Greetings Sunshine State Eggfest Cooks! The Organizing committee would like to thank you for cooking at the upcoming Eggfest! We hope this answers any questions you may have.
What to expect at the Sunshine State Eggfest®
As we all know, there are “Cooks” & “Tasters”. As an Eggfest Cook, you should plan on cooking at least once during the day, providing minimum of 50 to 75 ‘tastings’/samples to our guests (more is fine of course!). As an example, a boneless skinless chicken thigh could be cut into 4 to 8 pieces, and served perhaps on a toothpick. Again, you are providing tastings, not a meal.
Plan your cook(s) accordingly, as you will likely be asked to share your Big Green Egg during the day. Traditionally, there are more cooks than Eggs available. This is a true team effort to “feed the masses”. Long cooks such as brisket, pork butts and ribs are discouraged. Instead, try to plan a couple of quick cooks. A few simple suggestions will be outlined below. It is important to remember; a Fest is about introducing others to Egged food, so keeping food samples available is a priority.
The majority of you have signed up to participate in the Meet & Greet. Please visit the registration table in the Lobby of the hotel from 1:00-5:00pm Friday, March 9 to pick up your Fest registration. You will be provided with an envelope, which will include your Wrist bands, name badges, and door prize tickets. It is critical you do not misplace this envelope! Please be wearing your cook’s wrist band upon arrival at the Fest on Saturday morning to help facilitate a quick entry! You will not be admitted to the Fest without your name badge and wrist band! For those of you who have registered both cooks and tasters, the taster’s wrist bands will be included in your registration envelope, provided we have been able to insure you are participating as a family. In the instances where wives names perhaps differ from the husband, etc, it is likely there will be separate registration envelopes. For those of you who received early check in at the Meet & Greet, admission to the Fest for early set up will begin at 7:00 am Saturday morning. For those of you who are not able to register Friday night, the Registration table will open at 8am on Saturday morning at the entrance to the ocean side deck. Registration for tasters opens at 9am.
Storing Your Egg(s)
The Crown Plaza Hotel has been kind enough to make a conference room available for overnight, secure storage of our Egg’s. When you check in with the Reception Desk, please ask for direction to the conference room for Egg storage. Be sure your Egg can be easily identified with a name tag. (These Eggs do tend to all look alike!) The conference room will have access to the outside parking lot, so we won’t have to wheel our Eggs through the Hotel Lobby! To minimize potential damage to the host hotel property, please be sure to arrive with a clean egg! For those of you needing assistance in unloading, it should be easy enough to find a few Eggheads around. We’re all one Big Egg Family, so help will not be far away. Access to your Egg will be provided beginning at 7:00 am Saturday morning. There is an exterior walk-way which will allow you entrance to the deck. Cooks can use this entrance for Eggs, Coolers and cooks’ equipment. This entrance is ONLY to be used by cooks already checked-in with wrist bands visible. All other guests must enter through the main entrance, which will be located through the Hotel Bar/Restaurant.
During the fest, remember the majority of guests are either considering a BGE, or are new Egg owners. Expect them to ask you questions about your recipe, technique, etc. Some cooks have even come with recipes printed for those who ask. We will have the deck set up in such a way that your work table/serving table should provide a natural barrier, keeping guests out of your cooking space and away from the hot eggs. Please keep guest safety and an isolated work space in mind when setting up for the actual fest.
What to cook
As we previously mentioned, long cooks such as butt, brisket and ribs are discouraged. However, beyond that, the options are limited only by your imagination. Consider quick cooks like steaks (flank, skirt, London broil, etc), chicken pieces, pork loins, tenderloins, chops or country style ribs, shrimp or meat on skewers, Soups or Stews in Dutch ovens, etc. You can put your own “style” in your cook by using unique rubs, sauces, techniques, ingredients, etc. There is also no reason for you to limit your thinking to a particular meal! You can do appetizer finger type foods, desserts, or perhaps even a few will decide to do a breakfast cook! As a perfect example, Pork Butt Mike managed to provide 150 people, an excellent breakfast burrito at Eggtoberfest, simply using his wok and some tortillas! Quick, easy, and many received a sample! Also remember, you want to keep serving easy, and eliminate people from reaching into your food. Think of using toothpicks, small soufflé cups, French fry boats, cocktail napkins, small paper plates, etc, that can be handed to guests on a sample by sample basis. All food served at the fest must be cooked on The Big Green Egg. The cookbook on the Big Green Egg Forum is a helpful resource, and an internet search should provide links to past Eggfest cookbooks. If this is your first fest, we recommend you try to pair up with an experienced egghead. Eggheads are always willing to assist, especially to those just learning. Remember, think samples, not meals, and prepare ahead for how you will serve your items to the guests.
What to bring
All ingredients required for your cook(s), with all ingredients needing refrigeration packed and iced properly in your cooler. Please purchase your ice while doing your shopping! The hotel ice will not be able to accommodate 100 coolers! Don’t forget your salt & pepper, rubs, spices, sauces, etc!
KEEP COLD FOOD COLD, AND KEEP HOT FOOD HOT! If you have cooked something, and it remains uneaten after TWO HOURS, please discard it! We are feeding many people! One mistake can make many people sick! Err on the side of caution!!
Think comfort for you (and your feet!). Wear clothing and shoes appropriate for the weather, and activities of the day. You will be on your feet more than most of us are used to, so comfortable shoes are a must.
Folding chairs for when you need a break.
Your Egg if possible, including plate setters, pizza stones, raised grids, high temp gloves, etc that you may need for your cook(s).
An EZ-Up if you can. We will be setting things up a bit differently this year, so some EZ-Up’s will be welcomed!
Lump if you can, though there will be some there.
Grill utensils you may need, such as tongs, spatulas, spoons, etc. Or any Cast Iron items you many plan on using.
Preparation and serving items, such as rubber gloves for prep and serving, toothpicks, small paper plates, etc as mentioned above.
Knives, cutting boards and any other utensil you may need. (Note: Disposable cutting boards are always helpful! They are available in nearly every major supermarket!)
Tables will be provided, but you may want to consider a disposable table cloth to “dress up your area” if you choose.
Most importantly, HAVE FUN! Show your personality; interact with as many people as you can! Mingle with everybody! The fest goes quickly, so enjoy the day’s events!
Shopping
There is quality shopping very near-by! Our recommended market is “Downtown Produce”, located at 7856 Ellis Road, Melbourne, which is less than 15 minutes away. They offer quality produce, meats and seafood, and offer a very extensive selection of wines, and more. We encourage you to stop by! Please visit their website at www.downtownproduce.com.
There is a Publix Supermarket a couple of miles from the hotel. If visiting Publix, we encourage you to visit the Pinch-A-Penny located in the same plaza. Pinch-A-Penny is owned by Dan and Shelly Coyne, who are the official BGE Dealer for the fest, a sponsor, and true Eggheads as well. They will be displaying at the fest as well.
Please visit www.SunshineStateEggfest.com to familiarize yourself with our sponsors and vendors! We will have several at the fest with their products for sale.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone in the near future! Safe travels and Happy Egging!
The Sunshine State Eggfest Organizing Committee