ELLERBE — Organaizers of the 2017 Wild Foods Cook-off say the contest “went off with a bang!”
Participants got a chance to show off their wild cooking skills to everyone in Richmond County. The seventeenth annual Wild Game Cooking Competition was sponsored by Sandhills Rod and Gun Club, Martha Faye Crafters Club (formerly Extension Homemakers), and North Carolina Cooperative Extension. A program about wild foods of Central America was given by John Gerwin, research curator for the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.
The first place winners of the following 5 categories were:
• Big Game, Small Game, and Other Mammals — Tim Pattan with Venison Swamp Dip
• Wild Fowl, Fish, Reptiles, and Amphibians — Maggie Maier with Oriental Seasoned Coot
• Wild Fruits, Nuts and Vegetation — Phyllis Strider with Wild Blueberry Cheesecake
• Most Authentic — Maggie Maier with Oriental Seasoned Coot
• Youth — Payton Smith with Bacon-Wrapped Dove
After the dishes were judged, the leftovers were served to the tasting party. There were 25 dishes available for 80 people to taste. The tasting party got to try unique dishes such as quail, turtle, dove, squirrel, bear, duck, rabbit and persimmons that they have never eaten before.
See Richmond County Cooperative Extension on Facebook for more photos. Anyone with questions about how to can get involved with next year’s event is encouraged to call Tiffanee Conrad at 910-997-8255.