World Championship Gumbo Cookoff returning

Published 8:00 am Sunday, September 26, 2021

Downtown New Iberia will be awash in the smell of gumbo as the World Championship Gumbo Cookoff opens to the public once again on Oct. 9-10.

The cookoff is a two-day event that pits cooking teams from all over the state (and sometimes beyond) against each other as they compete to win first place in their respective categories.

Categories for the cookoff include amateur chicken and sausage, amateur seafood, amateur melange, professional seafood and professional non-seafood.

Thousands of people head to Bouligny Plaza every year to take part in the action, and a lineup of bands are placed at the Steamboat Warehouse Pavilion to provide hours of entertainment along with the delicious food.

This year’s musical lineup includes Bad Company, Chubby Carrier, Full Circle, Geno Delafose and Swampland Revival.

Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Falgout said that about 60 teams had signed up so far for this year’s cookoff.

“It’s a good event. It gives us a lot of exposure and a lot of opportunity,” Falgout said.

The event has been put on annually by the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce for more than 30 years, with the exception of the COVID-canceled 2020 event. Initially created as a way to raise revenue for the chamber, the event has expanded to become one of the most prominent Iberia Parish festivals.

This year’s cookoff is a return of sorts. Along with most public events scheduled for 2020, the World Championship Gumbo Cookoff did not take place in its usual manner due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead, the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce put on a virtual event for those who wanted to be a part of the cookoff but could not because of the pandemic.

The cookoff will be back to normal this year. With the sudden cancellation of the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival in August, the cookoff will be one of the few Iberia Parish mainstay events that will be open this year.

The World Championship Gumbo Cookoff is separated into two daily events. On Saturday, the Cajun Creole Foodfest and Meanest Beans Cookoff will take place in Bouligny Plaza, where teams who cook in non-gumbo categories will be competing against each other.

A junior division of gumbo cooking will also take place Saturday, which includes younger team members who will be making gumbo against other young people.

Sunday is the main event, with serious gumbo chefs cooking throughout the day for the public.