Take an 8-foot pot …
The Heat Is On: Jambalaya Festival 2008
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GONZALES — Mix 1,200 pounds of pork and sausage with 300 pounds of onions, 3 gallons of salt, 16 cups of red and black pepper, 20 pounds of garlic and 100 gallons of water and you’ll have the world’s largest jambalaya dinner.
That’s exactly what the members of the Jambalaya Festival Association did Saturday in hopes of setting a world record during the 41st annual festival.
To cook the giant jambalaya, Jambalaya Festival Association vice president Kyle Frederic and 2006 World Champion cook Mike Gonzales organized more than 50 volunteers.
Frederic plans to turn in the paperwork this week needed to set a record to the folks with the Guinness World Records.
“We’ve got to have the names of witnesses and video and photos from the process and, hopefully, we’ll be in the book,” Frederic said.
Gonzales, who owns the large, cast iron kettle, said he’s been thinking about cooking in the pot since he first “saw that big thing.”
The kettle measures just under 8 feet in diameter at its top.
Gonzales’ first step was to own the pot, saying he had his eye on the large sugar cane kettle for several years before taking ownership.
The kettle was sitting in the yard of friend Jim Trainer of French Settlement. It was used for years to produce syrup at an area sugar mill. While Trainer had promised Gonzales he could one day have the kettle, Gonzales said he was surprised when Trainer called him saying he was moving and “it was time for me to get my pot.”
“I was over there the next day,” Gonzales said. “We’ve been kicking around the idea for years and decided this was the year to set the record.”
Festival organizers cooked in a large kettle in the early 1970s, using 300 pounds of rice, Gonzales said.
“But, they never did anything this big,” he added.
Gonzales said Shane Martinez with Krazy Kajun Cookware prepared and crafted a stand and lid for the kettle. Nine-foot paddles were created so the jambalaya could be stirred.
Meetings were held to perfect the recipe and organize the volunteers needed to get the job done. Paddle and fire captains were named and volunteer secured.
Festival worker Bobby Williams was busy Thursday digging a hole near Irma Boulevard for the large pot.
On Friday, Williams and others built a 6-foot high stack of wood next to the pot, and the pot was placed into the hole Saturday morning.
The cooks gathered at 12:30 p.m. Saturday to get their final instructions, with the meat and vegetables placed in the pot at 1 p.m.
“Now, that is a big pot of jambalaya,” longtime Jambalaya Festival Association volunteer Carol Frederic said as she watched the mixture begin to bubble.
A Florida couple making their first trip to the festival snapped photos of the process, as dozens of onlookers surrounded the kettle.
Frederic said the intense heat from the wood-burning fire took its toll on the cooks. He said festival-goers were allowed to “be a part of history and take a turn stirring the pot.”
“We got tired quick, so we let folks from the crowd stir,” Frederic said.
After three hours of cooking, the jambalaya was ready to serve.
“A couple from Canada was a little mad they didn’t get any of the giant jambalaya,” Williams said.
“Folks just loved it,” Williams said. “The jambalaya was great and folks were amazed we pulled it off.”
Frederic and Gonzales thanked all the cooks and volunteers for taking part “in history.”
They had praise for Williams and his crew.
“Bobby deserves a lot of credit, he’s been busting his behind all weekend to get this done,” Gonzales said Sunday morning as Williams was scooping out the bits of burnt rice stuck to the bottom of the pot.
The pot was lifted from its hole Monday as festival volunteers cleaned up the grounds.
Frederic said there are discussions about trying to “do this again next year. We’ll have to see.”
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