Over 40 thousand people showed up to watch very enthusiastic Cooking Teams set-up their Cowboy Cooking Camps at The Fajita Cookoff as part of PalmFest International Folklife Celebration held recently at the McAllen Convention Center.

Fajita Aficionados competed in 5 cooking categories for Cash prizes and Custom made BBQ pit trophies by Camco Wheel & Axle in Pharr.

There was also a Showmanship Award given to the Team that had the best decorated Camp & Team spirit.

“It was very difficult to choose the showmanship winner this year”, said Christopher Julian founder and producer of The Fajita Cookoff. “We had so many great camps this year and all the teams were very inviting and entertaining to the public, Julian concluded.

The winners of The Fajita Cookoff this year were from left.

Showmanship Award- “NYMC” (Not Your Momma’s Cooking) Team lead by Cassey Venegas

Pan de Campo 1st place winner- “Cowboy Up”

Traditional Fajita 1st place winner- “Blazing Bandits Cooking Team”

Gourmet Fajita 1st Place & 3rd place Frijoles a la Charra winner- “RC Trucking Cooking Team”

Mollejas & Frijoles a la Charra 1st place winner – “Cooking Cowboys”

Gourmet Fajitas & Traditional Fajitas 2nd place winner- “You Grill’ em We Kill’ Em”

Pan de Campo 2nd Place Winner- “Spike It”

Frijoles a la Charra 2nd Place & 3rd place Mollejas winner- “Judge Luis Garza Cooking Team”

Mollejas 2nd Place & 3rd place Pan De Campo winner- “Los 3 Amigos”

Gourmet Fajitas & Traditional Fajitas 3rd place winner- “Budweiser Lizards”

Congratulations to all the winners, and see you next year.

The Fajita Cookoff at PalmFest will be moved to the Circle Drive-way in The Oval Park at The McAllen Convention Center.

The best BBQ Rigs & Cooking Camps will be placed on the green belt between the Palm Trees next to the circle drive around the Reflecting Pond.

For the Best Location on the Circle you MUST get your entry form in NOW!

Go to www.TheFajitaCookoff.com for more information and the registration forms.

Here is the entry form to download.

There will be two major changes to this year’s The Fajita Cookoff scheduled during PalmFest International Folklife Celebration in October at the McAllen Convention Center.

The first change will be this year’s Cookoff will be only one day, Saturday October 6.

There will be five cooking categories of the competition; Traditional and Gourmet Fajitas, Pan de Campo, Frijoles a la Charra & Beef Mollejas.

Entry fee is only $145 for all five categories.

There will also be a Showmanship award to the Cooking Team with the best camp and Team Spirit. Cash prizes and custom plaques and miniature BBQ Pit trophies will be awarded to the top Fajita Aficionados.

On Sunday, there will be cooking demonstrations by selected Cooking Teams and local Chefs. So teams can relax and enjoy some fun with the family at PalmFest.

The Fajita Cookoff at PalmFest is scheduled for Oct. 1-2 at the McAllen Convention Center on the Expressway & Ware Rd. in McAllen.

This year’s competition will continue to celebrate the vibrant history of South Texas. All cooking categories are truly indigenous of this community and culture. Research proves the birthplace of the Fajita is The Rio Grande Valley.

We’ve added one additional cooking category this year, Mollejas, on Saturday.

And Sunday will be dedicated to the true Fajita, traditional & gourmet.

$3,800 will be awarded to the top teams along with the most coveted prize of the Cookoff, custom hard-made miniature BBQ Pit Trophies from Camco Wheel & Axle.

The two day entry fee of all 6 cooking categories, Salsa, Pan de Campo, Frijoles, Mollejas, Traditional & Gourmet fajita is only $175. As a bonus, we are including the Showmanship award of $500 & a custom hand-made trophy to the winner. Who will be the next Fajita aficionado.

 Reminder, The Fajita Cookoff is part of PalmFest International Folk life Celebration with games & carnival attractions, cowboys & Indians, car show & cultural displays, as well as an Outdoor Mercado.

Come join all the family fun & earn the bragging rights of The Fajita Cookoff at PalmFest.

       The City organizers asked The producer of the original Fajita Cook-off, Christopher Julian and The Fajita Marshall and general manager, Richard Womeldorf, to conduct the judging of the contest.

They immediately jumped into action, along with the Cook-off’s official score keeper Christine Tucker, by contacting several judges, printing out the score cards & official tally sheets.

        All was going well when the first category, salsa, was turned in. Then all hell broke loose. A Cold Front blew in & boy did it blow! For the next hour, chilling rain & 50 mph winds blew and people scattered for shelter. The judging tent was completely drenched along with all the judges & judging forms. Right when we thought the day was done, here came cooking teams with their second category entry, pan de campo. When we told them we may not be able to continue, the event organizers Adrian Olguin and crew from Traffic Dept. came to our rescue with dry paper, pencils and dry judges. We continued judging the rest of the categories, the sun came out & so did all the people.

         All in all it turned out to be a beautiful day and some great tasting entries.
“This was the most challenging cook-off we’ve ever been in, said Richard Womeldorf.
“All of the City Cooking Teams endured some of the roughest weather ever and all of them hung in there & performed.

The winner of the Fajita category not only got 1st place, but a free entry into The Fajita Cook-off at PalmFest this year on Oct. 1-2 at the McAllen Convention Center. “We were so impressed with their performance, we are even adding mollejas to our Cook-off at PalmFest, said Christopher Julian.