Rotary Club jumps in: Cook-Off set during Bear Fest

By CASEY COLLIER
Franklin Rotary Club will host its First Annual Gumbo and Jambalaya Black Pot Cook-Off April 21.
The cook-off will take place from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., behind the Blevins Building, at the corner of Willow Street and Teche Drive. It is being billed as a fun filled, family friendly outdoor event held in conjunction with the Bayou Teche Black Bear Festival and the Bayou Teche Wooden Boat Show.
The day is set to feature an outdoor cooking contest in gumbo and jambalaya, along with classic carnival games, fun-jumps, arts and crafts, vendors, and live music.
Rotary Club says the mission of the event is to share southern hospitality and expand the reach of Rotary, making its purpose known throughout the community.
The funds raised are set to go toward Rotary’s annual scholarship program, through which, three seniors from local high schools will receive scholarship awards, to defray the cost of college.
Rotary President Iris Sharpe said the cook-off came about as an opportunity for Rotary to pick up where Hanson Memorial High School left off.
“Hanson usually handled the cook-off,” Sharpe said, “and they weren’t doing it this year. So, we jumped on it.”
She said that Rotary sees the cook-off as a good opportunity to work on a public profile, as well as to educate others as to the club’s function and benefit.
“This is our inaugural,” she said, “but hopefully we can do it each year, along with the festival.”
Sponsors are invited to participate, and can do so in several levelled increments, up to $300.
The cook-off competition is comprised of four food categories seafood gumbo, chicken and sausage gumbo, seafood jambalaya, chicken and sausage jambalaya.
The Cook-Off rules define “gumbo” as a Cajun soup containing roux. It may contain a variety of meats and/or seafood, vegetables and seasonings, and is served over rice.
The rules also require that the competition gumbo be made from scratch as an original recipe, and it will be judged categorically as seafood, or non-seafood.
As for jambalaya, the Cook-Off defines “jambalaya” as a highly seasoned mixture of pork, poultry, seafood or vegetables with rice.
The rules here require that the competition jambalaya be made from scratch as an original recipe, as well.
So far, Rotary expects around 12 teams to compete, but has their fingers crossed for an excess of 12.
Judging will commence on event day, around 11:30 a.m., and teams are to be comprised of three to five members.
Each team is encouraged to bring a 10 by 10-foot tent to the event, and the best decorated tents will receive prizes. The tent theme is: Black Bear.
For copies of official rules, entry forms and sponsor forms, contact Iris Sharpe by email at iris@stmarychamber.com or by phone at 337-578-9078.