Spam Chefs’ Can-Do Spirit

It was Spamarama under the Creative Cooking tent at the Ventura County Fair.

Spambalaya. Spam-asparagus quiche. Toasted Spamwiches. Spam potato pie. Spicy Spam scrabbler. Mmmmm, Spamtastic.

The judges could hardly pick a favorite.

They settled on the one that was truest to Spam.

“This isn’t easy,” said Spam arbiter Yvonne Ramsey, nibbling at the five dishes orbiting her like satellites. “But some of them bury the Spam flavor.”

Glenda Jackson was elated when her Spam quiche took first place, but quickly got more Spam-bitious.

“I’d like to go to the nationals,” she said.

The contestants were given an hour and a half to cook up their favorite Spam dishes. They came from all walks of life, but they had one thing in common--an appreciation for that distinctly flavored canned pork product.

And the stakes were high. There were only so many prizes--Spam aprons, T-shirts, ribbons and banks--to go around.

“It’s not easy to get Spam merchandise these days,” said contest organizer Phyllis Kidd. “You have to get your foot in the door with Spam and establish a rapport.”

Spambalaya chef Bill Green played the competition real cool, talking about how it was all for fun--until his rice didn’t cook properly.

That was when his hands started getting Spammy.

“It’s a learning experience, just a learning experience,” he said. “That’s what this is about.”

Among all the competition, there were heartfelt Spam confessionals.

Charles Cason, who sported the toasted Spamwiches, said he fell in love with the Hormel Foods Corp. best-seller while serving in Vietnam.

“You’re kind of limited in what you can eat overseas,” said Cason of Port Hueneme. “You can eat the military food or you can grab a can of Spam and start eating.”

His favorite? “Spam fried rice. Oooh, that’s good.”

It’s the texture that attracts him, Cason said. “Spam isn’t as compound meat-like. You can honestly chew down on it like a meatloaf. You can bite it and it kind of melts in your mouth.”

Glenda Jackson of Spam-asparagus fame said she joined the contest to turn skeptics around. Too many people slamming Spam these days, she said.

“I’m here to break the stigma,” Jackson said. “There’s nothing wrong with it, you know. It’s a comfort food.”

It’s Spam’s simplicity that has made spectator Helene Marks a Spam fan since World War II.

“All you do is fry it,” said Marks. “You don’t even have to add oil. The fat’s already in there.”

Fellow onlooker Josie Lopez also doesn’t like complicated food.

“It’s the easiest can of meat to open,” Lopez said. “You have to add all sorts of stuff to tuna. Spam? I just slice it and eat it with my fingers.”