The phrase “soul food” conjures up a whole mess of ideas when it comes to cooking and putting food on the table. With everything from the proper cooking of a hog jowl to fine tuning a dish filled with okra, cooks around the Brewton area have been cooking soul food for generations.
On Saturday, Sept. 28, those cooks will have a chance to compete for prizes and bragging rights during a special event aimed at raising funds to support Brewton’s John L. Fisher Community Center.
Brewton Program Director Connie Baggett said the Soul Food, Blues and Jazz festival will give area cooks — and eaters — a chance to enjoy a little blues and jazz along with great cuisine cooked by the areas best home cooks.
“We will be having a cook-off for area cooks in six categories,” Baggett said. “Prizes will be based on how many entries we have for the cook-off event.”
Categories for the cook-off portion of the fundraising event include barbecue, vegetables, cornbread, fried chicken, seafood and desserts.
Entry fee is $10 for each category entered, Baggett said. Taster tickets will be available for $15.
“For those who want to enjoy the foods prepared during the event, a tasters ticket will be available for $15,” Baggett said. “With that ticket, people will have the chance to sample everything entered into the contest and cast their votes for their favorites. They will be given a specific number of tickets to use as votes and they can divide them as they choose — one or two for each of their favorites or all of them for their top choice. The number of votes cast this way for each contestant will be totaled at the end of the day to determine the winners.”
Baggett said each entry must be prepared on-site on the day of the festival, Baggett said.
“We will have people there as early as 6 a.m. for those who need to prepare barbecue. We are working on electricity to have that available for those who need it to prepare their dishes for the cook-off.”
In addition to the special cook-off competition, live music will be provided beginning at around 10 a.m., Baggett said.
“Admission is free for everyone to come out and enjoy the activities,” Baggett said. “There will be a children’s fun land open and we’re even planning a Soul Fest Fun Run. There is still some planning going on for the event and we are making arrangements to have everything in place for the festival day.”
Those who plan to participate in the cook-off event are asked to pre-register by contacting Baggett at Brewton City Hall or by calling 809-1777 for additional information.