BBQ cook-off beneath the bridge in M.C.

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Sometimes the best way to beat the heat is to fire up the grill, embrace the burn and socialize under the bridge. That doesn’t have to sound like a foreign idea much longer.

The Bayou BBQ Bash is scheduled for July 13-14 along Second and Everett streets, or “under the bridge,” in Morgan City.


The event is a sanctioned International BBQ Cookers Association event, and its major sponsor, the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce, hopes to see a good turnout with a promising number of registrants already.


The event is an avenue for IBCA members to earn points. Grand champion winners of each IBCA sanctioned event have their name entered into a September drawing, which selects participants for the Jack Daniels BBQ Contest.

“The point of doing one here was because, during July, there wasn’t any place nearby to get their points,” says Donna Meyer of the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce. “Most people that do this travel; they’re looking for points for the big Jack Daniels Contest.”


Day one is little more than a preparation for the Saturday party. The second day starts with a car show, and attendees can also partake in a quilter’s guild booth, arts and crafts show, enjoy the live band at noon and grab some brisket for lunch to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network.


A corporate cooking contest is available for local businesses, with friendly competition and pride for the winner. A “Kids’ Que” also takes place in the morning, where children aged 12 and younger participate in preparing barbecue on smaller, kid-friendly pits. The maximum amount of participants for the Kids’ Que, with an unofficial – and already breached – cap set at 15. Eighteen children have already signed up to cook.

Teams of cooks in the main competition compete in one of three separate categories of chicken, ribs and brisket. A first-place prize is given to the judges’ choice in each category, and a grand champion is chosen from a cook or team who participates in all three categories with the highest score.


Don and Mata Tellman have played a major role in putting together the event. The two are familiar with the process, as they have participated in and organized competitions for years.


“Don and Mata travel almost every weekend to enter into contests,” Meyer says. “He’s done a great job with this event. He even taught contestants how to prepare meats for contest, showing them how to prepare the meat ahead of time.”

It’s important that the contestants understand the rules of the competition. The IBCA website lists a numerous set of rules that must be followed at its sanctioned events, ranging from cooking times, upkeep of pits, allowed cooks, judging and even announcing the winners. Having participated and organized many IBCA-sanctioned competitions, Don and Mata are knowledgeable sources.

The couple moved to Morgan City from Missouri in 1987 when Don found a job working on ships. Along the way, he picked up barbecue and realized he had a talent. Though Mata isn’t the barbecue guru of the family, she says she takes care of the dessert.

“Don is one of 11 brothers and sisters, and he joined the military earlier in life,” Mata says. “He used to cook for his siblings, and with all the traveling he’s done, he’s just picked up different things along the way. He does all the barbecuing, and I do dessert. He’s won several trophies and plaques from contests. If they have a dessert competition, I enter and often win.”

The two are now retired and have two sons who live in Florida and Washington. They don’t participate in as many contests as they once did, but they help plan and run at least 10 to 15 events each year and always volunteer to cook at various events.

“We do a lot of things for the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce, and we went to Fort Polk and cooked for the troops,” Mata says. “This month I bet we’ve fed over 1,000 people at various things.”

The two enjoy meeting new people, a factor that attracted them to barbecue. Often times they see the same people at the contests.

“People love to eat, and they like good food,” Mata says. “It’s a time when people get together and any given weekend during summer there are probably about 300 competitions taking place around the country. It’s also a time to get together and show off if you’re good enough.”

The events are a great way to meet new people and make the Louisiana heat somewhat bearable, if at all possible. Hopefuls wishing to enter the contest are welcome to register on the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce website, www.stmarychamberofcommerce.com, and put their best skills on the pit.

Flames lap at chicken, pork ribs and brisket at the Bayou BBQ Bash in Morgan City this month. The International BBQ Cookers Association sanctions the event, scheduled for July 13-14 on Second and Everett streets.

COURTESY PHOTO