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Highlighting the best of the best cooks and recipes in SC, the competition features teams vying for the honor of the championship trophy and bragging rights for another year.
And along with the competition, the Palmetto Peanut Boil also offers live music, food, and kids’ entertainment. Leashed pets are welcome!
Thank you to ALL of our teams who competed in the 2025 Palmetto Peanut Boil competition! We truly appreciate your work and creativity!
And thank you to our amazing judges -- Katherine Helms (SC Peanut Board), Mary Katherine Harrington (SC Peanut Board), David Stringer (Cola Today), and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott!
1st Place - The Nutty Professors
Runner Up - Knucklehead pNUTZ
Most Creative - The Nutty Professors (Mississippi Pot Roast)
1st Place - The Nutty Professors
2nd Place - Married to Some Nuts
3rd Place - Simpson’s Peanuts
The Nutty Professors
One fall day in 2008, friends Jim Mishoe and Brent Davis were boiling peanuts, and founding themselves in a heated discussion about the best way to enjoy the southern delicacy. From the type of peanut used, to the method of cooking, and the ingredients used for flavor, the two did not see eye to eye. So they decided to create a little friendly competition to see just who had the best recipe. Friends soon joined in, and the Palmetto Peanut Boil was born. Once word got out, Mishoe and Davis realized that the popularity of this salty snack could be used to make a real difference in their community. Along the way, the Palmetto Peanut Boil has taken on a more significant role than the two founders could have ever imagined that day. Following the passing of his nephew, Nathan Miller, Mishoe decided to commit to organizing the event each year as a fundraiser.
Later, when Davis passed away in a car accident in 2010, Mishoe and friends came together to continue the tradition in their friend’s memory. Over the course of the next five years, the Boil raised more than $25,000 for charity, and then in 2015 expanded its horizons to partner with Animal Mission. As a charitable, non-profit organization established to improve the safety and quality of life for Midlands’ animals, Animal Mission offers free spay/neuter vouchers to all residents of the City of Columbia and Richland County, which has successfully reduced animal intake at the Columbia Animal Shelter by 64% in the past 18 years, while improving the live-release rate significantly as well. Through the efforts of Animal Mission and its supporters, the city shelter is on track to achieve its goal of a making the Midlands a No-Kill Community by 2025. Now, celebrating its 18th year, the Palmetto Peanut Boil remains a family-friendly, service oriented competition with all proceeds from peanut sales and concessions going directly to charity. The funds raised for Animal Mission have a direct impact on our local community, and through these organizations, Nathan Miller and Brent Davis’s legacies continue to live and serve.
Cash prizes will be presented to the teams with the most overall sales as well as the judges choice.
Judges Choice: $400
Judges Choice, Runner Up: $200
Judges Choice, Most Creative: $100
Brent Davis People’s Choice Award (based on top sales)
1st - $400
2nd - $200
3rd - $100
Best Decorated Tent - Yeti Hopper M12 (approx. value $275), Two Stanley 40oz. tumblers (approx. value $45), bottle of tequila (approx. value $50) and bottle of wine (approx. value $50)
There will also be an award for the team’ with the best tent display. Be creative and show everyone why your team is the most fun. This award will be presented at 11:30 am (just before the event begins) so please have your tent ready to be judged.
Together, we're working to address the root cause of pet overpopulation and neglect.
