Grand Champions at East vs West BBQ Showdown
Sweet Double Sweep – TLC BBQ Pitmaster’s Harry from Slap Yo Daddy and his roadie Gary from Notley Que win Grand Champion and Reserve, respectively, at the Ultimate BBQ Showdown East vs West at sunny Wildomar, nestled halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego.
It was great to be able to cook against my BBQ pitmaster Paduan Gary Notley at our first contest in California for 2010. We came in 1st Brisket, 1st Pork, 1st Beef Ribs, 2nd Chicken, and 5th Ribs at this IBCA-sanctioned event. There were about 50 teams with some from Texas and Arizona. Our fellow competitor Jay Otis from Otis and The Bird from Arizona rounded out the photo-finish for the top three spots.
I had Dave Malone from All Sauced Up, California 1st Runner Up Rookie 2009, as my helper this time as my regular partner Mark could not make this event. Several friends and relatives also dropped by to help. My daughter Amy Soo and my son’s girlfriend Amy Tsang were there to help sell BBQ samples and sell our Slap Yo Daddy tees. We were able to collect several hundred dollars for our two favorite charities: Operation Homefront and Save The Children.
Several teams were also alumni from my popular Slap Yo Daddy BBQ 101 class, and it was wonderful to see them get calls.
Alumni – Barry and Linda Greer
On Friday evening I conducted a mini-Rib clinic for new teams since there were more than a dozen new teams who signed up. I received lots of positive feedback and it was great to see and hear that BBQ Pitmasters created so much new interest in BBQ. I also signed lots of autographs for both adults and children
It was great to hang out with our California and Arizona BBQ buddies as the 1 hour between turn-ins allowed for a more relaxed atmosphere and time to shoot the breeze. Our neighbors Chris Rocke from Rancho BBQ invited us for a great breakfast and Mike Reimann from AZBBQ cooked us some yummy burgers for lunch.
A big thanks goes out to Henry Silvestre for organizing this awesome event. Thanks goes to Kelly and Kathleen for officiating and to all the Rotary Club helpers and volunteers.
A big thanks also goes to our terrific Sponsors: Rocks BBQ System for our Stoker temperature control system, T&H Meat and Sausages for our meat products, TheSlabs.com for our rub products, Cajun Grill for our Weber stainless replacement doors, Smokin Guns for our rubs, Butcher BBQ for our injections, and Snake River Farms for our Wagyu meat products.
