Crawfish Etouffee chefs prep for championship Cook-Off

While it’s been an up-and-down year for crawfish production, there’s no down when it comes to the 29th Annual World Championship Crawfish Etouffee Cook-off scheduled for next Sunday at Northwest Paviliion.
A field of perhaps as many as 30 teams is already gathering ingredients, curing pots, blending secret seasonings and doing other things they think will win the coveted best etouffee honors.
Those cooking teams will compete to see who can prepare the best crawfish etouffee.
Celebrity and professional judges proclaim winners in three categories; Amateur, Professional and Club/Organization. Teams also vie for People’s Choice and the Best Decorated booth-the entries for this category get more creative every year.
Once the judges have their samples from the booths, the public can buy the crawfish etouffee directly from the participants, with starting prices at $3 per eight-ounce cup.
Crawfish prices have been quite high as cold weather kept the creatures dormant, but warming waters hold the promise of more reasonable costs as the Cook-off approaches.
Participants are also allowed to cook and sell one other food item in addition to their crawfish etouffee.
Admission is free. And there is music, fun for the kids, arts and crafts and a poker run.
Details of all that will be included in a special section in Thursday’s Eunice News. Look for it.