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Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs is hosting a Steak Cookoff Association steak (and frog leg) cook-off this weekend on Friday, Nov. 19 and Saturday, Nov. 20. Contestants have until Friday at noon to register for four different cook-off competitions, which include cash prizes of up to $1,000.
The first place winner for Friday’s cook-off receives $750 and payouts are awarded for the top 10 teams. Saturday has two steak cook-offs and each winner will receive $1,000, with $500 going to the second place winner and $400 to the third place contestant, with payouts awarded to the top 10 contestants.
The “Feelin Froggy Challenge” frog leg cook-off will also take place on Saturday. All steaks and frog legs will be provided to registered competitors. You can register here. Contest rules can be found here. The team that accumulates the most points across all four events will be awarded Royal Flush Champion and win $1,000, a Tribal Fire Grill and qualify for the 2022 World Food Championships in Dallas.
All proceeds from the All-In Steak Showdown will be donated to the Jesse Dylan James Foundation, a teenage suicide prevention nonprofit created to raise awareness about the damaging effects of teen bullying after Searcy High School freshman Jesse Dylan James died by suicide in 2017. Michael Dampier, burger chef at The Ohio Club and one of the promoters of the steak cook-off, reached out to the Jesse Dylan James Foundation after he heard that the last two annual concert fundraisers were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Our goal is to raise as much money as possible,” Dampier said. “I have teenagers. I’ve seen what they go through and witness and that really touched my heart.” You can donate to the Jesse Dylan James Foundation here.
Dampier, a certified food judge, said this is the first Steak Cookoff Assocation event to be held in Hot Springs. He said that 20 teams are signed up for Friday and about 40 for Saturday. “We still have room for about 20 to 30 more,” he said. Other prizes include trophies and every cook will receive a bag of Good Charcoal Company charcoal and goody bags will be provided to contestants and judges. Designating frog legs as the dish of choice for the ancillary competition, Dampier said, was for variety’s sake. “I could’ve done burgers or sandwiches. Nobody does frog legs so we thought it would be fun and different.
“It’s gonna be a good time at Oaklawn here in Hot Springs,” he said.
