Dodie\u2019s Cajun Diner at The Harbor served up community spirit alongside steaming bowls of gumbo during its first-ever Gumbo Cook-Off \u2013 raising more than $1,500 for Givingmas, an East Dallas nonprofit that supports families working to overcome barriers to stability.<\/p>\n
The Nov. 9 event drew 17 contestants and a packed house as guests filled the dining room and bar, buying tasting spoons, raffle tickets and T-shirts. Each purchase helped stir the total donation for Givingmas.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom traditional roux-based recipes to bold, creative twists, the entries showcased the full spectrum of what gumbo can be,\u201d Trevor Keils, Dodie\u2019s general manager, said. \u201cOne entry featured tender duck, while another arrived brimming with crab claws. Our judges had a blast tasting their way through such a wide range of flavors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlie Stephens emerged as one of the day\u2019s top cooks, earning first place in the Judges\u2019 Choice category and second in People\u2019s Choice. Tina Thibodeaux won the People\u2019s Choice award, followed by Stephens and Bryan McCray. In the Judges\u2019 Choice division, Stephens was followed by Everette Turner in second and Russell Hyden in third. First-place winners\u00a0received cash prizes; second and third place earned Dodie\u2019s gift certificates.<\/p>\n
The judging panel featured locals with New Orleans roots and deep affection for Cajun cuisine: Mike McRae, owner of Dodie\u2019s; Dustin Ray; Kayne Pierce; Rick Carroll; Tre Johnson and Gary Lacey.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat stood out most to the judges was the heart and pride poured into every pot,\u201d McRae said. \u201cEach contestant brought their own story, their own family touch and their own version of comfort food to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dodie\u2019s plans to formally present the donation to Givingmas in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiving back is at the heart of who we are,\u201d McRae said. \u201cThis community shows up time and time again, and we\u2019re grateful to everyone who cooked, tasted, donated, judged and celebrated the spirit of Cajun cooking for a cause that truly matters.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dodie\u2019s Cajun Diner at The Harbor served up community spirit alongside steaming bowls of gumbo during its first-ever…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53597,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[29724,29726,29714,23807,2325,29716,29721,102,104,103,29722,320,29717,29718,29720,29713,29725,29723,7674,29715,29719],"class_list":["post-53596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-american-cuisine","tag-cajun","tag-cajun-cuisine","tag-cooking","tag-cuisine","tag-cuisine-of-the-americas","tag-cuisine-of-the-southern-united-states","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-european-cuisine","tag-food-and-drink","tag-food-and-drink-preparation","tag-food-watchlist-articles","tag-foods","tag-french-american-cuisine","tag-gumbo","tag-louisiana-cuisine","tag-mediterranean-cuisine","tag-north-american-cuisine","tag-western-cuisine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}