With names such as Grumpy’s Grub and Skillet and Spurs, six teams of competitive cowboy cooks will showcase their campfire skills on Feb. 25 during Saddle Up, an annual salute to the Old West in Pigeon Forge, Tn.
Saddle Up, Feb. 23-26, is a four-day celebration that also features a series of Western music and cowboy poetry concerts, a Saturday night dance and Sunday Cowboy Church.
The six cook teams are true fans of the Old West, and their chuckwagons are authentic. In the cookoff with Grumpy’s Grub and Skillet and Spurs are Ramblin’ Rose, Fairplay Cattle Company, Double X Ranch and Greenhorn Cattle Company.
The day’s fun begins at 9 a.m. when the free-admission Buckaroo Roundup starts. The Buckaroo Roundup includes a mechanical bull, lasso lessons and branding demonstrations, plus cowboy songs and storytelling.
The Pigeon Forge Hospitality Association sponsors the entire event at Clabough’s Campground on Wears Valley Road.
As the trail cooks prepare for the competition, visitors are welcome to inspect the camps and visit with the cooks.
Each chuckwagon team will prepare chicken-fried steaks, potatoes, beans, bread, cornbread and fruit cobblers. They are judged on individual food categories and on the authenticity of wagons and camp set-ups.
Once the judging is complete, lunch will be available for $10 and served from individual wagons. Tickets are available online at
MyPigeonForge.com/saddleup and also will be sold onsite the day of the cookoff.
Visitors can get a sneak preview of chuckwagon cooking on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at Old Mill Square, when award-winning cook Kent Rollins will dish up free samples of Dutch-oven cornbread from 10 a.m.-noon.
The 12th Annual Saddle Up begins Thursday, Feb. 23. Entertainers include R.W. Hampton, Stephanie Davis & the Roadrunners, Cowboy Celtic, Saddle Cats, Andy Nelson, Chuck Pyle, Ray Doyle and Kent Rollins.
A concert and a Cowboy Dance cap off Saturday night, and a non-denominational Cowboy Church service follows a chuckwagon breakfast on Sunday morning.
Venue information: Concerts are at Tennessee Shindig Theater and Smoky Mountain Guitars; Cowboy Dance at Spirit of the Smokies Condo Lodge; Chuckwagon Breakfast and Cowboy Church at Stages West.
Saddle Up ticket information and a schedule of activities are at
MyPigeonForge.com/saddleup.
Information about all aspects of visiting Pigeon Forge is at
MyPigeonForge.com or 800 251-9100.