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Studio 2LR team members, Laura Riley, left, and Tripp Riley both of Columbia work on their booth in preparation for the Save the Pigs cooking contest at the S.C. State Fairgrounds as D' s Duo mannequin pig "Piggy Blues" hangs out. The D's Duo team is from Blythewood.
brantin@thestate.com
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The signs scattered across the S.C. State Fairgrounds on Friday evening read “barbecue” — but on this particular outing there was no pork to be found.
On the first day of the Carolina Children’s Home’s 21st Annual BBQ Cook-Off Festival, the challenge facing the competing teams was to “Save the Pigs.”
In other words, no barbecue allowed.
So visitors to the fairgrounds on Friday were instead treated to shrimp gumbo, broccoli cornbread, shish kebab, chili and various other delicacies served up by the award-winning chefs.
“We’re doing chicken bog, and we do it just a little different than everybody else,” said Vicki Bates, of the Lady Hawgs/Misfits team.
Bates’ team, whose members come from Columbia and Ridgeway, is one of 45 across the state — 30 from the Midlands — taking part in the fundraiser for the Children’s Home, which continues from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today.
Many of the teams are regular participants in regional barbecue competitions, and today each has offered up its best barbecue recipe in hopes of claiming top honors. But on Friday it was anything but pork.
Jeff and Adrith Schrauger, of Bodine’s BBQ in Chapin, decided to throw together a pot of gumbo for Friday evening’s offering. Their dish consisted of smoked chicken, seasoned sausage, rice, pepper, onions and an assortment of other ingredients.
“I wanted to make something that is as easy as possible,” Jeff Schrauger said. “For some people, this is difficult. For me, it’s just a pot of soup.”
The Five O’Clock Crowd, of Columbia, offered a medley of grilled chicken, catfish stew, shish kebab and boiled peanuts.
But team leader Jim Christmas said group members had not lost sight of the event’s overriding intent.
“We’ve just got a solid group of people, and all of them care about the kids,” Christmas said.
Since 1909, the Carolina Children’s Home has served the needs of abused, abandoned and neglected children. In the last three years, the home has cared for more than 800 children from throughout the state.
All proceeds from the event go to support the home.
Elizabeth Derks, spokeswoman for the Carolina Children’s Home, applauded the support of all the cooking teams, explaining many have long supported the home.
“A lot of these folks have been with us for five years or more.”
