COTTAGE GROVE — There are few places where you can find locally sourced meat, $5 plates of food, non-profits, and a celebrity chef. But if you were walking Washington Street in Cottage Grove for the annual Community Cook-off, you did.
Despite this being only the second year Cascade Home Center has organized the cook-off, Tobi D’Amore, the event coordinator, said that the community involvement was amazing and helped the fundraiser succeed.
Tobi D’Amore, typically Cascade Home Center’s Industrial & Commercial Sales representative, was the cook-off’s event coordinator. BOB WILLIAMS / CHRONICLE PHOTO
D’Amore said that last year the Cottage Grove Riding Club and Rodeo came to Cascade Home Center looking for paint to restore their stadium. After the business donated the paint to the club, D’Amore took it upon himself to organize a fundraiser. “That’s when we came up with the idea to have this cook-off. We were already communicating with them about the rehabilitation of their stadium,” he said.
This year D’Amore estimates that they raised around $5,000 for the club since they served over 600 plates of food. He said he is still waiting to get the final numbers back.
The Cottage Grove community filled Washington Street to taste all the beef brisket, ribs, and sides the teams whipped up. BOB WILLIAMS / CHRONICLE PHOTO
“It’s more than just a fundraiser. When we first started, our goal was to provide the community with a place to go for a weekend with their entire family and eat and have a good time with their community members, but also bring out as many nonprofits as possible,” D’Amore said.
In the cold, dark, and early-morning hours of Saturday, 12 different teams showed up to their stations to dazzle their community with beef brisket, ribs, and sides. D’Amore said five nonprofits were competing, including the VFW, CGHS athletics teams, Slabtown BMX, and the Elks Lodge.
Above, the local VFW-sponsored team proudly shows off their brisket entry. Below, Ron Schrodt and Brian Thompson hold their entry as part of the Bearded Barbecue Brothers team. BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE
“I arrange it so if a nonprofit wants to be in the event, we find a sponsor for them,” D’Amore said.
The other teams were made up of local businesses and community members who had a love for smoking meat. According to D’Amore, almost everything about the event was local. The beef was provided by Mohawk Valley Meats and Blakesley Cattle Company & Livestock Services, tents for teams to station under were donated by the Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce, the judging panel had Candace Solesbee, Cottage Grove’s mayor, and John Wooten, South Lane Fire Chief, and the winner of best in show for brisket was Chuck Young, nicknamed Woodchuck, a local contractor.
From left: Ryan Ringer, president of Cascade Home Center; Ashish Alfred, prominent chef; Candace Solsbee, Cottage Grove mayor; and John Wooten, South Lane Fire chief, who were judges for the competition. BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE
One of the only things about this event that wasn’t local was the celebrity guest judge, Ashish Alfred. D’Amore said that before he moved to Cottage Grove in 2020, he lived in New York, and Alred would visit the bar he worked at often enough for them to become good friends.
Alfred would go on to appear on Good Morning America, Chopped, and Bar Rescue and own many successful restaurants around the U.S.
Prominent Chef Ashish Alfred marks his score for one of the 12 different cook-off teams. BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE
“I never thought that he would say yes, to be honest,” D’Amore said, “I saw him on Facebook, and I said, well I’ll Facebook message him. And to my surprise, he got back to me immediately that night.”
Alfred also stopped by CGHS the day before to speak with the culinary class students and answer questions about becoming a chef.
Alfred said community and love are the ingredients of a successful business and chef. He advised the class to find the place and people for whom they want to cook.
“Restaurants are more than a place where people go to eat. Restaurants are where you propose. Restaurants are where you have your retirement party. Restaurants are where you go for pizza with your Little League team. Restaurants are a valuable part of the fabric of every community,” Alfred said. “A lot of my success has been predicated on the fact that, yeah, the food was good, and the place was nice, and the service was good, but we really developed ties to our community.”
Cottage Grove Riding Club and Rodeo members helped set up, tear down, and run this year’s cook-off. They are also the recipients of all the proceeds raised during this fundraiser. BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE
As D’Amore reported, Alfred experienced Cottage Grove’s close-knit community culture and texted D’Amore on Tuesday, October 1, saying that Cottage Grove has a piece of his heart.
According to D’Amore, the goal of the cook-off is to keep their community fed and sponsored for years to come. “The community’s response has been, still echoing,” he said. He explained that next year, based on applications, a different organization will receive donations.
Above, at top left: Brook Gunningham and Kathryn Schrodt enjoy their $5 plate of food and the community atmosphere. At top right: Brisket cooked the morning of Saturday, Sept. 28, for Cottage Grove’s annual Community Cook-off. Above, the Cottage Grove High School football team entered the competition this year, which was sponsored by Bohemian Tavern.
BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE
At the top: Cottage Grove Riding Club and Rodeo members helped set up, tear down, and run this year’s cook-off, and Luca D’Amore gets a big taste of a juicy beef rib. Above, the Cottage Grove High School wrestling team also entered the cook-off and shared their brisket with the community. BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE