World Champion Squirrel Cook-Off set for Saturday in Arkansas

With a tag line like “Squirrel. It’s what’s for supper,” you know you’re in for something unique. And, that’s exactly what the 10,000 or so attendees will experience at the 10th World Champion Squirrel Cook-Off in Bentonville, Ark., on Saturday, Sept. 10.

“Come on down and try our tree bacon, limb chicken, tofu of the woods,” festival organizer and founder Joe Wilson suggested to me. “It’s 100-percent organic, all natural, and tree to table.”

Wilson admits he never would have gotten this far “without being a little goofy,” but while he clearly has a lot of fun with the idea of a top-notch culinary event featuring the lowly squirrel, he also takes pride in how the contest has grown in both numbers and stature. “We’ve been in The Wall Street Journal. USA Today has rated this as a top ten culinary contest in the country. And, last year, ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ came out and did a story on us,” Wilson said.

Why squirrel? I mean, I have no love for these “rats with tails” that routinely cost me about half of my tomato crop, but the thought of eating them has never crossed my mind. That, in essence, is the point Wilson is trying to make by drawing attention to one of the country’s smallest game animals and the huge role it’s played through the years.

“Anytime there’s been an economic downturn, there’s been squirrel to eat. Squirrel has sustained us through some really hard times and we’ve lost site of that,” Wilson commented. “I’m trying to show a piece of American culture and history.”

I have to admit I’m more that a little curious about this Saturday’s cook-off, and I have been ever since I saw a Facebook post from local outdoorsman and Missouri Department of Conversation worker James Worley who announced he and two others, including Brett Atkinson of Wilma’s food truck, would be heading south to compete in this year’s contest. Worley and Atkinson will be wooing judges with an amazing food combination. Worley told me what the dishes would be, but then swore me to secrecy till after the competition. Serious stuff.

And the menu creation and cooking is just a part of what the teams have to do to compete. Miller told me all of the 35-40 teams have to harvest their own squirrel meat. Each will prepare an entrée and a side dish, something to accompany the squirrel.

May I suggest a tomato-based dish as the squirrels in my neighborhood seem to have a natural affinity for them? The entries are turned into a panel of judges, which consists of what Miller describes as “culinary people and fish and game-type folks.” The winning team gets a $1,000 prize and some other nifty swag. Plus bragging rights, of course. I’ve asked Worley and the Wilma’s crew to let us know how they fare, but I’m sure they’ll do Kansas City proud.

As for Wilson, this is his time in the spotlight after a year of hard work of getting things organized and trying to line up sponsors. That, he says, is the toughest part of the contest.

“We just can’t seem to find companies who will sign on to support this. I mean, if it were any other animal, we’d be fine, but we’re killing Chip and Dale here,” Wilson lamented. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that Chip and Dale were chipmunks, not squirrels. He was on such a roll.

Kidding aside, Wilson shared the fact that the contest has helped raise some $60,000 over the last decade for veterans along with raising awareness that “hunters are good people who help supply food for their family and their community.”

With the gentrification and culinary renaissance Bentonville has seen in recent years, Wilson says it’s easy to overlook what a large role hunting played, and continues to play, in the local community. “We started to lose that hunting tradition. I wanted to support the culinary side of things, but also the tradition and culture of the area that you now have to look pretty hard to see,” Wilson said.

But what Wilson is proudest of is the fact that the World Champion Squirrel Cook-Off isn’t just surviving, it’s thriving. “We took what people called a joke and turned it into a culinary experience that’s really second to none. And you’ll see how dedicated these people are who take this lowly meat that you drive by on the side of the road and turn it into five-star cuisine,” Wilson boasted.

The contest is this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s free and family-friendly, according to Wilson. He invited me down to see and taste for myself, but unfortunately, I’ve got plans this weekend. I did ask him if I could judge next year’s contest, and got an enthusiastic yes, so I’ve got that to look forward to. After another summer of watching the local squirrels gobble up my tomatoes, I’ll be plenty ready to eat some of them.

To learn more about the World Champion Squirrel Cook-Off, visit www.squirrelcookoff.com.

This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 12:51 PM with the headline "World Champion Squirrel Cook-Off set for Saturday in Arkansas."