The heat of competition: Lots of cooks in this year's BBQ Bash

Let the fight for bragging rights begin.

Fifty-five teams are confirmed participants in the fifth annual Bayou BBQ Bash set to kick off Friday in Morgan City under the U.S. 90 bridge .

Rain or shine the event still goes on, which is one of the reasons last year’s first-place winner, Harlan Kappel, enjoys competing in the barbecue bash. Kappel is also owner of East Gate BBQ restaurant in Morgan City.

“The thing I love about this competition is being up under the bridge,” Kappel said. “It’s better if it rains because it’s like having an air conditioner. So, water doesn’t bother it at all.

“It’s a really neat event, in the fact that you’re sheltered from the weather.”

Kappel isn’t alone in his sentiments about the location. Founding organizers of the event, Don and Matta Tellman , view the location as an ideal place for a “nice little affair for the community.

“People can walk up and down and see the barbecue pits, smell the smoke under the bridge and eat big samples and do the things that we do. …

“And we have the absolute optimum place under the bridge because these guys are out here cooking on barbecue pits.”

Don Tellman said most barbecue competitions are held on fields, on tarmac, with no shade and sometimes no water or power.

Provisions under the bridge provide it all, Tellman said.

The Tellmans have cooked in barbecue competitions all over the country, including events in Texas, Missouri, Florida and Arkansas. They started a little over 10 years ago, after Don Tellman’s heart attack.

“It really brought people together in the smaller communities where they would hold them,” Tellman said. “It was always a fundraiser, always something for a charity.”

At the time of the inaugural event in 2012, the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce lost the lease on its building. Tellman decided the proceeds should go to the chamber.

The barbecue competition by itself does not raise a lot of money, Tellman said. But it does bring a lot of people together. It gets a lot of people involved.

In addition to the 55 barbecue teams, there are 66 crafters and 13 children in the Cannata’s Kids Q. These numbers make this event the second-largest barbecue competition ever held in the state, according to a Cajun Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau news release.

Competitors from all over Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi are competing for $5,000 in cash prizes. The grand champion will receive a 10 karat gold ring designed by Klutts Jewelers in Morgan City, worth $1,400.

Competitors invest a lot of money to attend cooking events, Tellman said. People purchase their meats, use vacation days, and exhaust financial means to travel and lodge in local accommodations.

“But they think they’re pretty good cooks and like to compete with one another over who can do the best …,” Tellman said. “Most of them don’t do it for the money. They do it for the bragging rights.”

Kappel is entering the contest again this year. He’s been a participant since its inception. Last year was the first time in which he placed first.

Winning felt good to him. He thinks he bought a new smoker with last year’s prize money. “And we intend on defending our championship,” Kappel said.

He could not recall what he’d done different in previous years to win in 2015 except turn in a better brisket. The ribs were also better that year. He is still fine-tuning the chicken recipe.

“We still haven’t figured chicken out yet, though,” Kappel said. “So, hopefully we will do better in that one this year.”

The reigning champ says “good luck” to all his competitors.

Live music, food and drinks will start at 6 p.m. Friday. The cheesecake competition is at 7:30 p.m. Being a judge costs $10 . The winner will donate prize money to the charity of their choice. Crafts open at 4 p.m.

Chefs start cooking at 8 a.m. on Saturday. The craft booths open at 9 a.m. And live music kicks off at noon. South Louisiana Jeep Association will join festivities with activities and a show for the crowd.