As part of the Come and Take It Celebration, the Gonzales Noon Lions Club fires up the grills, smokers, and Dutch ovens for a full day of backyard cookoff competition. Teams roll into downtown Gonzales before sunrise for a 6 a.m. setup, check in between 8 and 9:30 a.m., and then spend the rest of the day turning in eleven different categories for judging, from Sausage Appetizer at 11 a.m. all the way through T-Bone Steak, Pork Ribs, and the Cast Iron/Dutch Oven Kids Dessert by 2:30 p.m.
It’s a serious competition dressed up as a neighborhood party. Categories cover the full range of backyard cooking: T-Bone, Half Chicken, Full Rack Pork Ribs, Chili, Beans, Sausage Appetizer, Giblet Rice, Fire Roasted Salsa, BBQ Sauce, and a 21-and-up Fall Flavor Margarita contest built around autumn flavors like apple cider, cranberry, and cinnamon. There’s also a dedicated Cast Iron/Dutch Oven Kids Dessert category, where the young cooks (ages 5–13) have to do at least 90% of the work themselves, with adults only allowed to help with hot coals.
Every category is blind judged and comes with cash prizes and bragging rights on the line, T-Bone alone pays out $300 for first place, and every other category offers a $100–$250 payout across first through third. Entry fees range from $25 to $65 per category, and teams can enter as many as they’d like.
Businesses looking to get involved can step in as a $500 sponsor (entry into every category plus logo and business name on all promotional materials) or a $250 sponsor (entry into 5 of 11 categories of their choice, plus name recognition on signage). Sponsorship and entry forms are due by September 18, 2026, and only paid sponsors are permitted to promote their business from a booth on-site.
Whether you’re competing or just walking the block sampling the smell of smoked meat and fire-roasted salsa in the fall air, the Cook-Off is one of the signature Saturday-into-Sunday traditions of the Come and Take It Celebration weekend.