One of Carroll ISD's barbecue teams is headed to state next year.
On Dec. 3, the Cookfellas competed at the regional qualifier competition in Gilmer, Texas. Consisting of students Alfred Hale, Cade Austin, Luke Fulkerson, Richard Cismas, Cami O’Neill and Hannah Ingle, the team competed across five different categories — New York strip steaks, hamburgers, chicken thighs, pork spare ribs and dessert.
By the end of the competition, the barbecue team was named reserve champions, finishing first for steak, chicken and desserts, second for burgers and fourth for ribs.
“We were in no way expecting to hear result after result like that,” Carroll ISD's barbecue coordinator Ken Goodman says.
The program, set up through CISD’s DECA program, also features the Meat Marauders, made up of students Benecio Porras, Jayke Coberly, Aiden Coberly, Kyle Smythe and Alli Forsberg. The students practice cooking in the parking lot of Carroll High School, with Joe Torres of Torres Cooking Concepts serving as their mentor.
But when it comes to the competition, it’s all up to the kids.
“All of these food items have several different steps to be done at certain times and then to cook with certain timings in order to be done at [the] turn-in time,” Ken says. “It takes the kids working in concert together to get it done correctly. The kids are the only ones allowed in the cooking zone. I cannot come in or touch anything once the competition begins. They are on their own.”
Now with their first competition under their belt, the team will begin to prepare for its upcoming competitions.
“I think the kids feel pretty excited and confident now for the other competitions we will have next spring,” Ken says.
The Carroll barbecue team's next competition is set for Feb. 4-5 in Lufkin, Texas, while the state competition is set for May 7 in Burnet, Texas. If the team finishes in the top 10 at state, it will qualify for nationals on June 19-22 in Round Rock, Texas.