Cook Team Application

5th Annual Crawfish Critic Cookoff

Welcome Cook Teams!

We're thrilled to have you join us for the 5th Annual Crawfish Critic Cookoff! Below are all the details you need to know to make your experience at our event memorable and successful.

This year the Crawfish Critic Cookoff is being sanctioned by the newly formed SCCA - Southern Crawfish Cookoff Association, a cookoff league created by StaleKracker and The Crawfish Critic.

Event Details:

Event Name: 5th Annual Crawfish Critic Cookoff

Date & Time: May 17th - 5pm to 11pm / May 18th - 11am to 8pm

Location: 3 Palms Action Sports Park, 15100 Interstate 45 S, Conroe, TX 77384

Number of Competing Teams: Up to 40 Teams

Prize Pool: $10,000

1st place: $4,500

2nd place: $2,500

3rd place: $1,500

Peoples Choice: $1,000

Best Booth: $500

Friday Night Cajun Cookoff Details:

Teams will have the opportunity to compete in an open Cajun cookoff. Teams can enter up to three different dish selections for $100 per turn in. This is a friendly competition in which winner will win 100% of entry money. There is no judging criteria the judges will rate each dish from 1-10 and the highest score will win. Teams must turn in enough food for 8 judges to sample.

Cook Team Registration Includes

30x30 cook site with access to water and power nearby, access to ice, entry into the Crawfish Critic Cookoff & event for yourself and team members.

Each team will be provided with 1 sack of crawfish for competition turn-ins and 9 sacks to serve to the public. Depending on crawfish availability at the time of the event, teams may have the ability to get more sacks of crawfish to serve to the public.

Team Composition & Entry

Your team should consist of one head cook and up to 7 additional team members.

The entry fee for your team is $500 per 30x30 spot. Teams have the ability to purchase up to 2 cook team spots to increase the space of your booth. Each team will only be allowed to turn in one crawfish tray to be judged in the competition, regardless of how many spots were purchased.

No refunds will be issued for team entry fees.

Team members must be 18 years or older.

Cook Team Booth Set-Up & Tear Down

Set Up: Cook teams may drop off equipment between 10am and 8pm Thursday, May 16th. If you decide to drop your equipment off on Friday the 17th, you must have all vehicles out of the festival area by 4pm. Saturday all vehicles will have to be out of festival area by 9am.

All tent rental drop offs need to be scheduled for Thursday between 10am and 8pm

Feel free to jazz up your cooking space with your unique flair! Bring your decorations and signage if you're feeling extra festive.

Cook trailers / food trucks are allowed but must fit within your designated area. No campers, travel trailers, RVs or motorized vehicles of any kind including golf carts, atvs, etc. will be allowed in the festival area.

Tear Down: Teams will only be allowed to drive a vehicle into the venue area on Sunday, May 19th, starting at 8am. You can carry or cart your equipment to your vehicles after the event is over, but you will not be able to pull a vehicle in to load up on Saturday. All vehicles must be parked in the pre-designated cool team parking area.

All tent rental companies must be scheduled to pick up and tear down on Sunday between 10am and 8pm.

Equipment & Supplies

Remember to pack all your cooking essentials, including propane, seasonings, utensils, and any groceries you'll need. Teams are responsible for providing their own tents, tables, chairs etc for their booth.

We'll provide the serving trays, crawfish, and ice.

Cook Team Meeting

All head cooks & one additional team member are required to attend the cook team meeting in

VIP tent @ 9am on Saturday morning.

An SCCA Representative will host a cook team meeting the morning of the competition.

Head cooks will randomly select a turn-in tray when instructed. The turn-in tray will have two tickets secured inside and a cook team packet including the turn-in times associated with all of the ticket numbers.

Wristbands will be sent via mail prior to the event. Everyone on your team must wear the provided wristbands during the event.

Blind Double Ticket System

SCCA requires that the blind double ticket system be used. This system ensures a fair competition. SCCA requires that two tickets bearing the same number be utilized, one firmly attached to the top of the judging tray with a clear piece of tape and the other to remain in the possession of the head cook. During awards, the organizer will announce the ticket numbers of the winners. The winner will provide the ticket to the SCCA representative who will verify its authenticity.

Serving The Public

Teams will be required to serve the public from 12pm - 530pm. Those with Vip wristbands can be served 1 crawfish boat at a time as many times as they wish to get additional crawfish. For general admission guests, they must present you a crawfish ticket in order to be served a boat of crawfish. Each ticket represents 1 boat of crawfish. We will go into further detail on this in the cook team meeting.

Crawfish Competition Rules:

Teams will turn in only crawfish with ZERO sides. The tray should be filled up but still be able to be fully closed and not overfilled & bulging. No presentation or decorating of the trays will be allowed.

Teams must use the designated crawfish provided by the event for competition turn-ins.

Each team will only be allowed to turn in one tray of crawfish each regardless of how many spots they purchased.

Crawfish must be boiled or steamed; no other cooking methods will be allowed to be turned in for the competition.

Judging trays will be provided by the SCCA representative during the cook team meeting. All judging containers shall be clean and free of any markings. Only the containers provided by the SCCA representative will be utilized for crawfish turn-ins.

Turn-in times will be decided based on the blind double ticket system. Each head cook will choose a random turn-in tray which will have two tickets inside. Teams will also be given the turn-in timesheet that will tell you which tickets have which turn-in times. Turn-Ins will be done at a table that is out of sight from judges. The SCCA representative will write down your team name and ticket number and bring the tray in to be judged. The SCCA representative will be the only person who will be in possession of the team name and ticket number list. This is essiential to make sure the SCCA has the complete rankings of which teams came in which place so that SCCA season points can be awarded.

Failure to meet the designated turn-in time may result in disqualification unless the cook-off manager has been notified in advance. Any identifying markings on the turn-in tray found during the competition will lead to automatic disqualification. All decisions made by the SCCA representative are final.

Taste judges will meticulously evaluate each presented tray, considering five distinct criteria: flavor, spice, peel, texture & juiciness. Utilizing a comprehensive scoring system, judges will assign scores on a scale ranging from 1 to 10 for each of these criteria. In the event of a tie, flavor will be the tiebreaker.

Cook Team Rules and Disclosures:

Cookers are responsible for all needed equipment and supplies. The Crawfish Critic Cookoff organizers and volunteers will not be responsible for the theft and/or damage to equipment of contestants (boilers, vehicles, etc.)

The HEAD COOK of each team will be held responsible for the conduct of his/her guests and team members. Excessive use of alcoholic beverages or fighting WILL BE GROUNDS FOR DISQUALIFICATION, and they will be asked to leave the premises with no refunds.

NO OUTSIDE ALCOHOL ALLOWED inside the festival area. All alcohol must be purchased from the venue’s vendors. Each team will be able to purchase 2 cases of beer (24 packs) for Saturday and 1 case of beer for friday, at the bars cost.

In consideration for accepting this entry, I, the undersigned, intending to be legally bound, hereby, for myself and my organizational entity, my heirs, my team members, executors and administrators, do hereby release, indemnify, and hold harmless the 5th Annual Crawfish Critic Cookoff (the “Event”) along with their representatives, successors, employees, and volunteers for any and all claims arising from or during the event, including without limitation, all costs, liabilities, judgements, expenses, damages or reasonable attorney fees. I hereby grant full permission to The Crawfish Critic, and/or agents authorized by them, to use any photographs, video tapes, motion pictures, recordings and any other record of this event for any legitimate purpose.

I agree to the terms of the Waiver of Liability, and I will abide by the 2024 Rules and Regulations of the 5th annual Crawfish Critic cookoff.