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What makes a good cook for an eggfest?

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Comments

  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 10,227
    @cmac610, it was actually just a cooler full of some really great beers.  Here was the highlight. 

    http://www.allagash.com/beer/curieux/

    We can't get it in Texas, but I just looked on their site and you can get it at a variety of places in your town.

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX

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  • cmac610
    cmac610 Posts: 326
    Foghorn said:
    20stone said:
    Foghorn said:
    ...But the real challenge is - as @cmac610 stated - trying to find balance between trying to cook something that makes everybody say "Wow!" - or wins a prize or contest, vs being able to relax, drink adult beverages, and enjoy what everybody else is doing.  There's room for all approaches at an eggfest.  That's part of what makes it great to go to one.
    That is the beauty of the Salado EggFest.  While we can all murder ourselves on Saturday banging out 600 - 800 tastes, you have both Friday AND Saturday night to go a little slower and share fun food with the other cooks.

    I would like to be able to walk around a bit the day of, however.  We did find at Space City that having a few more hands helping out makes a world of difference.

    For the record, @Foghorn, those apple crescent thingies were tasty, and your beer cooler was off the chain.  It was also great to share a tent with a normal sized person for a change

    And I love that you brought those homemade "table elevators" so the prep and serving tables were up at the appropriate height for a normal person. 
    The great info on this thread just keeps on coming. There's meaning behind my "handle" cmac610...as in 6'10". I need some table elevators too!
    Craig aka Cmac Cooks
    Amesbury, MA
    #BGETeamGreen #TeamArteflame #TeamBarrelProof #TeamGozney
    XL BGE, Mini-Max, La Caja China, Arteflame Classic 40, Arteflame One 20, Arteflame Euro 20, Cotton Gin Harvester, Weber Classic, Gozney Dome, Anova wifi Sous Vide.
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  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 10,227
    cmac610 said:
    Foghorn said:
    20stone said:
    Foghorn said:
    ...But the real challenge is - as @cmac610 stated - trying to find balance between trying to cook something that makes everybody say "Wow!" - or wins a prize or contest, vs being able to relax, drink adult beverages, and enjoy what everybody else is doing.  There's room for all approaches at an eggfest.  That's part of what makes it great to go to one.
    That is the beauty of the Salado EggFest.  While we can all murder ourselves on Saturday banging out 600 - 800 tastes, you have both Friday AND Saturday night to go a little slower and share fun food with the other cooks.

    I would like to be able to walk around a bit the day of, however.  We did find at Space City that having a few more hands helping out makes a world of difference.

    For the record, @Foghorn, those apple crescent thingies were tasty, and your beer cooler was off the chain.  It was also great to share a tent with a normal sized person for a change

    And I love that you brought those homemade "table elevators" so the prep and serving tables were up at the appropriate height for a normal person. 
    The great info on this thread just keeps on coming. There's meaning behind my "handle" cmac610...as in 6'10". I need some table elevators too!

    You would definitely fit in with the rest of us normal people.  I just can't figure out why there are so few of us. I guess the others didn't eat their vegetables as children.

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX

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  • ibanda
    ibanda Posts: 553
    Even though I was not a very good cook, I liked my egg so much I decided to cook at the first fest I ever went to seven years ago, not really knowing what to expect. 

    I will echo what some people have said about keeping the prep simple, or doing it at home ahead of time. Any post cook assembly needs to be done in a hurry as I line can quickly form, once people sense something hot is "fixin to" come off an egg.

    My first dish at an eggfest was hamburger sliders with bacon, blue cheese and pickles. I cooked the bacon and put it on the table, while I cooked the burgers, I turned around and half the bacon had been eaten! I hid the rest of it. I put the pickles on the table and little kids started eating all the pickles! When I finished cooking and started assembling sliders, I could not put them together fast enough. I now bring my own assembly/prep table to put behind the serving table so I can work without all my ingredients disappearing.
    "Bacon tastes gooood, pork chops taste gooood." - Vincent Vega, Pulp Fiction
    Small and Large BGE in Oklahoma City.
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 19,780
    Foghorn said:
    20stone said:
    Foghorn said:
    ...But the real challenge is - as @cmac610 stated - trying to find balance between trying to cook something that makes everybody say "Wow!" - or wins a prize or contest, vs being able to relax, drink adult beverages, and enjoy what everybody else is doing.  There's room for all approaches at an eggfest.  That's part of what makes it great to go to one.
    That is the beauty of the Salado EggFest.  While we can all murder ourselves on Saturday banging out 600 - 800 tastes, you have both Friday AND Saturday night to go a little slower and share fun food with the other cooks.

    I would like to be able to walk around a bit the day of, however.  We did find at Space City that having a few more hands helping out makes a world of difference.

    For the record, @Foghorn, those apple crescent thingies were tasty, and your beer cooler was off the chain.  It was also great to share a tent with a normal sized person for a change

    Yeah, @20stone, I definitely spent more on beer than on food this year.  I don't see that changing going forward.  

    And I love that you brought those homemade "table elevators" so the prep and serving tables were up at the appropriate height for a normal person.  I was thinking that next time we get together you should probably bring a couple of extra table elevators that we can secure in some way to poor little @caliking's shoes.
    Would make it easier to "drink you under the table". Literally, at least. Primarily by allowing easier access to your cooler. 

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • Daddyshack
    Daddyshack Posts: 184
    Help with math please.  How do you prep the food for over 500 people - just thinking of time required.  Example: I am going to Ohio Eggfest.  Thinking pork burnt ends.  One piece/ounce per person.  500 ounces is about 30 pounds (cooked), which is about 40 pounds raw pork belly.  How can I cook that much pork belly the day before, then warm up the next day.  I have XL BGE.
    Thanks.
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  • hoosier_egger
    hoosier_egger Posts: 6,808
    Daddyshack said:
    Help with math please.  How do you prep the food for over 500 people - just thinking of time required.  Example: I am going to Ohio Eggfest.  Thinking pork burnt ends.  One piece/ounce per person.  500 ounces is about 30 pounds (cooked), which is about 40 pounds raw pork belly.  How can I cook that much pork belly the day before, then warm up the next day.  I have XL BGE.
    Thanks.
    Indy's EggFest at Sullivan Hardware doesn't allow you to bring in food. It all has to be prepared onsite and they provide it via a refrigerated semi trailer. You show up early (6AMish) get your eggs going and then get your prep done. There are usually 1k+ at this event.

    My advice, get there as early as you can, get yourself a couple XL's to use and knock them out onsite.
    ~ John - Formerly known as ColtsFan  - https://www.instagram.com/hoosier_egger
    XL BGE, LG BGE, Med BGE, BGE Chiminea, Ardore Pizza Oven
    Bloomington, IN - Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!

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  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,137
    Daddyshack said:
    Help with math please.  How do you prep the food for over 500 people - just thinking of time required.  Example: I am going to Ohio Eggfest.  Thinking pork burnt ends.  One piece/ounce per person.  500 ounces is about 30 pounds (cooked), which is about 40 pounds raw pork belly.  How can I cook that much pork belly the day before, then warm up the next day.  I have XL BGE.
    Thanks.
    You can't always cook your favorite foods at an Eggfest given all the restrictions and short time frame. And DON'T get hung up or feel pressured to cook 500 samples. They should be grateful for the time and effort you put in...period. Cooking at an Eggfest should also be fun for you, enjoy.
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
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  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,173
    One that allows you to talk **** all day while doing what you love. 
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
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  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 19,174
    Photo Egg said:
    Daddyshack said:
    Help with math please.  How do you prep the food for over 500 people - just thinking of time required.  Example: I am going to Ohio Eggfest.  Thinking pork burnt ends.  One piece/ounce per person.  500 ounces is about 30 pounds (cooked), which is about 40 pounds raw pork belly.  How can I cook that much pork belly the day before, then warm up the next day.  I have XL BGE.
    Thanks.
    You can't always cook your favorite foods at an Eggfest given all the restrictions and short time frame. And DON'T get hung up or feel pressured to cook 500 samples. They should be grateful for the time and effort you put in...period. Cooking at an Eggfest should also be fun for you, enjoy.
    Agreed. You’ll kill yourself trying to do too much. If you’re not having fun, then what’s the point. Also remember that you volunteered to cook and likely paid for the groceries. No need to kill yourself as well helping someone else sell big green eggs to strangers. 
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  • Daddyshack
    Daddyshack Posts: 184
    Great advice.  Thanks 
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