If you’re passionate about live fire cooking and want to bring a world-class competition experience to your community, we want to work with you. LFCA-sanctioned events are built on consistency, fairness, and a shared love of the craft. Every great event starts with a great organizer.
Read through this guide to understand what’s involved, then complete the application to get started. Once approved, you’ll be assigned an official LFCA Rep who will guide you through the process from start to finish.
How It Works
To sanction an LFCA contest, read through this guide, then fill out the application form with your name, contact information, and contest name, date, and location. LFCA will review your application and assign you an official rep to help you plan a successful event.
Organizer Responsibilities
As the host of the event, you are responsible for the location, local permitting, marketing, and recruiting teams, judges, and sponsors. Your LFCA rep will be with you every step of the way.
Location You must provide each team with at least a 10’x20′ space and designate a separate area for the awards ceremony.
Permitting You are responsible for securing all state, county, and city permits required to hold your event. This may include a promoter’s permit, food permit, fire permit, and others depending on your location.
Marketing Once approved, you’ll receive an LFCA marketing pack with logos and assets you can use to promote your event.
Sponsors Sponsorships can significantly offset your costs. We recommend reaching out to local businesses and your chamber of commerce as a starting point.
Other Requirements You are also responsible for providing the following at your event: trash receptacles, ash cans, restrooms and handwash stations, water for judges, and trophies for the top 3 teams.
Financial Responsibilities
Organizers are responsible for the following financial obligations:
LFCA Sanctioning Fees Sanctioning fees are $500 per contest, plus $10 per registered team.
LFCA Rep Fees Each rep requires a $250 fee, plus coach-class airfare or mileage reimbursed at the U.S. government rate, and lodging for the duration of the event.
Prize Payouts Organizers are required to award at least the top three finishing teams. Minimum prize purse amounts are:
- 1st Place: Trophy + $750
- 2nd Place: Trophy + $500
- 3rd Place: Trophy + $250
Contest Income
Team entry fees should cover a majority of your expenses, but there are several additional ways to generate income for your event including sponsorships, donations, vendor fees, auctions, and merchandise sales.
Team Registration
In order to be sanctioned by the LFCA, your contest must have a minimum of 10 registered teams. Teams register directly with you as the organizer. You may use any registration and payment collection method you prefer. Entry fees start at $250 per team but may be increased based on your expenses, site sizes, and categories offered.
Judge Registration
Your LFCA Rep will assist you with recruiting and coordinating judges for your contest.
Categories + Ancillary Categories
Each LFCA-sanctioned event is required to include a turn-in with an entrée that includes one protein, one vegetable and one starch.
Starch Definition: A starch may include rice, potatoes, pasta, bread, corn, legumes, or other carbohydrate-dense components traditionally served as part of a composed entrée.
Optional ancillary categories
Organizers may include optional ancillary categories. The same Open Fire / Live Fire rules used in the entrée category shall apply to the ancillaries. The organizer may charge an additional entry fee per ancillary category or they may require an ancillary as part of the overall judging.
If a separate entry fee is collected, a monetary prize should be awarded to the top finisher.
Soup: A liquid food served in a cup or bowl. It may contain bite-sized chunks of protein or vegetables; however, it cannot resemble a stew.
Appetizer: A single type of finger food that can be served hot or cold. Examples include a street taco, crostini, empanada, jalapeno popper or dip. Teams should not include a variety of appetizers.
Dessert: A sweet food that can be served hot or cold. It may include a sauce, topping or garnish.
People’s Choice: A sample of any type of food that will be served to the public. The public will judge its favorite dish to select a winner.
Kids Q: If an organizer wants to host a special Live Fire Kids Q, they should coordinate details with their rep.
Certificate of Insurance
All sanctioned LFCA contests are required to have a Certificate of Insurance filed with the LFCA office 90 days prior to the contest. The Certificate of Insurance must have LFCA named on the certificate of insurance with a minimum of $1,000,000.