Cooks will fire up the grills for Bayou BBQ Bash

The Bayou BBQ Bash returns this week, with 41 cooks set to compete in a Barbecue Competitors Alliance-sanctioned event offering at least $4,450 in prizes.
At a preview event at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Holiday Inn Express, people can meet some of the cooks, sample the barbecue and see the unveiling of the 2025 Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival poster.
The event moves under the U.S. 90 bridge in Morgan City on Friday, starting with a cooks meeting at 5:30 p.m.
The Mata Tellman Dessert Competition is at 7 p.m. The wife of Don Tellman, one of the organizers for the BBQ Bash, was known for her cheesecakes. After his death in 2019 and hers in 2022, the Barbecue Competitors Alliance put their names on its outstanding cook trophy.
Swampland Revival will play 6-9:30 p.m. Friday. Food and drink vendors will be on hand, and the Krewe of Adonis will run the beer truck.
Twenty-five arts and crafts vendors will also be at the event.
On Saturday, the Cannata’s Kids Q event begins. Youngsters 12 and under will cook pork chops, and 13- to 15-year-olds will cook leg quarters.
The main competition judging will be at noon for chicken, 1:30 p.m. for ribs and 3 p.m. for brisket.
Bill Goessl of the Marine Corps League’s St. Mary Detachment, which runs the BBQ Bash, said six local teams and 35 other entrants have signed up.
In addition to the prize money, they’ll compete for points in the larger Jack Daniels and Royal Oak events.
The Morgan City competition has drawn entrants from as far away as Texas, Biloxi, Mississippi, and Dauphin Island, Alabama.
Trophies will be awarded for grand and reserve champions, best St. Mary entry and best corporate team.
The winners will be named around 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Saturday’s live music will be provided by J.J. Starbuck, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., and Cliff Hillebran, 1-4 p.m.