This past weekend I really enjoyed attending the Battle of the Gumbo Gladiators cook-off while I was in Shreveport. The festival, which was held downtown at Festival Plaza, featured over 40 teams vying for the title of Ultimate Gumbo Gladiator. Each team had to prepare at least 8 gallons of gumbo on-site and they were required to make their roux from scratch. There were four categories to compete in: Seafood, Chicken and Sausage, Lagniappe (any gumbo not falling into the other two categories), and the People’s Choice gumbo which received the most votes from the attendees. This event was really fun and well organized and I certainly got my fill of great gumbo while I was there. I was sorry I only got to try about 20% of the different gumbos, but there is only so much you can eat. This event went to benefit the Volunteers for Youth Justice which helps young people in crisis. It’s always a real pleasure to attend these local events as I travel, and this was a particularly good one. Thank you, Shreveport, for your hospitality and for some amazing gumbo. I hope you enjoy these photos of the Gumbo Gladiators.