EasyCookoff.appPeople's Choice or Ribfest Cookoff Organizer's Guide
The EasyCookoff.app People's Choice Handbook · Updated October 2026 (PC Tracker, QR rib cards, Event Flyer & sponsor wall) with every current platform feature
This guide is a great reference for organizing a People's Choice or Ribfest event for any community, festival or non-profit. Use these suggestions to make the event your own! The "On EasyCookoff.app" boxes show which platform features handle each part for you.
Community engagement
The public becomes part of the competition.
Fun for participants
Teams love serving the crowd and competing for the belt.
Fundraising
Rib card and ticket sales can raise substantial money for your cause.
Team loyalty
Paying teams back per rib brings them back year after year.
1. People's Choice vs. Ribfest — what's the difference?
People's Choice events ask the public to pick the winning team. Paying teams for each redeemed rib ticket is highly recommended. There are two common methods:
- Rib cards: each card has a set number of slots, usually five or six. Taste testers walk around and hand a ticket to a team's tent for each rib, write down the tent numbers they sampled, and circle their favorite. Cards go back to the organizer by a set time, the selections are tallied, and awards are given (lower places can be rewarded too). A five-rib card might sell for $15, with $1–$1.50 per rib going back to teams. Redeemed tickets are counted and turned in to the organizer for payment.
- Ticket box + golden ticket: each team gets a box for redeemed tickets. Taste testers buy a set number of rib tickets plus ONE different-colored "golden ticket", which they drop in the box of the team with the best rib. Boxes are collected, golden tickets tallied, and redeemed tickets counted to pay teams back ($1–$1.50 each).
Ribfest events are all about selling rib tickets. Teams cook as many racks as possible, the public buys as many tickets as they like, and foam to-go boxes let people take ribs home. It's a great money-maker for your cause, and you can still poll the public to crown a favorite team or business.
Both formats usually include a main judging component: turn-in boxes are judged, scores compiled and awards issued. Start People's Choice or Ribfest 15–20 minutes after the main turn-in. Teams get time to prepare for 1–2 hours of serving, and you get time to enter the main judging scores in EasyCookoff.app and organize the awards ceremony.
On EasyCookoff.app
- People's Choice division — Add a People's Choice or Ribfest division alongside your judged categories. Enter vote tallies per team and the app ranks the winners.
- Separate purses — Set a People's Choice purse apart from your main judging payouts.
2. Event economics
To raise money for your cause, understand the revenue you can generate. Example: twenty teams each cook fifteen racks for People's Choice and turn in six bones for main judging. Each rack has about twelve bones, but count on 10–11 usable ones (and teams will taste a few: tasting is essential to winning!).
15 racks × 10 bones = 150 bones, minus 6 for turn-in = 144 per team × 20 teams = 2,880 rib bones. At five ribs per card, that's 576 cards × $15 = $8,640. Pay one-third back to the teams and you keep about $5,760. Add a $100+ entry fee per team ($2,000+) and your revenue is roughly $7,760+, before expenses such as ribs, awards and amenities like a band.
Keep track of which teams still have ribs. Selling cards when teams are running out is disappointing. Hang a "yellow card" or "orange card" on each tent corner and ask teams to remove it when they run out. Have a volunteer watch the tents and check how many ribs are left so you know how many more cards to sell. There's no perfect way to do this, but it gets easier every year!
Some events skip the entry fee entirely thanks to strong sponsorship. That's a great way to fill your roster. Pair it with high payouts and attractive trophies, and make sign-ups conditional on cooking a set number of racks, for long lines at the ticket booth.
Sponsorship is the most important thing an organizer can spend time on. Secure sponsors who donate money or items like porta-potties, awards or the ribs themselves. Track expenses, projected income and sponsorship, and use your list of required items when you ask. Don't be afraid to ask; you'll be amazed by your community's generosity. Advertise at the event what each sponsor provided.
Try your own numbers
Same rib settings as your event setup: ribs included in the registration fee, plus optional paid additional ribs. Remember the expenses: ribs, awards, amenities and entertainment. Track them all in your event's free P&L tool.
On EasyCookoff.app
- Event P&L & Budget tool (free) — Your event's own P&L tracks rib card and ticket income, team payback, entry fees and expenses, with budget vs actual and a break-even team count. Print it or export it to Excel.
- Rib & Entry Tracking — Forecast rib units, rib invoice cost and extra ribs ordered by teams.
- Sponsorship tab + Thank-You Report — Track every sponsor's donation, mark it paid, and print a thank-you letter for each one.
- Rib sales to teams — Let teams order ribs from you right in their registration.
3. Planning timeline
| Lead time | Tasks |
|---|---|
| 6–12 months | Define the event scope; secure the venue, permits and insurance. |
| 4–6 months | Secure sponsors and plan marketing. |
| 2–3 months | Order awards and finalize the layout. Create your event on EasyCookoff.app and upload site maps, rules and photos of the awards. |
| 1 month | Open team registration on EasyCookoff.app. Finalize coordination, volunteers and the judging setup (number of judges and tables). Keep your event page updated. |
| 1 week | Confirm all participants, volunteers and deliveries. Close registration on EasyCookoff.app and place your rib order with your supplier or sponsor. |
| Event day | Set up, run the tasting and voting, hold the awards, and HAVE FUN! |
| Post event | Post team rankings on EasyCookoff.app after the awards. Clean up, collect feedback, report, and send thank-you notes. |
On EasyCookoff.app
- Fee estimator & activation — See your cost on the Pricing page, then activate your event when you're ready to publish.
- Followers alerted automatically — When your event goes live, everyone following you gets an alert, a push notification and an email.
- Automatic reminders & feedback — Teams get a reminder before the event and a feedback request after it.
4. Site planning
- Competition area: make maps for teams and post them on EasyCookoff.app.
- People's Choice / team registration tent: ticketing and voting stations.
- Public amenities: seating, shade, restrooms, first aid.
- Vendor / entertainment area: music, drinks, local vendors and food trucks (optional).
- Coordination: power, water, trash, recycling and safety.
| Suggested layout | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Entrance → Ticket Booth | Sell rib cards and tickets. |
| People's Choice Tent | Tasting and voting. |
| Competition Area | Pitmaster setups. |
| Vendor Booths | Food, drinks, food trucks and sponsor booths. |
| Stage | Announcements and entertainment. |
| Amenities | Restrooms and first aid. |
On EasyCookoff.app
- Site map & photos — Upload your event map, rules PDF and photos of the grounds so every team knows where to go.
5. Competition structure
- Categories: typically ribs, often with sides or an ancillary category.
- Team rules: bring your own equipment, cook on-site, and follow local health and fire regulations. Post a rules PDF on EasyCookoff.app for teams to reference.
On EasyCookoff.app
- Multi-division events — Combine judged ribs, People's Choice, sides and ancillary categories in one event.
- Online registration — Approve or reject each team before payment. Teams pay you by Venmo, PayPal, cash or check.
6. Voting & judging
- Attendees buy tickets (for example, five sample tickets per rib card).
- Rib cards are turned in to the organizer with the favorite circled, OR use the golden ticket and box system.
- Tally the votes to find the People's Choice winner.
On EasyCookoff.app
- People's Choice Tracker — Enter rib tickets, two side-dish tickets and votes per team. Paybacks, the leader and ticket income calculate automatically and flow into your P&L. Print tallies plus team sheets, or upload each team's tally to their portal.
- Printable rib cards & golden tickets — Branded and numbered with your event name, ready to print. Each card has a QR code to your event page so tasters follow teams and return next year.
- Vote entry & rankings — Enter each team's vote tally and EasyCookoff.app ranks the People's Choice results with ties handled.
- Free scorecards — Download People's Choice scorecards and judging forms from Event Resources.
- Live scoring for main judging — Score turn-in boxes with sanctioning-body logic while People's Choice runs.
7. Budget & sponsorship
- Income: entry fees, tasting tickets, vendor fees and sponsorships.
- Expenses: venue, permits, insurance, awards, marketing and staffing.
- Sponsorship ideas: booth sponsor, award sponsor, tasting-ticket sponsor.
Print banners with sponsor logos for recognition.
| Sponsorship level | Benefits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Title Sponsor | Logo on all marketing, stage mention, booth space | $_____ |
| Platinum | Logo on all marketing, stage mention, booth space | $_____ |
| Gold / Silver / Bronze | Logo on marketing, stage mention, booth space (scaled by level) | $_____ |
| Booth Sponsor | Booth space, social media mention | $_____ |
| Tasting Ticket Sponsor | Logo on tasting tickets | $_____ |
On EasyCookoff.app
- Sponsor wall — Upload sponsor logos and show them on your public event page as a thank-you.
- Sponsorship tab — Add each sponsor and amount, switch them in or out of your P&L totals, and print the Sponsor Thank-You Report.
8. Awards & recognition
- People's Choice Champion: the most attendee votes. Award a WWE-style belt plus prize money.
- Main judging awards: trophies and prize money.
- Gift bags for teams: sponsor coupons, gift cards, t-shirts, branded tumblers, supplies and stickers, plus sponsor ads. Hand them out any time: at the cook's meeting or at the awards ceremony.
- Post trophy pictures on EasyCookoff.app to entice teams to sign up.
On EasyCookoff.app
- Awards & emcee read order — Print the awards form and a read-order sheet for the ceremony.
- Results & Champions Cards — Email every team its results and share Champions Cards and the Hall of Champions.
9. Marketing & promotion
- Social media campaigns (#hashtag posts)
- Local newspapers, radio and community boards
- Posters, flyers and email newsletters
- Highlight the voting, tasting and entertainment.
On EasyCookoff.app
- Event Flyer Maker — Print a letter-size flyer with your payouts, cause and QR codes for team sign-up and your event page, or download it as an image for social. Open it from Dashboard → Flyer.
- Share Invite Link — Send your event through Messenger, Instagram DM, Facebook, WhatsApp, text or email, and use the "invite more teams" prompt to fill your roster.
- Event search & likes — The public finds your People's Choice event for free by location or date. Likes and sign-ups show up in friends' activity.
10. Volunteers & staffing
| Task | Assigned to | Completed (✔) |
|---|---|---|
| Set up tents and tables | ________________ | ___ |
| Ticketing & voting stations | ________________ | ___ |
| Monitor tasting stations | ________________ | ___ |
| Food safety checks | ________________ | ___ |
| Teardown & cleanup | ________________ | ___ |
| First aid / safety monitoring | ________________ | ___ |
| Event coordination | ________________ | ___ |
On EasyCookoff.app
- Team messaging — Message all registered teams at once with event-day updates.
11. Cleanup & post-event
- Trash, recycling and composting
- Grease disposal compliance and hot coal disposal
- Collect feedback from teams, volunteers and attendees
- Post public thank-yous and recognize sponsors at the awards ceremony
On EasyCookoff.app
- Automatic feedback requests — Registered teams are asked to rate the event from 1 to 5 stars, and ratings arrive on your notification bell.
- Sponsor Thank-You Report — Print a personal thank-you letter for every sponsor.
- Duplicate for next year — Copy the event and list next year's date in seconds.
12. Resources
- Cook team application: use EasyCookoff.app online registration. It collects team, captain, contact and category details and handles approvals and payments.
- People's Choice ballot and rib cards: download the People's Choice Scorecards from Event Resources.
- Event site map: use the suggested layout above and post your own map on your event page.
- Volunteer duties: print the checklist above.
- Sponsorship opportunities: print the sponsorship level table above and track sponsors in your P&L.
On EasyCookoff.app
- Event Resources — Guides, scorecards, rules templates and flyer examples.
- Organizer User Guide — The complete step-by-step guide to organizing any EasyCookoff.app event.
Questions? Contact EasyCookoff.app · Step-by-step how-tos: Organizer User Guide · Event Resources
