In the Team Berard Transportation tent, from left, Dustin LeMaire, Ray Breaux and George Broussard stir the pots while cooking gumbo on Sunday at the 24th annual World Championship Gumbo Cookoff.
Team Krewe of Lou reacts enthusiastically to winning first place in professional chicken and sausage gumbo Sunday in BoulignyPlaza.
Lee Ball / The Daily Iberian
In the Team Berard Transportation tent, from left, Dustin LeMaire, Ray Breaux and George Broussard stir the pots while cooking gumbo on Sunday at the 24th annual World Championship Gumbo Cookoff.
Sunday’s weather was mild by Louisiana standards, but the heat was on downtown as the 24th Annual World Championship Gumbo Cookoff got stirring in Bouligny Plaza.
The competition brought out a lot of old, proven standards as well as some less traditional recipes from local teams and those from as far away as Europe. Judges ultimately had to narrow down winners from 117 variations and hundreds of residents and visitors alike had the opportunity to taste the gumbo.
A group with members from Ireland, England and Sweden won a Tabasco cooking competition in Europe. Part of their prize was a trip to help the Tabasco team prepare dishes for this year’s cookoff competition.
But these chefs had different ideas.
Ciaran Doyle, 23, of Dublin, Ireland, was all smiles as the gumbo winners were called. He said the group of six had never made nor tasted gumbo before Sunday.
Doyle said they started out helping the Tabasco team but wanted to make their own pot— a European gumbo. The team couldn’t enter the official competition but Doyle said they were awarded an unofficial first place for their efforts.
“My God, I’m still smiling,” he said. “It’s the best feeling ever. It was so much fun.”
He said the group could only stay a few days and would be leaving Monday, but New Iberia had provided a welcome that he said could only be rivaled by Ireland.
“Everybody in New Iberia, they are the most hospitable people you’ll meet anywhere, except for Ireland,” he said. “They welcomed us with open arms. They made us feel so at home.”
Teams from Florida, Indiana, Texas and Missouri also made the pilgrimage to the championship to test their skills.
Tom Coghill and Bill Kunz both own restaurants in the St. Louis, Mo., area that have been featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives so the two compete together in various competitions, Kunz said.
Kunz said normally the two veer toward barbecue competitions, but decided to try something different. The G-Men— the “G” is for gumbo— made ham and pork, chicken and andouille, green and seafood gumbos.
The team didn’t place but said the cooks said they had a good time.
“It’s gone great,” Kunz said. “We met a lot of great people. A lot of people helped us out.”
Kunz pointed to the Norris Cooking Team in the neighboring tent as one group that helped his team.
Norris placed in two amataur categories, taking first in Mélange for a duck, andouille and shrimp gumbo.
Owner Patrick Norris said the team has been cooking in the competition for five years and has placed in the finals each year. He said Brad Norris, of New Iberia, took the lead on the Mélange entry.
Butch Comeaux of New Iberia helped cook the team’s chicken and sausage gumbo. He said it’s not so much about what goes into the gumbo as how it’s made.
“Cook with the heart,” he said. “That’s how we cook and we have a good time.”
