I am sorry to see that the competition was cancelled this year. In the past, it has been one of my favorites. Since I care about this competition, I think it's fair that I provide my feedback. My reason for not going isn't because of Lake City, but because of the changes the Anderson Cook-Off organizers made.

1) No volunteers - That's fine. Not a big deal, and it's the same at most competitions.

2) Serve BBQ at remote tables - Having to carry pans of pulled pork to tables 100 yards away makes things difficult. We were at the bottom of the hill last year and there was a lot of back & forth. But, it's not a severe problem and I know to take a rolling cart for the cambro.

3) 2 members from each team must be at the table to serve guests - Here's where all the problems arise for me, due to the other 2 changes. My team is me and one other person. If we're both serving guests at a table 100 yards away from the trailer, there's no one to clean the trailer and smoker. The organizers are now monopolizing 3 hours of our time so that we can serve their guests. In the past, if there was a lull, someone could keep cleaning and packing.

These 3 changes together work against us and it's another competition where I feel the organizers are taking advantage of the cook teams. Competitions are always a lot of work, but ultimately, I'm there to have fun cooking, competing and sharing time with people.

I do understand that Anderson University had to change their layout because of the new parking lot, and they put us in the new location due to power and water supplies. However, they have chosen to make the cook teams' day much more difficult.

If the event must serve the guests away from the trailers, they should look into doing it like Rock Hill. Take the pork and let their people sell/serve it.


Also, I should say that one other team that loves this event isn't able to go simply because it conflicts with their work projects. Otherwise, I probably would have gone to help them.