Welcome to the Cottage Grove Community Cook-Off!

👉 Mark your calendar: Saturday, September 27, 2025. Bring your appetite, your family, and your friends—this is one Cottage Grove tradition you don’t want to miss!

The Cottage Grove Community Cook-Off is back for another year of mouth-watering barbecue, friendly competition, and community celebration! This two-day event brings together talented local cooks, food lovers, and businesses to raise funds for Slabtown BMX while showcasing the best flavors Cottage Grove has to offer.

Event Schedule

Friday, September 26 – Kick-Off (Invite Only at Elk’s Lodge)

10:00 AM – Meat delivery & team check-in
5:00 PM – Cook-Off Kick-Off (invite only)

Saturday, September 27 – Community Cook-Off Day

5:00 AM – Teams move to East Washington St.
8:00 AM – Vendor load-in
10:00 AM – Street closure
10:30–11:00 AM – Judging begins
12:30 PM – Raffle drawing
1:30 PM – Awards ceremony
2:00 PM – Cleanup

Competition Categories & Awards

Cooks will go head-to-head with their best recipes, competing in categories judged on appearance, aroma, tenderness, taste, and presentation.

🏆 Awards include:

Best in Show (Grand Prize & Judges’ Choice)
People’s Choice
Best Style/Theme
Team Award

Get Involved

🌟 Taste & Vote – For just a $5 suggested donation, you can sample BBQ entries and cast your vote for the People’s Choice award.

👩‍🍳 Enter a Team – Think you’ve got the skills? Team entries are $140 (plus food handler’s card fee). Each team gets a 10×10 cook site with canopy and power.

🎟️ Raffle Prizes – Don’t miss the community raffle at 12:30 PM!

💛 Sponsor or Volunteer – Support the event and Slabtown BMX while putting your business in front of the Cottage Grove community.

Benefiting Slabtown BMX

All proceeds from the Cook-Off benefit Slabtown BMX, helping provide safe and fun opportunities for local youth to ride, race, and build lifelong skills through BMX.

Thank You to Our Community Partners

We couldn’t do this without the support of our amazing sponsors and partners, including: