Hopkins County World Champion Stew Contest Video 
To play the video, simply click on top of the player window.
Well folks, I survived the stew judging and I HAD A BLAST!
Saturday morning, Sulphur Springs was filled with smoke from all the campfires burning at the festival. I kid you not. I live 2 minutes from the festival grounds and our neighborhood looked like heavy fog had set in. It was good smellin' fog though.
I had the good fortune to be a judge for the chicken stews. (Nothing against the beef stews, I just like eating chicken.) The stew contest officials divided the judges into a beef and chicken group. Each with their own room that came equipped with all the drinks, cheese, crackers, napkins and spoons we would need.
The experience was fun and scary all at the same time! As large, nameless cups of boiling hot stews were passed down from judge to judge, we each observed, sniffed, grabbed a fresh spoon, took a dip, sniffed again, poked, blew the hot off the stew, and finally, took the bite.
It was up to the stew judges to decide on a scale from 0 to 10, how the stew ranked in color, aroma, texture and taste. One score to say it all. I believe our group had 39 chicken stews to sample, then we had to re-taste the top ten. We were all full by that time, pretty darn full.
The judges, had no idea who won. We had to wait it out just like everyone else. So while the officials tallied the scores, I went around the festival and captured music, photos and video of the great spirit of this East Texas experience.
I found myself fascinated with all the styles and functions of the steel frames that held all those heavy cast iron pots. All ages participated. I witnessed stew making being passed from one generation to the next. Folks dressed up in their favorite Western attire and lookin' fine.
The sounds of laughter, the music of the Sulphur Springs High School Drum Line, the aroma of campfires and stew filled the air, I couldn't help feel proud and honored to be part of such an event.
For more information about this festival, read World Champion Hopkins County Stew Contest, Sulphur Springs, Texas
Hey girl – your video was AWESOME!!! Loved the drums, too.
The stew festival is always a lot of fun. I like seeing so many people turn out to do something together. The entries were really creative this year and the whole tone of the crowd is just fun and food. That said, it sure looked like a lot of work. I think I’ll stay on the spectator side of things and pay the five bucks for a bowl of all you can eat stew.
Thank you Anne!
It’s nice to see someone from my own town leaving a comment.
hey jill, thanks for the look at the stew festival…we didn’t get to go this year. now we know we missed a great time.