Cooks page

food Safety videos and information

click link above to review food safety videos

REGISTRATION (registered cooks - see bottom of page)

Please register EACH AND EVERY individual cook name via the Registration form located on the Contact page.

A "cook" is defined as any person (regardless of age) that participates by preparing, handling, or cooking food at the event.

Registration is necessary for planning purposes, and ensures eligibility for receipt of any donated wings.

All cooks should review the following short food handling and safety videos courtesy of Central District Health.

Each food safety video is only a few minutes in length, and helps ensure proper food handling and safety.

Click the image and link below for important information each cook should review annually prior to the event.  Thank you!! 

Donated Wings (please read!!!)

In years previous, we have been very fortunate to have wing donations from such great sponsors as Sysco, Tyson, Smart Chicken, and Food Services of America.  We greatly appreciate any and all wing donations to help supplement the quantities of food offered at this event by our many excellent cooks!  If you have a contact that can supply food items for the event, please contact us via the Contact page.  We'd appreciate hearing from you, to support this event and help pass on savings to our cooks.

A special note:  We'd  like to take a moment to remember our dear friend Paul Rensberger who passed in 2016. 

Paul was a huge fan of this event, and supplied hundreds of donated pounds of Tyson wings to assist our cooks over the years. 

We miss Paul, and extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to his daughters, extended family, and friends.

A special note to cooks regarding donated wings and how donations work

Wing donations, like any donation, vary based on a supplier's economic environment, corporate donation policies, budgetary constraints, etc. 

Any wing, (or other food) donations are greatly appreciated and will be distributed as equally as possible amongst REGISTERED COOKS ONLY!  

Originally, the Wing Off event began with all cooks donating any and all food items they brought and prepared to the event.  There was no sponsored donation of any kind.  All food, supplies, materials, etc. were supplied by the cooks.  We consider ourselves fortunate to be associated with all the incredible cooks, suppliers, and organizations that have donated to this event, and have the deepest gratitude for their support and generous donations over the years.  Thank you!!

 In previous (good) years we've had enough wings donated to give every cook 20+ lbs.  This is NOT guaranteed!!  If the final donation quantity for the year is insufficient to provide all cooks with wings, a raffle will be held to distribute a reasonably determined amount of wings to as many REGISTERED COOK NAMES as possible based on the final donation quantity.

No cooks and staff breakfast!!

unfortunately the cooks and staff breakfast is cancelled this year

thanks to Phil Evans and the Meridian Kiwanis for making this possible in prior years!!

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​Kiwanis Charity Program Info

Wing-Off.com

click the image above for important food safety information

Key Information for cooks:

• Store food at 41F or below
• Prepare food at the event as much as possible
  
• Don't handle raw food directly
  
• Use gloves when cooking and handle food with tongs, or other clean utensils not having been in contact with raw food.
• Bring multiple sets of tongs to ensure plenty of clean utensils for replacement multiple times during the event.
  
  • Thoroughly clean or replace tongs after contact with raw chicken to prevent cross-contamination.
    
• Ensure chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
• Verify proper operation of thermometers.  An ice bath can be used to verify temperature reading of 32F.
• Do not participate in cooking should you become ill.
  
• Bring a bleach bucket and rinse bucket (recommended)
  
  • A bleach bucket is a tub capable of holding a gallon of water mixed with one teaspoon of bleach  used to sanitize utensils.
    
  • The following is ideal:
    
    • Tub 1 (Detergent) - Tub containing a mixture of clean water and dish soap to wash cooking items
      
    • Tub 2 (Rinse) - Rinse tub containing clean tap water
      
    • Tub 3 (Sanitize) - Bleach tub containing a ratio of one tablespoon of bleach to one gallon of tap water (5 minute contact time with items being washed)
      
    • Tub 4 (Rinse) - Rinse tub containing clean tap water
      
    • Tub 5 (Air Dry) - Empty tub to place washed items to air dry
      

• NOTE:  If your recipe is intensely HOT, contains extreme heat from known hot peppers, or contains known food allergens such as peanuts or nuts of any kind, please provide adequate warning signage to inform guests!!!
  

recommended items:

• A cooking platform/s of your choice (propane/briquette/pellet Grill, Smoker, Hibachi, Dutch oven, etc.).  
  
• NOTE:  It is each cook's responsibility to safely contain AND remove any and all cooking materials such as briquettes, fryer oil, trash, etc. from the event. 
  
  • Park personnel will be available for trash removal for most of the event, however removal of any remaining trash or materials, including damaged canopies, is the responsibility of each cook/team.   
    
  • ANY damage to park grounds resulting from improper management of cooking or other materials is the financial responsibility of the responsible cooking team.  
    
  • In some cases oil / fat collection containers may be available for used cooking oil, however this is not guaranteed.  Any team using cooking oil should accommodate for oil removal.  
    
    
• NOTE: If using a fryer, sufficient air space MUST exist between the fryer and the park grounds to insure NO scorching/discoloration of park grass.  
  
  • Any damage to park sod is the sole responsibility of the cook/team to resolve with the Meridian Parks Dept.  
    
  • It is strongly recommended that at least 12" of clearance exists between the bottom of the fryer and the park grounds to prevent sod damage.  
    
  • Simply placing a fryer on plywood and directly on the ground does NOT allow sufficient air space to dissipate extreme heat, and WILL damage park grounds.
    
  • Please take appropriate measures to insure adequate capture of any spilled oil (heated or not) and verify proper clearance between hot cooking surfaces and park grounds.
    
• Fire extinguisher (if possible).
  
• Portable generators are allowed at the park for grills requiring electricity.  Park electricity is not available for grills as it is dedicated to other equipment, nor is it in proximity of grilling areas.
  
• Gloves are required for cooking and food handling per Central District Health.
  
• Matches or fire starter
  
• Spare cooking fuel
  
• Spray bottle of water for those occasional flare ups...
  
• Multiple sets of tongs for food handling (use separate sets of utensils for raw uncooked food, and cooked food).  Change out utensils multiple times to prevent any potential cross-contamination.
  
• Quick-read thermometer (calibrated to read 32F in a crushed ice bath)
  
• Shade canopy
  
• Chairs
  
• Coolers (with easy to read thermometer for any coolers containing food to be cooked and served).
  
• Tables and/or table cloths
  
• Serving boats (these can be purchased at Cash N Carry or other restaurant supply outlets).
  
• Wet wipes
  
• Sun screen
  
• Signage to identify your recipes
  

Ready to cook?

Head on over to the Contact page and get signed up!!

There you'll find detailed information regarding participation.

​​​​​​​Registered cooks

If you are cooking and don't see your name below, please Contact us, and thanks in advance for providing us with ALL the information requested.
Please re-register each year. We do not assume that previous participation guarantees you will be cooking in the current year, so please take the time to register.  Thank you!

Our goal is 70 cooks again this year, so sign up and help us reach our goal.  Truly, every bit of grilling horsepower really makes a difference, so let's bring it!!!

If your name or a cook on your team is not listed below, and you are planning to cook, please sign up via the Contact page to let us know, and let others interested in cooking also know.

23 teams, 105 cooks, and 2,430 lbs of wings planned thus far!!! 

A huge "thank you" to all those in black font below!!! 

We still a bit more horsepower to bring this event up to par, so get your team signed up and recruit anyone else that may be interested!!

NOTE:  Only registered cooks are eligible to receive any donated wings we may collect thanks to our gracious sponsors!

Donated wings are not looking good this year, so any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

NOTE: When registering, please include all cooks (first and last names), as well as number and dimensions of canopies you intend to set up for cooks and/or guests. 

This is required for site planning.

Only names appearing ^above^ the "Registered cooks" row are officially registered.

Previous names appearing below the "Registered cooks" row are notofficially registered.