Petal residents, get out your spatulas and ready your measuring cups – there’s a cooking contest coming to the Friendly City.
On July 21, the Petal Farmers Market, with help from the Heritage Club of Petal, will play host to three different varieties of contests: one for best blueberry dessert, one for best peach dessert and another for best homemade salsa. The desserts can be anything from pies to muffins or cobblers, and participants are encouraged to use fresh and local ingredients for the desserts and salsa.
“We thought it would be fun to just have an old-fashioned cook-off, with different individuals showing off their best dessert or salsa,” said Valerie Wilson, executive director of the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce. “We’re really just trying to create another item of interest for the farmers market.
“It seems that every month we’ve done something that draws people, whether it was the antique cars or when the fire department had their fire trucks there. So we want something different and new every time you come, so it’s always something different than it was last time.”
The competition will be held from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the farmers market, adjacent to Grand Central Outfitters at 126 East Central Ave. Entrants are asked to be present by 9:15 a.m.
A panel of judges will sample the offerings, and prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place in each contest.
“It will be judged anonymously, meaning there won’t be names on the entries – it will be numbers,” Wilson said. “So the judges won’t be influenced by the name of the cook.
“There won’t be cash prizes, but we’ll come up with some ribbons or something. Mainly, it’s just the honor of being the best blueberry dessert maker in Petal, or the best salsa maker in Petal.”
There is no fee to enter the competition, but contestants are asked to fill out a registration form at the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce on North Main Street or online at www.petalchamber.com. Participants also can receive registration forms via fax or email by calling the chamber, 601-583-3306.
“We’re thinking of something more like Mayberry – an old-fashioned, home-cooking good time,” Wilson said. “It’d be great if we could continue this until the end of the season in different categories, but for now we’ll just see how many entries we have and how much people enjoy it, and go from there.”
