BATON ROUGE — Few things bring people together in Louisiana quite like great food and a little friendly competition.

This Juneteenth Smoke Bayou is combining both with its inaugural Pit. Pot. Boil Cook-Off celebrating culture, community and some of our favorite dishes. 

Calvin Collier, the owner of Smoke Bayou, said the cook-off was meant to bring people together around the Juneteenth holiday.

"Cook-offs always bring everybody together. It brings a lot of memories," Collier said. "I compete in Memphis in May every year, and on the way home, I was just thinking about what we could do. Something special, and I thought of a cook-off."

The cook-off features four categories, including crawfish, jambalaya, fried catfish and ribs. 

However, the event is about more than just food.

"Bringing [the community] together and giving back," Jacqueline Morgan, the general manager of Smoke Bayou, said. "We're planning on giving our proceeds to the National Coalition of 100 Black Women as well as 100 Black Men."

Smoke Bayou hopes to keep the event going over the years with the help of a diverse lineup of judges and competitors.

"We have people coming from New Roads, from Texas, all over Baton Rouge, New Orleans even," Morgan said. "So I think that once they bring their supporters, we're definitely going to have a full lot next year as well." 

The cook-off will take place on June 20 at Smoke Bayou restaurant on Coursey Boulevard in Baton Rouge.