ST. BERNARD, La. — Trophies like this are what the contestants in the Cook-Off for the Coast are competing for. We've got some spicy Cajun dishes, we've got some Los Islenos dishes and each and every one of them's got a lot of TLC.
"Cook-Off for the Coast, save the coast. Team Islenos. We got fresh smoked wild boar made on to a Cuban sandwich on good Duong Phuong French bread," said Jack Serigne of Team Islenos.
"Every time I come to St. Bernard there's a huge sense of family around and this is a completely free event to the public," said our Bayou Wild TV co-host Martha Spencer. "They're here to raise awareness, all the food is free, they just want you to learn about the importance of learning about the coast and let me tell you, everything is amazing."
Chef Marshall Welsh of the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University was one of the chefs taking part in the Feb. 9 event at Docville Farms.
"We cured the duck for a couple hours and we cook it in its own fat until it was completely done then we cook overnight and the next day we took it out roast the duck pull it off the bone and we made it with a little Asian spices. Then over here in this tub we got the fire roasted vegetable salsa. Then the key to it is a little bit of duck cracklin on top."
Another contestant was Jeff Carreras of Tracy's Restaurant.
"We just took a little beans and a little bit of onion and garlic and mix it all together as we do with chili. It all comes together at the end, cooked it over night and generates all the flavors together."
I wasn't one of the official judges but if I were the Duck and Andouille Gumbo I sampled might be my first place finisher.