Two Lake Highlands residents played meaty roles in what is swiftly becoming one of Dallas’ most anticipated annual charity events: Meat Fight. $95 general admission tickets the past two years have sold out in mere minutes, and organizers donate all of it to the National MS Society. It took place last weekend at Trinity Groves.
Meat Fight founder Alice Laussade. (Photo by Jeff Amador)
Most instrumental is Alice Laussade, the founder and CEO of Meat Fight, an annual BBQ-cooking competition among local chefs. She started the cook-off/tasting extravaganza/kegger in her backyard in 2010. By 2012 she brought the party mainstream — “12 fancy Dallas chefs competed for BBQ glory, and they were judged by the best BBQ minds in the best BBQ state,” she writes on the website. That year they raised $20,000.
In 2013, with the help of Ron Swanson, a.k.a Nick Offerman of Parks and Recreation, they raised $50,000, and it just continues to improve.
This past weekend saw the best Meat Fight yet.
“Our final numbers are still coming in, but this year was, without a doubt, the biggest Meat Fight ever,” Laussade says. “We raised $150,000, which we will give to both the National MS Society and to Meat Fight’s Meat Bike program that gifts bikes to people who have MS.”
Lake Highlands’ Jeff Bakavac. (Photo by Jeff Amador)
Chefs competed in four categories: Brisket, sausage, beef belly, pork loin.
Lake Highlands resident Chef Jeff Bekavac, who we interviewed last year for our “Secrets of a chef” story, took home the prize for pork loin, and his team won several trophies, including a “most trophies” trophy. He’s contributed his time and talent to the Meat Fight since its inception.
Lake Highlands residents Sunny and Nick Polito flanked by Jordan and Ashley Silva
Laussade credits many contributors with the event’s success — chefs, sponsors, judges, auctioneers, volunteers, attendees and, in summary, an unbelievably generous group of carnivores.
All photos (save the Ron Swanson meme) were taken by Jeff Amador.
