2014 Battle for the Paddle winners announced

With 123 teams cooking jambalaya or gumbo, United Way of St. Charles kicked off its fundraising campaign with the 13th annual Battle for the Paddle cook-off on Thursday, Oct. 2 at the West Bank Bridge Park in Luling.

A record-breaking 7,000 attendees came out for unlimited sampling of the area’s best gumbo and jambalaya and live entertainment. The Battle for the Paddle event raised more than $40,000 for United Way of St. Charles.

“We really enjoy this event because it brings the community together and creates a lot of excitement going into our annual fundraising campaign. Our goal this year is zero— meaning we want to raise enough money so that no one goes without the services needed in our community,” John Dias, UWSC executive director, said.

The 2014 winners of the Battle for the Paddle include:

Jambalaya

1. Dow Movers & Shrinkers-Dow St. Charles Operations
2. Brand/ISS
3. Spicy Steelers-Arcelor Mittal

Gumbo

1. Lamar Contractors
2. Roux Dat-Momentive Specialty Chemicals
3. John Rome & Crew-St. Charles Parish Public Schools

The winners for People’s Choice include:

Jambalaya

1. Fryoux Brew Crew
2. Team Rabedaux-AM/PM
3. GI North Maintenance-Monsanto

Gumbo

1. OMI-Oil Mop Inc.
2. Tim Marcel
3. Covenant Church