Battling It Out on the Grill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Karen Beasley, Director of Marketing & Communications
Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association
PHONE: 256.350.3500 / 800.648.5381
EMAIL: karen@northalabama.org


Battling It Out on the Grill

Decatur, Ala. (August 7, 2023) – Alabama's only triple steak cookoff returns in September bringing with it exciting grilling action and good times to the River City. Sizzle and Smoke made its debut last year with 33 local businesses, organizations and weekend grillers competing for prize money and bragging rights during the two day competition. This year’s festival is set for Sept. 22-23, 2023, at Ingalls Harbor in Decatur, Ala.   

Mosaic Mentoring of North Alabama is excited to offer Alabama's only triple steak cookoff, a Steak Cookoff Association (SCA)-sanctioned event. Sizzle and Smoke is a two-day competition where anyone can take their skills to the grill and enter the competition as long as they are members of the SCA. Membership to SCA is $40 to join and allows members to cook in as many steak events taking place anywhere in the United States.

Competitors can turn in three steaks for judging. One on Friday night, Sept. 22 and two on Saturday, Sept. 23. Mosaic Mentoring will provide ribeye steaks for the competition to ensure a level playing field. The competition steaks are included in the registration fee. Sign up is available at  https://www.steakcookoffs.com/event-5042463/Registration for Friday and 
https://www.steakcookoffs.com/event-5042491/Registration for Saturday. Any cook registering before Sept. 12th will have his/her name put in a drawing for an aged Jack Daniels whiskey barrel.

The winning steak will earn that competitor a payout of $1000. The second place steak receives $500, third place $400, fourth place $300, fifth place $200 and sixth through tenth place receives $100 each and the winners of all three steak turn-ins will automatically receive a golden ticket to the World Food Championships Finals in Dallas.

The competition also offers ribs, dessert and Jack Daniel’s cocktail categories, with all paying to fifth place. Kids ages four to 13 years old can participate to see who has the best pork chop and compete for a payout of up to $100 for first place, $75 for second place, $50 for third place and $25 each for fourth through tenth place. To register, call Mosaic Mentoring of North Alabama at (256) 353-0157.

Meetings for the cooks are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Friday with awards at 9:30 p.m. and 10 a.m. Saturday with awards at 5:45 p.m. 

In addition to the competition, there will be food trucks and a steak sandwich sale hosted by The Morgan County Sheriff’s Posse for the public along with raffle prizes and a silent auction. Saturday’s lineup also includes a car show. Admission is free.

All activities will be held at Ingalls Harbor located at 802 Wilson St NW, in Decatur, Ala. 

For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/mosaicsizzleandsmoke

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About Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association (AMLA)
AMLA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion and development of the $4.3 billion North Alabama travel industry within the 16 northernmost counties of the state. It is supported by 500-plus members consisting of chambers of commerce, Convention & Visitors Bureaus, attractions, campgrounds, festivals, communities, golf courses, restaurants, accommodations and vendors. Counties included within the AMLA region are Blount, Cherokee, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan and Winston. Additional information on North Alabama destinations, accommodations and special events is available by calling 800.648.5381, by visiting www.NorthAlabama.org and by following us on social media @VisitNorthAL.

2025 Karen Beasley Headshot
Author
Karen Beasley

After unexpectantly losing her husband of 29 years, Karen returned to the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association (AMLA) in 2023 as the vice president of marketing and communications where she helps guide the organization’s marketing and communications activities to position the North Alabama region as a must-experience destination for leisure travel. She has over 30 years of marketing experience, most recently working as a behind-the-scenes freelance public relations consultant for AMLA and other tourism organizations and festivals in north Alabama and Tennessee. From 1999 to 2004, AMLA employed her as the organization’s marketing representative, introducing her to a lifelong career in the tourism and travel industry. Following the birth of her second child, she transitioned to part-time freelance employment so that she could focus on family life.

 

She was named the Alabama Restaurant & Hospitality Association Tourism Promoter of the Year in 2025. She serves on the board of directors for the Huntsville/Madison County Hospitality Association, is a member of the Decatur/Morgan County Hospitality Association and the Tennessee Valley Chapter of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and volunteers with the Woody Williams Foundation and Vets Like Us.

 

She holds a B.S. degree in marketing and a MBA from the University of North Alabama and received her TMP – Travel Marketing Professional – certification from the Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College. She and her late husband, Michael, have two children, Keller and Logan.