How to Hold a Cook Off

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: May 20, 2020 References

Holding a cook-off is a great way to bring together friends and eat delicious food at the same time. You and your guests will be able to show off your cooking skills with a little friendly competition. A lot of work goes in to holding a cook off, so you will need to plan carefully. Giving yourself plenty of time, as well as budgeting and coordinating carefully, will lead to an exciting and competitive cook off!

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Inviting Guests to the Cook Off

1
Start early. Invite friends and family to the cook off at least two weeks before you are planning on hosting it. This way they will be more likely to attend, and they will know not to make other plans for the day of the cook off.^{[1]
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2
Decide what food to serve. Before inviting guests, you should decide what dish or dishes you want for your cook off. You can either ask your guests to make a variety of dishes or you can hold a cook-off that features only one kind of dish. There are upsides and downsides to both.^{[2]
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- If you are holding a cook off with only one kind of dish, it makes it easier to judge the dishes against each other, but there won’t be as much variety for your guests.
- If you host a cook off with different dishes, it makes it harder to judge, but your guests will leave feeling that they have had a full, satisfying meal.
- Common cook off foods are chili and barbecue. Try to pick food that is tasty, but that isn’t that difficult to make.
- You can make categories like “sides”, “entrees” and “deserts” to judge by if you don’t want everyone to cook the same food.
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3
Use word of mouth to tell friends about the cookout. Tell any friends or family that you see at work, school or social events. Say that you are interested in organizing a cookout. Give them the date for the cookout and ask if they can make it.
- Say something like, “I’m thinking of hosting a cookout on Saturday the 14th! It would be great if you could be there, either as a cook or a guest. Do you think you’ll be able to come?”
4
Email and call friends you don’t see regularly. You might not be able to see all your potential cookout guests in person. If there are people that you want to invite but don’t see on a daily basis, email or call them. Tell them about the cookout as well as the date and time you have in mind, and see if they want to come.^{[3]
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5
Get friends of friends on board. It could be that your friends know people who are fabulous cooks! When you are contacting friends and family, tell them to feel free to invite anyone they think would be interested.^{[4]
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6
Use social message to get out your message. Make a post on Facebook or another social media site to spread the word about your cook off. Even if you have contacted all of your closest friends, there probably are other people that you can reach through social media who would be interested.^{[5]
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- Post something like, “I’m holding a cook off scheduled for Saturday the 14th! Let me know if you’d like to participate or come as a guest to sample some delicious food!”
- If you want to keep the cook off small and you think you already have enough people coming, you can hold off on posting on social media.
7
Find a couple of people to judge. Since the cook off is a competition, you will need to have someone to judge. Find someone, or a couple of people, who are chefs, restaurant owners, or have some kind of job or experience in the food industry. You can offer them an incentive like a gift card or small amount of money to judge the cook off.^{[6]
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- If you cannot find anyone, instead plan to have all your guests act as judges by casting their votes for their favorite dish.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Finalizing Plans

1
Pick a location. Another important decision to make is where the cook off will take place. If you feel comfortable hosting the cook off, it may be the most convenient location, since you will be able to prepare and set up in advance. You also can see if there is anyone else attending who would be willing to host.^{[7]
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- You may want to hold the cook off somewhere outdoors. Cook offs can be messy, so consider doing it outdoors if the weather permits. Some foods like barbecue can only be prepared outdoors on a grill.
- You can also rent a space at a local venue to hold the cook off, but it will be quite expensive.
2
Come up with an entry fee. Most cookouts have an entry fee, which can help you cover costs. This fee makes sense, since you are providing your guests with a hot meal. Make sure that the fee is appropriate for the type of cook off you are planning. For instance, if it is a small casual cook off, consider a fee of around $15. If it is a fundraiser or larger event, consider charging more.
3
Calculate the cost of the event. A cook off can be pricey. Calculate about how much it will be to hold the cook off. This includes equipment as well as cooking supplies. If you find that your estimate is higher than what you can afford, there are several ways you can cut the cost.
- You can go to stores like Costco that sell ingredients and supplies in bulk, which can save you money.
- Think about upping your entry fee if you are worried about expenses.
4
Make sure you will have the proper cooking equipment for the cook off. Outdoor grills, crock pots and portable heat sources to cook on are among the most common equipment needed for cook offs. You can ask your guests to bring the equipment that they will need, such as a portable grill or a crockpot, so you don’t have to provide them all yourself.
5
Make sure you have the rest of the supplies you need. Either buy or ask your guests to bring any other things you may need for the cookout depending on your budget. These could include plenty of tables and chairs, paper plates, cups, utensils and napkins. These details can sometimes slip through the cracks but they are essential to the cook off’s success.^{[8]
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- Don’t forget to buy condiments like sour cream, ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise if needed.
- You also may want to provide drinks like soda or alcoholic beverages. You may want to consider buying a cooler and ice if you are providing cold drinks.
6
Make sure you have access to outlets. You will need to use outlets to plug in equipment like crockpots. If you are far away from a power source, either buy extension cords or ask your guests to bring them.
7
Send out invitations. Now that you have all the details finalized, send out invitations either by email or mail with the exact time, date, location and food that will be served. Include any information about what equipment your guests should bring. Also ask guests who aren’t cooking to bring snacks like chips, cheese and crackers and drinks.^{[9]
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- There are online sites that you can use to send invitations and keep track of RSVP’s.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Holding the Event

1
Start at least two hours early. Begin setting up the event two hours before it starts. This way you won’t be waiting until the last minute, and if you realize you are missing something you can find a solution before the cook off starts.
2
Meet with the cooks and run over the plan. Once people start arriving at the cook out, you will want to talk with the chefs. Round up everyone who will be cooking and tell them everything they need to know. This could include things like where they should be stationed as well as the start and finish times of the cooking.
3
Divide the chefs and the rest of the guests. You don’t want the guests or the judges to see which chef is making which dish. Have your guests step away from the cooking by having the drinks and snacks in a separate area, where guests can mingle and talk as the chefs are cooking. This way the entries will be anonymous.
4
Signal the beginning and the end of the cooking. Signal the start of the cooking by making an announcement or blowing a whistle. Make sure that the chefs have an appropriate amount of time to either cook or warm up their dish. Blow a whistle when the cooking period is over.
- Walk around during the cooking and check in with chefs to see if they have any questions or if they need more supplies.
5
Give additional time for cooking on site. If your chefs are all cooking their dishes entirely on site, make sure to give them enough time. How much time it takes may vary depending on the dish they are cooking. Having access to a kitchen is often a good idea if the cooking is happening on site.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Judging the Cook Off

1
Label each crock pot or serving container. Give each chef a number. After the cooking is over, have each chef make a sign to put in front of his or her serving container with the number of their dish and a brief description.
- For instance, a possible sign could read "3: Spicy Red Bean Chili."
- Make sure this sign does not have their name.
2
Label plates. Once the chefs have their number, have the chefs divvy up small portions of their food into small serving containers so everyone can enjoy. Make sure that these containers are labelled with the chef's assigned number. This will make it easy for judges and guests to pick a favorite dish, still without knowing which chef cooked what.^{[10]
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3
Let everyone eat. Have the chefs step away from their station so that no one can tell who cooked what. Make sure judges get the food immediately after it's cooked so it's still hot. Also distribute food out to the rest of your guests.
4
Supervise the judges. Let the judges know what rating system you want them to use. Many times a scaled numbering system from one to ten works best. Have the judge write down their scores and any comments they have on the food. Then gather these up and see what chef received the highest score.
- If your guests are acting as the judges, give them all a ballot where they can write down their favorite dish or dishes.
5
Announce the winner of the cook off. After everyone has had a chance to eat, announce which chef cooked which dish. Then reveal the winner of the cook off as well as second and third place. Announce the scores of the top three chefs, and read any comments that the judges or guests have left for them. This is best left for the end of the event.^{[11]
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6
Give out prizes and thank everyone for coming. Give out prizes to the top two or top three winners. Make sure that the prizes you are giving out could be appreciated by anyone, and are not gender specific. Gift cards are a good thing to give if you cannot think of anything that all your contestants would appreciate.^{[12]
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- You could also give away food items, like artisan olive oil or good wine.
- After the winner is announced and the cook off is winding down, thank your guests for coming. Let your chefs know that you appreciated all their hard work, and thank your judges for their time.
- Also remind everyone to take all their equipment and supplies home so you won’t have to return them later.^{[13]
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7
Clean up. You likely will have a lot of clean up to do after the cook off. If you feel comfortable, ask a couple of friends if they can stick around and help you. You probably will have a couple people who will volunteer to help. It may be the least fun part of the cook off, but you can feel good that you hosted such a successful and enjoyable event.^{[14]
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Community Q&A

Question

Our women's ministry is organizing a cook off with group members in the church. We have three groups set up within the church. We need a secret ingredient to include in the dish. What is best?

C Grace

Community Answer

That would depend on where you live and what time of year it is. It needs to be something readily available to all groups, so perhaps something local and fresh would do. Or, if your church is supporting a mission somewhere overseas, perhaps an ingredient native to that country would work. Why not get together with a representative from each group and toss some ideas back and forth?