OFFICIAL RULES & GUIDELINES:
The following rules and guidelines must be followed by all cookoff participants and/or assistants.
1. Cooks will not be allowed to setup prior to 8:00 am.
2. Individuals and teams must complete one application in order to participate in the competition.
3. A “team” is a group of cooks who enter all three (3) gumbo types into the competition: seafood, poultry, and red bean.
4. All team members should be listed on the application. Teams should designate one team leader who will be responsible for attending a meeting on Wednesday, December 11 at 6:00 pm on festival grounds under the pavilion. Because booth space and preferred booth location is a concern, a drawing will be held at this meeting. NOTE: Title Sponsor(s) and Best Gumbo Winners of 2024 will be given first choice at booth locations, following rest of sponsors, then Remaining teams will choose booths based on drawing.
5. Categories will be: (1) Seafood Gumbo, (2) Poultry Gumbo (chicken, turkey, duck, goose, etc.), and (3) Red Bean Gumbo.
6. At least a 3-gallon pot MUST be used to cook each gumbo over a propane burner ON-SITE.
7. Teams must purchase their own gumbo ingredients or obtain a sponsor to purchase ingredients. All gumbos will be considered a donation to the Festival of the Bonfires.
8. A broth may be prepared in advance. Ingredients may be sliced and/or seasoned prior to 10:00 am. Burners may be lit at 10:00 am. COOKING INCLUDES THE ROUX!
9. NOTE: The Board & Committee of the Festival of the Bonfires expects that you follow general food safety rules while preparing meats and other gumbo ingredients. Caps should be worn by all cooks. Smoking is not allowed in the vicinity of any gumbo pot.
10. A representative of the Festival of the Bonfires will officially enter all pots into the competition at approximately 11:00 am. Each pot will be uniquely identified with an alphabetical letter, such as A, B, C, which will also be color-coded according to gumbo type.
11. Sample cups containing unique identification will be distributed at around noon. The committee will collect all sample cups at approximately 4:00 pm. NOTE: sample cups should not contain rice.
12. After all samples have been collected, an announcement will be made to start serving the public. All participants or their designees will be expected to serve gumbo until 9:00 pm or until pots are empty. Gumbo is prepared to benefit the festival. If you enter a gumbo and do not fulfill your obligation to serve your gumbo to the public, you will not be allowed to enter the 2026 competition. If you do not clean your booth before you leave, you will not be able to enter the 2026 competition.
13. The Festival will provide rice and paper products to serve the public. Cooks should provide their own serving spoons.
14. Judging will begin at approximately 4:00 pm on Friday, December 12, 2025 on festival grounds. The judges will taste and re-taste all entries per division and scoring will be documented in a formal manner.
15. First, Second, and Third Place winners of each category will be awarded the annual trophies. Best Gumbo of Festival and Best Gumbo Team of Festival trophies will also be awarded. Announcement of results and awards will occur on festival grounds at the main stage at approximately 6:00 pm on Friday, December 12, 2025.
16. Official scores will be posted after announcement of awards.
Contact Gumbo sponsor, Danielle Matherne, @ fobgumbo@gmail.com with any questions.