Breckenridge’s Chuckwagon Cook-off slated for Saturday, May 1
The 2021 Bob Drake Memorial Chuckwagon Cook-off, hosted by the Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce, will bring cowboy-style cooking to Breckenridge this weekend.
The event is scheduled for Saturday, May 1, west of the Breck Trade Days building. The chuckwagon teams can compete for hundreds of dollars in prize money, as well as some belt buckles.
The chuckwagons will begin setting up on Friday, and a campfire gathering will take place that night for Campfire Sponsors.
The competition will start Saturday morning, and lunch will be served at noon. Tickets to the event cost $15 and are limited. They are available at the Chamber office, 100 E. Elm. Those attending will be invited to take their plates of food to the Trade Days Barn to eat. Additionally, drive-thru service will be offered for those who are not able to stay for the event.
The cook-off has traditionally been held in conjunction with the annual Frontier Days, but this year it will be a stand-alone event. Last year, due to the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on large gatherings, both Frontier Days and the chuckwagon cook-off were canceled by the Chamber Board of Directors. This year, the board voted to hold off on Frontier Days for one more year, since at the time they needed to start planning everything, Gov. Greg Abbott had not yet announced whether or not restrictions on such events would be lifted; he eventually lifted the restrictions.
However, once the governor did announce that the restrictions were lifted, they hurried to plan the chuckwagon cook-off to offer some form of normalcy for the community, said Carrie Holson, Executive Director of the Chamber.
The cook-off will feature competitions in the categories of meat, bread, beans, potatoes and dessert. There also will be prizes awarded for the Best Wagon Authenticity and Camp, and Best Overall (wagon and food). There also will be prizes in the categories of Wild Card, Pot Wrestler and Hospitality. Additionally, there will be a drawing for a $500 Chuckwagon Award, sponsored by Resist-All Electric.
Chuckwagons that have registered to participate this year include:
- R – D Chuckwagon from Canton, Texas
- Cripple Creek from Goliad, Texas
- Robertson Wagon from Granbury, Texas
- Rafter JB from Cambridge, Kansas
- Double Wells from Hunt, Texas
- Jewett Gap from Glen Rose, Texas
- Wildcat Knob from Granbury, Texas
- Shadow Peak from Weatherford, Texas
In addition to the food, the event will include door prizes, live music, the presentation of the chuckwagon awards and a drawing for a fundraiser hosted by the Chamber. The Chamber and H&H Garden Center will raffle off a $3,000 landscape package. Tickets cost $20 each, and only 750 will be sold. Tickets are available now at the Chamber office.
For more information about the event, call the Chamber at 254-559-2301.
Cutline, top photo: Contestants in the 2018 Bob Drake Memorial Chuckwagon Cook-off in Breckenridge work on their food entries. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, May 1. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Make sure you don’t miss any of the Breckenridge Texan’s news…click here to sign up for our email newsletter, the Weekly News Roundup. It has links to stories, photo galleries and more! It’s free to sign up, and it comes to you on Monday mornings.
