Get ready for one of the festival’s favorite traditions — the Catfish Cookoff! Local teams will compete for bragging rights, serving up their best catfish creations for judges and festival-goers alike. Come hungry and cast your vote for the best in town.
RULES:
All teams must be registered by 10:00 AM day of cookoff. Pre-registration is preferred but not required. Samples for judging will be collected at 1:30pm.
Each cooking team shall prepare a Catfish Entry (any dish with catfish as the main ingredient) for judging. Only one (1) entry per team registration is allowed. Catfish entry MUST be cooked on site.
20 pounds of catfish will be provided to each team that registers before the day of the cookoff. Catfish will be available for pickup on Thursday, March 19 or Friday, March 20 at Hotel Klaus (203 N Main St, Washington, LA 70589) between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM.
Cooking teams must provide all necessary cooking utensils, tables, pots, burners, fuel, and any other items needed to complete their Catfish dish. Electrical power and water hookups are not provided. Tent size is limited to 10X10.
Steamboat City Association will provide teams with disposable bowls and utensils for public sampling/ tasting. No other sampling bowls may be used.
Teams are asked to cook a sufficient amount for both judging and public sampling. Each must be filled to ¾ with the sample to be judged. The Festival Committee will sell Taster Wristbands for samples of competitors’ dishes. A wristband is required for tasting samples. Teams may provide accompaniments such as rice with samples.
Each team will be given two (2) "pint" size containers to use for judges’ samples. Each must be filled 3/4 with the sample to be judged. Entries submitted in any other containers are not eligible for judging. Entries must contain Catfish dish only. No rice or other accompaniment is allowed with contest entry. Winners will be announced at 3:30 PM from the stage at the pavilion.
All tips or donations collected at team cook tables are to be turned in to the Washington State Bank Tent.
Ice Chests are allowed only for items necessary to complete the dish. Beverages will be sold by the Festival Committee.
Teams must remove equipment and tents by 6:00 PM. All trash must be placed in trash containers located in cookoff area.
Entry fee is $50 (non-refundable). An online link for fee payment will be emailed to you once your participation is confirmed.
Entries will be judged on:
A. Appearance B. Flavor C. Seasoning D. Overall
Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.