I experienced my first Eggtoberfest a couple of weeks ago. This is an annual event in Atlanta and is always a sold out affair. Folks travel from all over the US and even internationally to participate. My buddy Josh went with me and is the proud owner of two Primo smokers among several other outdoor cooking contraptions.
Once we arrived, we got our Eggtoberfest swag bags. We immediately discovered the great value of our $45 dollar tickets. In the bag was an event t-shirt, metal Big Green Egg cup, a Big Green Egg branded chef’s journal, five drink coupons (good for beer, sodas, or water) and various coupons. Just the cost of five beers would have covered the ticket price, not to mention we did not have to pay anything to park at Stone Mountain.Within the first fifteen minutes of entering the gates and sampling mouth watering samples from the first couple of teams, we quickly discovered we shouldn’t have stopped and waste precious stomach space on Chick-fil-a biscuits on our way to the event. The event is set up where teams from all over provide samples cooked on demo Big Green Eggs. The eggs are then sold at the end of the event at a discounted price from Big Green Egg. Pretty great way to learn the versatility of the Big Green Egg while getting saving some money on an almost new egg. Attendees will walk around sampling dishes that range from mild to wild. We saw smoked octopus, chicken hearts, smores, and even sampled a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich.
With over fifty teams, we quickly realized, we had to slow down and be more selective with our sampling. There were several other things to do other than eat. In the middle of the venue was a concert stage with musical acts performing throughout the day. Big Green Egg had two educational tents with live cooking demos from popular egghead chefs. Outside the perimeter of the events were several event sponsors showing off their products. Finally, Big Green Egg had a massive store with all of popular eggcessories.
Although we were only there about five hours, we really had a great time and will be returning next year. All of the samples were great and I really got the itch to try some new dishes. The next day, I smoked some buffalo chicken mac and cheese that was inspired from my visit. I am not sure I have convinced Josh to dump his Primo smokers for a new Big Green Egg, but I am sure he has a new appreciation for the Big Green Egg.
