Team Registration Underway for 2nd Annual Battle of the Gumbo Gladiators

The second annual Battle of the Gumbo Gladiators gumbo cook-off is accepting team registrations now.  The event, a fundraiser for Volunteers for Youth Justice, will take place March 29th, 2014, at Festival Plaza in downtown Shreveport.
The inaugural event in March attracted 1,600 attendees who sampled 31 gumbo entries prepared by 24 teams.  Teams were predominantly from Shreveport-Bossier, but many have South Louisiana roots and one team traveled from Scottsdale, Arizona to compete.  Teams were made up of passionate home and tailgating cooks, caterers and professional chefs.

Five celebrity judges selected the winning team for each of the seafood and non-seafood categories, and attendees selected the People’s Choice winner.  The winner of the seafood category was The Spicy Crabs, non-seafood was Roux the Day and the People’s Choice winner was Gumbooyah.

“Based on the incredible feedback we received from attendees at our first gumbo cook-off about the need for an event like this in our area, the 2014 Battle of the Gumbo Gladiators will be even bigger and better,” says Planning Committee Chairwoman Angie White.  “We are starting much earlier to recruit teams and will be revamping our judging process, with more judges, more categories for awards and naming first, second and third place winners for the gumbo categories.”

Another feature of the event will be an expanded arts and crafts shopping village that will include children’s activities.

To register a team, become a sponsor or learn more about the event, visit the Gumbo Gladiators website or call Volunteers for Youth Justice at 318-425-4413.  Early bird registration, which includes a discounted registration fee, ends December 31st, 2013.

All proceeds of the event support the work of Volunteers for Youth Justice, a nonprofit organization with a mission to train and support volunteers as they intervene in the lives of children who are or at risk of being involved in the juvenile court system.  Click here to learn more about VYJ.