According to the Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association (HPBA), approximately 75% of households across the United States have a smoker or a grill. Whether or not families or individuals are spending time in their yards cooking up some tasty barbecue, cooking competitions across the country have been on the rise as of late.
According to Fox 6 Now, SHARP Literacy and McDonalds are partnering up for the third annual Unwrapped cooking competition in order to help SHARP, a 501 organization that delivers a visual arts-based, foundational literacy program to over 8,500 students across Milwaukee schools, as well as at-risk students in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
At the collegiate level, cooking competitions are heating up as well, involving four teams of Yale students competing in the 10th annual Final Cut cooking competition.
The event is being hosted by Yale Hospitality and will involve five judges comprising university administrators and celebrity chef Elizabeth Falkner, who will determine the winner as all the audience members enjoy sampled food from local vendors and the competitors.
Then, according to the Shreveport Times, two chefs will compete in a statewide cooking competing across Louisiana in the 11th annual Louisiana Seafood Cook Off.
The two chefs, Antony Felan of Fat Calf Boucherie and Nick Simmons (Wine Country Bistro), have been cooking alongside each other for two years as Simmons worked under Felan as sous chef. The competition will put both of their skills to the test and each chef has something to prove.
It would be a huge deal to bring the King of Louisiana (Seafood) title back to north Louisiana because south Louisiana gets all the hype about the local seafood,” said Simons.
“It’s great,” Felad added. “t’s his first time to go and showcase what he can do. He’s blossoming as a chef and earning his stripes. It’s an honor to see my sous chef competing next to me.”
The Louisiana Seafood Cook Off will take place on June 19 in Lafayette.
