Food, fundraising and fun were the ingredients behind another successful Daily Iberian/Cajun Sugar Co-Op Cajun-Creole Cookbook Cookoff Wednesday night, when area chefs, volunteers and special diners gathered to sample the area’s finest cuisine while giving to a good cause.

This year’s top bidder for the cookoff was Tommy Ronsonet’s new company, Steel Ranch. With a bid of $3,000 that benefits the United Way of Iberia, Ronsonet was able to invite nine guests of his choice to enjoy a sampling of the dishes chosen as finalists for this year’s Daily Iberian/Cajun Sugar Co-Op Cajun-Creole Cookbook.

Ronsonet was also the top bidder two years ago, making this cookoff his second experience with good food, friends and fun.

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“This year I brought a new crop of people except for my brother and his wife,” Ronsonet said. “Everyone I know wanted to come to this.”

His guest Mike Shield said as a first-time diner at the cookoff, he was not sure what to expect. But after hours of “first-class service” from United Way volunteers and a continuing line of dishes to sample, Shield was impressed.

“The food has been great,” Shield said. “Overall, I think this is an excellent gathering.”

Ronsonet and his guests not only spent the evening tasting the final four dishes from each cookbook category, they also voted on which dishes are best.

Meanwhile, the dozens of finalists for the cookbook eagerly waited to see where their dishes would fall in the ranks of this year’s cookbook.

First-time cookbook contestants Kenneth Morrogh and Gigi Kerns each had four dishes selected as finalists this year. Both said they always wanted to enter some of their recipes and decided this year was the year to do so.

“Everybody always asks me for my recipes,” Morrogh said, “so I thought I’d submit some. I’m just flattered a few were selected.”

Kerns said entering the contest meant she finally had to write out her recipes and calculate just how much of everything goes into her delicacies.

“It’s so great to be here and see so many dishes and so many cooks involved in the process,” Kerns said.

Cajun Sugar Co-op board member Donald Segura has been helping out with the event for years.

“It’s great to see so many people here and to know that sugar contributes to so many of these great dishes,” Segura said. “It’s also good for the community and good for the cause.”

Longtime cookbook participant Francine Garzotto said she was happy to see a group of new chefs made it as finalists for this year’s cookbook.

“There’s quite a few more men who participated this time around,” she said. “That’s a good thing.”

United Way Board President Philip de Mahy spent his night in the kitchen turning every cookbook dish into a fine-dining plate and presentation for the 10 diners.

“The cooks make our job easy by making such good dishes,” he said.

Will Chapman, publisher of The Daily Iberian, said the three Fs — food, fun and fundraising — are a perfect combination to make the annual event a success to which everyone can look forward.

“It’s just a terrific event because it combines two events,” he said. “There’s the cookbook cookoff, where cooks are excited to share their recipes with the diners and our readers, and then the second part, the dinner, where they’re excited to get to try all the good food and get first-class service from the United Way volunteers.”