1. The cook-off will be held in the usual place (pavilion adjacent to the dining hall), and you are welcome to begin your preparations whenever you want. Judging will commence at 6:00 and will go like this.
At the appointed time all Dutch Ovens will be placed on a table. On the table there will be a pen and paper that you'll use to record your name and the name of your delectable offering. This is for my benefit so for once I don't stammer "Uhhhhh, I don't remember" when asked about the results of the contest. You will be responsible for providing the necessary serving utensil(s).
2. In the past there have been three prize categories: best dessert, best entree and best overall. This year there will be two prize categories, first and second. "But Deuce", you may ask, "why the break from tradition?" Well, I could tell you it's because the prizes are so fantabulicious we only need two, or I could tell you the field isn't large enough to justify three categories, or I could tell you I'm trying to keep it simple, or I could tell you I'm trying to mix it up a little this year and foment a greater sense of competition. All these things are true. Also true is the fact that I only had time to procure two prizes.
Not to worry though. They will NOT disappoint. 3. You MUST use a fire pan of some sort for your charcoal. If you don't have one you can pick up a chicken feed pan at TSC for, well, chicken feed that will do the job nicely.
4. A dish containing road kill will earn extra points.
5. Taunting and smack talk will too.
If the only thing preventing you from competing is a lack of gear ol' Deucey can help you out, but you gots to tell me in advance. I don't want to lug around a bunch of black pots just for giggles.
The Beer/Root Beer garden and Margaritaville open at 6:00, and the BBQ truck serves from 4:00 to 7:00, so there will be plenty of Rendezvousers Rendezvousing about. Our friends with the Central Arkansas Dutch Oven Group will join us again this year. I believe they'll favor us with a Dutch Oven demo, and their illustrious leader will be one of the judges. And, who knows? Some of them may even join the contest, so bring your big boy and big girl aprons. See y'all there!
