The conventional wisdom on getting ready for a competition includes practice cooks.  For new teams, this also usually includes advice on setting up at home to do a cook, but acting as though you’re off site.  This helps a team figure out if they have the right equipment or not.

I’ve been thinking about this lately, and while that works, it leads to a different problem then not having what’s needed…

Problem #2: Having too much stuff!!!

While this may not sound like a problem, try prepping and cooking 60 pounds or so of meat under a canopy with nothing but coolers and bins of supplies.  When you have too much, you just have to wade through all the extra stuff to get to what you need!

Here’s my solution:

Instead of getting set up at home before your first competition, set up an area at home with minimal things first:

• Canopy
• Tables
• Chairs
• Cooker
• Coolers
• Knives

That’s it, no more!  Then start your timeline to work through the competition.  As you need something, go inside to get it, and add it to your checklist.  Since you’re practicing, sleep however you will at your first competition (in a car or tent or wherever), because your sleeping is important, too, and you have to be sure to know what you’ll need to get at least a few hours worth of sleep.

By using this method, I think you’ll gain knowledge that otherwise will take you several competitions to figure out… Not just what to take, but what not to take!  Once you’re done, you’ll have a list of the things that YOU need, not that someone tells you that you may or may not need.

Finally, there are two things to ensure that you have that you hopefully will NOT need: a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit!