CHANDLER, Ariz. – Come and get it! Chandler’s Tumbleweed Ranch will host the Chandler Chuck Wagon Cook-off November 11-12, 2022. This unique family-friendly event features a Dutch oven cooking competition in which 1880s style chuck wagon teams cook five courses, meat, potatoes, beans, bread and dessert, over a wood fire. The Ranch is an event space within Tumbleweed Park, 2250 S. McQueen Road.

While the main culinary competition is on Saturday, this year’s event has expanded into Friday, November 11 with a Sunset Dinner. Watch the sun set over the chuck wagons and enjoy music from DJ Figueroa and a catered dinner by Chandler’s own West Alley BBQ. Appetizers and desserts will be prepared by the chuck wagon teams. Tickets are $45.

On Saturday, the Chuck Wagon Cook-off runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with free parking, admission and activities. Meals are served at noon. Meal tickets are $15 and can be purchased in advance at Pardners of Tumbleweed Ranch. Each wagon cooks 50 meals, and the tickets always sell out quickly. Judges will reward the best meals with cash prizes.

Tickets for both the Friday evening event and Saturday lunch are available online. The Chuck Wagon Cook-off is hosted by the Pardners of Tumbleweed Ranch, a 501c3 entity, and the Chandler Museum.  Funds raised help develop educational outreach opportunities at Tumbleweed Ranch.

“Think of the Old West chuck wagon as the first food truck and the black iron pot, called a Dutch oven or camp oven, was the original slow cooker,” says Dave McDowell, President of the Pardners of Tumbleweed Ranch. “The whole family will love the nostalgia of this event and the delicious comfort food prepared by some of the Southwest’s best chefs,” McDowell adds.

Saturday’s activities include a welcome from Mayor Kevin Hartke, a flag ceremony, trick roping with Cowboy Steve, a Lil’ Rustlers kids’ game area and more.

“The Chandler Chuck Wagon Cook-off is one of the Valley’s most unique culinary events,” says Chandler Museum Administrator Jody Crago. “We have worked with Pardners of Tumbleweed Ranch for over a decade and it’s exciting to see how much the event has grown in popularity.”

More information for the Chandler Chuck Wagon Cook-off can be found at the Pardners of Tumbleweed Ranch website, or by calling 480-782-2717.

Chandler Museum is an innovative learning environment where the community comes together to share our stories, store our cultural heritage and experience Chandler as a people and place. The vision of the Museum is to be the community’s principal resource to explore its people’s history, culture, and place in a rapidly changing world of today – within and without the walls of a building.

Chandler Chuck Wagon Cook-off: For over ten years, this signature culinary event has provided attendees with the rare experience of the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of authentic 1880s chuck wagons. Teams from across the West compete using slow-cook, wood-fire methods from the time period.

Pardners of Tumbleweed Ranch: The Pardners is a 501(c)(3) organization of volunteers who help interpret Chandler’s agricultural heritage through programs and events, while also enhancing Tumbleweed Ranch’s amenities through the donation of money, resources and time.