Approximately 6,000 people were in attendance when United Way of St. Charles hosted Battle for the Paddle 2022 last week, and UWSC Executive Director John Dias said the best part of the day was seeing so many people happy.
“After the past two years, it felt really good to be doing some positive and just something normal,” he said.
The 2020 contest was cancelled because of the pandemic, and last year the event was cancelled because of the destruction brought on by Hurricane Ida. The family-friendly event invites families, businesses, and industry teams from across the region to compete for the titles of Best Jambalaya, Best Pastalaya and Best Gumbo. Unlimited samples are served up and covered by the $5 gate fee.
This year Nashville presented South presented live music and 171 teams cooked up pots for judging.
In the judge’s gumbo division, the St. Charles Women’s Club took home first place, followed by the TRIAD team in second place. John H. Carter won third. In the judge’s jambalaya contest, Setpoint Integrated Solutions won first, Bottom’s Up took home second place and Cornerstone secured third.
In the judge’s pastalaya division, St. Charles Lodge #445 secured first place, Palacios Marine & Industrial won second and team Picou won third.
Battle for the Paddle also includes People’s Choice contests. In the gumbo division, the people chose St. Charles Women’s Club for first, the team from St. Charles Parish Hospital for second and placed the Bayer team in third.
In the jambalaya division, People’s Choice was awarded to St. Charles Parish Hospital for first place, Bayer for second, and Oxy Chem for third. Rotary of St. Charles took home first place in the pastalaya division of the People’s Choice award, with the Loyd J. Bourgeois team securing second place. Percle’s Jump N Fun won third place.
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