| grilling |
Stacey Croft
Steak Cook-Off
World Champion
by Adelia Ladson | photography submitted
Just about everyone has their own special way of cooking a steak but not everyone is an actual World Champion like Stacey Croft .
Croft was crowned as one of two , first place champions at the World Steak Cook-Off in Fort Worth Texas , in March , competing against 500 teams representing 16 countries .
“ I was only the second woman that ’ s ever to have won it . 2020 was the first year a woman ever won and she was the youngest and then I won this year . Well , tied for first ,” she said . “ It was very overwhelming for sure .”
Croft and her husband , Kenny , make-up the Sunbelt Grillers team and have been competing for about five years . They went to a local competition that was in Hazlehurst , Ga . and her husband placed fifth , she said , and was hooked from there .
“ So I sat back and watched for about a year , helping him , and then finally everybody kept saying , ‘ You should cook , too .’ A lot of the husband and wife teams that we cook with , the wives were like ‘ cook , too .’ Kenny bought me my first grill and I started cooking ,” Croft said .
She said that she ’ s been cooking for about four years now and she ’ s qualified every year to go to the World Steak Cook-Off except this year she went on an invitation .
“ So , I went on that and ended-up winning it all ,” Croft said , adding that she tied with another cook and they share the championship .
“ We share the championship title this year . This was the tenth year , the tenth anniversary . And the first time it ’ s ever happened that they couldn ’ t break the tie ,” she said .
She said this was a “ golden ticket ” event , sponsored by the Steak Cook-Off Association , so one can only compete if they have won another event or are invited because you ’ re in the top ten of an event .
“ It ’ s something we get to do together . We both enjoy doing it . And it ’ s competitive but it ’ s relaxing at the same time .”
AUGUST 2024 MoultrieScene 15