Edinburg’s Texas Cook’Em generated nearly $7 for every $1 invested

Food, fireworks and a festival under the summer sky resulted in Edinburg seeing an almost seven-times return on its investment at this July’s 20th annual Texas Cook’Em: High Steaks in Edinburg.

The Independence Day bash at Ebony Hills Golf Course also featured live music, a car show and — especially — a cook off competition with cash prize purses for winners among the teams that competed.

According to a report last month from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Data and Information Systems Center, it cost a little more than $196,000 to put on this year’s Texas Cook’Em and the festival resulted in an overall economic output of about $1.34 million, meaning Edinburg generated about $6.83 for every buck it put into the event.

That return is ideal, Edinburg Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ronnie Larralde told the city’s economic development corporation board last month.