Ridgefielder Walt Richter placed second in Chefs’ Choice category at the Westport Blues Views and Barbecue’s Smoking and Grilling contest this past fall. Mr. Richter competed against almost 30 teams, mostly amateurs like himself, but his slate also included several professional chefs and caterers.
At the ROAR with Laughter fundraiser Saturday, Feb. 22, Mr. Richter and his fellow ROAR board members are donating a barbecue for up to 50 people, one of the many live auction items to benefit Ridgefield Operation for Animal Rescue.
“We took second place in the Chef’s Choice category with our bone — in full pork shoulder which we were a bit concerned about given the short cooking time allotted for the various categories,” Mr. Richter said. “Pulled pork normally takes about 12 to 18 hours of slow cook time depending on the cooking technique you use and the temperature. We were able to barbecue the shoulder in just under seven hours and it really came out well. We were thrilled with our results this year.”
Mr. Richter is a member of the Board of Trustees for the James Beard Foundation in New York, whose mission is to honor and foster America’s culinary heritage.
“We plan to create a very unique barbecue menu for the winning bidder,” said Mr. Richter, “we can even deep fry a few turkeys.”
Ridgefield Prime is donating the meats and sides, Cakebox is providing dessert and Durant’s Party Rentals will provide rentals.
The winning bidder will also be offered two spots as “Pit Crew” on Mr. Richter’s cooking team and compete in the upcoming Ridgefield Gone Country Barbecue Festiva May 3 and 4, sponsored by the Ridgefield Rotary Club.
ROAR with Laughter, which takes place at BMW of Ridgefield, is sold out.