LAPLACE — The Lagniappe stage at the 42nd Annual St. John the Baptist Parish Andouille Festival was covered with food Saturday at the site for Dang Douille eating contest and cook-off judging.

The eating contest started at 3 p.m. with nine contests trying to eat 25 pieces of Andouille sausage as fast as they could.

The winner of the Dang Douille contest was St. John the Baptist Parish employee Travis  Perrilloux of the Emergency Operations Center.

Coming in first place earned Perrilloux a check worth $300.

“It was a memorable experience,” he said. “It was also an enjoyable one as well.”

Perilloux said it felt good to take home the win for the Parish, adding his strategy for success was drinking a lot of water during the competition. He also warns everyone to watch out for him next year in the eating contest.

The second place winner was Pat White, who said he was “always a bridesmaid.” This was the third time White entered the competition.

“I feel like there was more Andouille than last year,” White said. “Last year, it was the whole sausage and this year it was cut up, which made it a lot easier.”

The first year White placed third, and Saturday marked the second time he came in second place. However, he is not giving up hope on a first place finish.

White walked away with a check worth $200. Third place went to Tenzin Dawa, who won $100.

Representative from the Parish Office seemed pleased with the turn out for this year’s Dang Douille eating contest.

“It’s a competition for some and just fun for others,” St. John Communications Director Paige Falgoust said. “I feel like a lot of guys up there really wanted to win. It’s mostly local people that compete, but we challenge anyone who does competitive eating contests to come out next year.”

Falgoust said she feels the eating competition, in its third year, has been a great addition to the festival.

Torri Buckles, director of economic development for the parish, said each year the number of participants grows.

“It was nice to see previous contestants compete again, and also some new people,” Buckles said. “It’s kind of a tongue-in-cheek event. Dang Douille is a play on Andouille. It’s a fun event.”

The annual cook off started at 1 p.m. Saturday, and the teams cooked all day to get their dishes perfect for the judging at 5 p.m.

Ten teams cooked dishes including jambalaya, pastalaya and gumbo.

Each team had to create a dish that included Andouille and provided 50 to 75 eight-ounce portions. In previous years, the competition has been a gumbo cook off, but Buckles said this was the first year it was centered on Andouille.

The judges for the cook off were Becky Fradella from White Oaks Production, Laura Buchtell from 4WWL and Stu Barash from tourlouisiana.com. The awards that were given out were People’s Choice, second and first place.

The winner of the People’s Choice and second place went to a team led by Chris Lear. The team cooked chicken and Andouille gumbo. Lear was excited to take home two awards in his first year.

“I’m pretty pumped,” he said. “I’m ready for next year.”

First place went to team lead by head cook Larry Synder, who also made gumbo. According to Synder, all of the St. John the Baptist Parish Council members pitched in money for the cook off team. The team was called Legislative Cuisine. All of the winners received a stainless steel paddle donated by Roussel Precision.

By Raquel Derganz Baker