The Gravette Historical Museum announced plans for hosting its fifth annual Dutch Oven Cook-off on Gravette Day. The event will take place on the grounds of the museum on Saturday, Aug. 12, with cooking beginning at 8 a.m. Judging will begin at 1 p.m., a public tasting will begin at 2 p.m. and winners will be announced at 3 p.m.
Randi VanNoy, museum curator, is coordinating the cook-off event. She said there will be two divisions, a three-pot division in which entrants will prepare a main dish, a bread and a dessert, and a novice division, in which they will prepare only one dish.
Judging in the three-pot division will be on originality, creativity, presentation, taste and teamwork. The entry fee is $20 per team. Medals will be given and cash prizes will be awarded with $150 going to the first-place team, $100 to the second-place team and $75 to the third-place team. The people's choice award winner, determined by votes from the samplers in the taste testing, will receive a $50 award.
Entrants in the novice division will pay an entry fee of $15 for two team members. Children age 10 and older may enter if accompanied by an adult. Prizes in the novice division will be $50 for the first-place winner, $25 for the second-place winner and $10 for the third-place winner.
Entrants in both divisions are asked to submit recipes for the dishes they prepare. For a complete list of rules and contest entry forms, contact Randi VanNoy, 479-866-7297 or randi [email protected], or Patti Bertschy, 479-721-2143 or [email protected], or stop by the museum at 503 Charlotte St. N.E., to pick up information. Entries are already coming in, VanNoy said, and more are expected soon. She encourages entrants to contact her or Bertschy as soon as possible.
Those attending the Dutch oven cook-off will enjoy seeing the unique displays set up in each team's booth and tasting the dishes prepared by the entrants. A $5 fee will allow tasters to sample each team's entry. Other concession booths will be set up on the museum grounds and the Old Town String Band will perform in the afternoon.
Tickets may be purchased for a number of quality raffle prizes, including pieces of cast iron cookware and a barbecue grill donated by Walmart store 100. Raffle tickets will sell for $1 each, six for $5 or 13 for $10.
General News on 08/10/2017