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Citrus & Celery Cook-Off

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What - 18th Annual Citrus & Celery Cook-Off

When - Sat., March 9, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.(at the 18th Annual Taste of Oviedo street festival)

Where - Oviedo Mall

Why - Because it's awesome to cook and eat things that can grow in Oviedo's dirt

How - Sign up to be a cook or a judge

History

The Annual Citrus and Celery Cook-off is an Oviedo tradition that is as old as Taste of Oviedo. In fact, the Chamber of Commerce invented the concept, though the Cook-off has taken on a life of its own since its humble beginnings.

For over a decade, Citizens Bank of Florida sponsored the event. Then, in 2009, The Oviedo Preservation Project (TOPP) got involved to help celebrate the Cook-Off's 15th year of identifying Oviedo's best chefs.

The Cook-Off features up to forty dishes in two divisions, Citrus and Celery. The recipes are judged mainly for taste, but also for creativity and plating. Four judges comprise 80% of the cook's score, and the remaining 20% is based on the collective opinion of 50 judges from the community who sample all of the dishes in a division.

Why Citrus and Celery?

In the 1880's, citrus was the principal crop grown in Oviedo. Unfortunately, growers were at the mercy of the weather. A sudden freeze could wipe out a crop and even destroy the trees.

Growers experienced their first freeze damage in 1886 and an entire citrus crop was ruined. Luckily, though the fruit that year was lost, the trees survived and produced bumper crops in the years following. The sweet aroma of orange blossoms grew stronger as the small groves thrived and expanded…until the deep freeze in the winter of 1895. Oviedo citrus farmers were devastated when the mercury dropped into the teens and their groves were again destroyed.

The first celery was planted in Oviedo's Lake Jessup area following the catastrophic freeze of 1895. With the citrus growers out of business, farmers realized they needed to find another agricultural base; one that would thrive in the rich, mucky topsoil. Celery grew well in these conditions and became Oviedo's primary crop, shipped to all parts of the country.

Despite the uncertain climate, many growers tenaciously replanted their citrus groves. The popular Temple Orange was developed in Oviedo in the early 1900's. During World War II, the citrus and celery industry in Oviedo flourished and contributed to unprecedented growth.