This Saturday, the Vineyard Farmer’s Market will be hosting one of its most fun and unique events of the year. The 8th Annual Gumbo Throwdown is Fresno’s Mardi Gras primer, with exciting music, bead and mask sales, and some friendly competition to see who makes the best gumbo in town. I’ll be there, having gumbo for breakfast and perusing the beautiful bounty that’s always there at Vineyard. It’s a wonderful way to spend your Saturday morning!
The Contenders
- Café Via
- Guri’s Grub House
- Humphrey’s Station
- Peeve’s Public House
The Music
Enjoy tunes from the Viper City Brass Band (here’s a little video I posted from last year’s event)
Schedule of Events (Feb 7, 10am-12pm)
10:00 – 11:30am: Each chef serves up samples of their best gumbo for you to taste. Tasting tickets are $8.
11:30am – 12:00pm: End of voting. Any remaining gumbo will be sold for $8 a bowl. Sorry, no bowl sales until AFTER 11:30 when the contest ends. Bowl sales are not guaranteed to take place.
12:00pm: Gumbo Throwdown Winner is announced and does a victory lap around the market, trophy held proudly overhead!
How it Works
For $8, attendees receive a ticket/ballot good for one 4 oz. sample of gumbo per booth. The ticket/ballot will list each of the participating restaurants, and will be marked off at each station. The ticket/ballot will have a space on the bottom to indicate a favorite. Once the attendee has sampled each gumbo they mark their ticket/ballot and drop off in a centrally located ballot box.
Things to Note
There are no vegetarian or gluten free options for Gumbo Throwdown attendees. Most gumbos contain shellfish or seafood.
Gumbo History
Contemporary gumbos are made with all manner of ingredients in a variety of combinations. Seafood and non-seafood gumbos are two primary types, and they may be made with or without okra. But some gumbos include ingredients from both the land and the sea. Duck, smoked sausage, and oyster gumbo is one delicious example. Some cooks add hard-boiled eggs to chicken and sausage gumbos, and quail eggs find their way into other versions…Seafood gumbos often include crabs, shrimp, and oysters…The possible combinations are virtually endless. Read more here.
In midst of all this, a girl has gotta eat, right? Alisa is loves chatting with chefs behind the scenes and exploring the rich food culture of the Central Valley.
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