scorching hot day."
The Coastal Tailgate Cook-Off Challenge is open to every type of competitor and is one of the points Hughey stressed.
"Anyone can compete," Hughey emphasized. "Have fun, cook some food and help raise money for our (Coastal Alabama Business Chamber) education programs. We definitely would love to have some more amateurs come and compete because you never know what might happen."
Danny Calametti is the World Food Championship side of the competition. His local company, Alabama Coasting, is a certified WFC partner and manages the judging for local WFC competitions.
With his experience in judging, training judges and working with the WFC, we couldn't resist asking if Calametti had any tips for those competing in this year's Coastal Tailgating Cook-Off Challenge.
"We find that some folks get too chef-y. They try to make it too fancy, and they lose focus," Calametti said. "This is a bacon category so don't forget it's about the bacon. You can cook whatever you want to cook, but our judges are going to be saying, 'How is this a bacon dish?'"
Calametti also stressed that practice is important and competitors should focus on simple things like construction. When competitors finish their dishes and deliver them to the judging area, they will sit. A simple detail of moving lettuce on your bacon cheeseburger to the bottom of the burger will protect the bun from getting soggy. It's the little things.
The judging for the competition is easy to remember, due to the acronym E.A.T. Calametti stressed the three areas the judges will focus on: execution, appearance and taste.
Winning the title of 2024 Coastal Tailgating Cook-Off Challenge Champion, the trophy and prize package are big, but winning the golden ticket to WFC is bigger. This year's competition will be in Indianapolis, Indiana, Nov. 7-12, and has a prize purse worth $300,000. The winner of the WFC Bacon World Championship will win $10,000 and go on to compete against the winners of each category.
If you aren't into competitive cooking but love to eat, this is an event for you. Admission is $20 per person, and tickets are on sale now. Each admission ticket includes 10 tasting tickets, but more can be purchased on-site the day of the event, $10 for five additional tickets. Children aged 5 and under are admitted free.
All proceeds go to support the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber's educational programs, including Coastal Alabama Kid Entrepreneurs Day, the Epic Program and Junior Leadership Program. Fundraising events like the Coastal Tailgate Cook-Off Challenge make it possible for the CABC to offer these programs to students in the community at no charge.
To learn more or to register for the 2nd-annual Coastal Tailgate Cook-Off Challenge, visit www.mygulfcoastchamber.com.