The 8th Annual Chili and Gumbo Cookoff as staged by Jim Hooper of Hooper’s Bar & Grille is set for Saturday, October 22, 2016 at Hooper’s, located on 2240 Maple Streets. Contestants with their superlative and authentic family recipes of gumbo are urged to contact Hoop for more information concerning this exciting happening. And those Texan cooks who excel in the preparation of chili should also get in line quickly. Besides, Guys, a team of females from Austin took 1st Place last year with their Gumbo, and it was delicious!
As there will be a number of entries from teams composed of just plain cooks as well as those being sponsored by an organization or business, that Saturday will become a lively affair in the concreted area underneath Hooper’s. Requirements for each entry consist of preparing and cooking your special dish on a propane-butane stove that you bring with you. And ALL COOKING MUST BE DONE IN YOUR AREA ON THE GROUNDS OF HOOPER’S. Other requirements are that there will be NO beans in the chili and NO rice in the gumbo. A minimum entry fee with a maximum of 4 persons per team will be charged with your entry form.
A panel of judges will be there to do a blind taste test of each entry, (aren’t all judges supposed to be blind?), and we will be honored to have an incredible group of mostly sighted people to perform that illustrious task. As Hoop will be the Person In Charge, there will be no favoritism or special gifts sent to the judges by any entrant allowed prior to the judging.
The public is definitely welcome to come by and see their favorite team of cooks in action and give moral support to each. Additionally, bowls to sample the many entries will be available for a minimal charge. Setting up the individual cooking areas will start at 9:00 a.m.; and the judging should commence about 4:30 p.m. inside Hooper’s. Following the judging the final bidding on the silent auction will commence. And if those items for the auction are anything similar to last year’s, the winning purchaser will definitely go home happy.
So, guys and gals, get your favorite organization or business to sponsor a team of cooks for this Event. Hoop says he has at least 20 spots for teams to set up their places and strut their stuff!
And once again, Hoop will donate the funds from this event to our Library’s Building Fund. So, we invite anyone with a yearning to compete in a cookoff, to contact Hoop (361-983-4249) for entry forms, and we also invite all interested persons that Saturday to come and see what a cookoff entails. Besides, the aromas from the various entries will certainly be more than enough to inspire you to stop and check out this event. And when you check out some of the prizes available on the Silent Auction, you will definitely be tempted to stay and put in your bids.
If anyone is unable to be present on that Saturday, please remember that all donations can be delivered to Hoop personally at Hooper’s Bar & Grille or to Shirley Gordon, our Librarian, at our Library on 6th & Adams Street. And Hoop, being the sponsor of this event, has made a very emphatic statement that all monies received will return to our community.
PS: A little extra: one of the income producing parts of this fun event is the silent auction where so many wonderful and exciting products are available to be purchased. If any one has an item they would wish to donate to this event, please contact Judy Whitworth, 512 567-1464 President of Friends of the Library, Shirley Gordon, Librarian, or Hoop at Hooper’s Bar & Grille. Each of them would be very happy to be of assistance, and all monies from this event will be going to the Building Fund for our Library. And we hope to see an excited and fun crowd on Saturday, October 22, 2016 at Hooper’s for this super event!
