Steak Cook Off Draws Record Crowd
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Published on Sunday, 26 January 2014 02:08
Brett Gallaway is serious about steak. He spends many weekends a year cooking at steak competitions and this year he and his United Steaks of America grill team from Louisville, Texas, took the top prize at the Sunshine State Steak Cook Off in Ave Maria Saturday.
"I came in second last year," he said, "and came back because I knew I could win this time." Pictured: Winner Brett Gallaway (in green shirt) with 1st runners up Bill Inman and Johnny Joseph at left and 2nd runner up Bryan Lewis.
Teams from Texas and Louisana took the three top honors in this years steak cook off, ending a streak of wins from hometown teams from Ave Maria who had won first prize in the event's first three years.
Bill Inman and Johnny Joseph from West Monroe, Louisiana, who is a frequent competitor of United Steaks, came in second. "Brett and I are doing this all year. Usually one of us wins and the other comes in second," he said.
In third place was Bryan Lewis and team BryBQ from McKinney, TX.
Another streak of wins also ended Saturday when David Lawrence's Bigg Dawg team from Immokalee won the Holy Smokes award for showmanship and hospitality which had been claimed for three straight years by the Hot Pursuit team led by Ave Maria jeweler Alan Beckner. Pictured left, the Bigg Dawg area.
Event organizer Tom Smith said that 1,700 steaks were served this year, s
everal hundred more than last year at the event which raises money for scholarships to the Rhodora Donahue Academy in Ave Maria.
Crowds swelled in the Ave Maria town center late in the afternoon as the lines formed around the oratory and teams of volunteers smoothly handed 1,700 hungry people their plates and side dishes and sent them off to pick up a steak from the team of their choice.
The cook off was the culmination of a day that also featured family fun and games, and exhibits from local organizations.
Right, Fr. Cory Mayer of the Ave Maria Oratory Parish blesses the High Steaks grill team at the start of the competition.
Left, dancers from the Ave Maria Dance Academy strut their stuff as part of the afternoon's entertainment.
