Shell Norco cook-off combines competition, community giving

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Sixteen teams put their cooking skills to the test as Shell Norco celebrated its 20th Annual Cook-Off, an event that also kicked off the company's annual employee giving campaign. The cook-off, held Sept. 1, featured a racing theme and brought employees from across the site together for friendly competition, spicy seasonings and secret ingredients while supporting the company's commitment to local nonprofit organizations. This year's employee giving campaign, themed 'Fueled By Purpose: Driven By Heroes,' kicked off the HERO/United Way Double Your Dollar campaign, which runs Sept. 1-15. The campaign encourages Shell Norco employees to support charitable organizations that are important to them and make an impact in the community. Employees attending the cook-off enjoyed lunch prepared by the competing teams, with takeout trays delivered to control rooms throughout the site. Representatives from United Way of St. Charles, Special Olympics Louisiana, The Arc of St. Charles and Creative Family Solutions attended the event to highlight their organizations, missions and community needs. The cook-off also served as a qualifier for Shell Norco's participation in United Way of St. Charles' annual Battle for the Paddle. The winning Shell Norco team will represent the company at the Oct. 1 event at the Edward A. Dufresne Community Center in Luling. Email newsletter signup Three judges evaluated the cook-off entries: St. Charles Parish Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Jason Tastet; retired St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office deputy and Shell Norco Community Advisory Panel member Clyde Taylor; and local artist Becky Fos. First-place winners were Team 3:30 in the pastalaya category, Impastas in gumbo and Logistically Challenged in jambalaya. Team 3:30 members were Albert Volion, Travis Etie, Brian Jones and Brad Gaubert. Impastas members are Mariah Chaisson, Kaleb Kraft, Josh Reulet and Todd Stein. Logistically Challenged members are Blake Leger, Cole Berthelot, Taylor Gallant and Clark Poche. Second-place honors went to Prestige Worldwide for pastalaya, Make Gumbo Great Again for gumbo and The Final Scoop for jambalaya. Third-place winners were Oodles of Noodles in pastalaya, No Plan Needed in gumbo and Mediocre Project Master Chefs in jambalaya. Winning team members received engraved Shell Pecten hotplates crafted by Norco's Shop. The Battle for the Paddle is part of United Way of St. Charles' annual fundraising efforts and brings cooking teams together in support of the organization and its local partner agencies.