Another year of competition in the books. The annual awards banquet was held away from Kansas City for the first time in the existence of the society. The Music City Sheraton in Nashville hosted the event, and personally, I think it turned out well. Thrown into a situation of which they had no previous experience, the KCBS staff, especially Karen and Kelly, did a remarkable job planning, organizing and implementing the whole thing. It's always more difficult to pull this off in a town other than where you work, but I must say, it didn't show.
Rob of Ulika BBQ did a nice job recapping the event. You can read his account on the Ulika Food Blog. I thought having the mayor of Nashville address the banquet was a great touch. Obviously a very busy man, he did his best to relate to us despite not really knowing anything about us. I also like the shortened version of the banquet compared to years past. This trend started last year. Prior to that, I recall years where the banquet went well into the early morning hours.
The culmination of the evening was the Kansas City Barbeque Society Team of the Year awards and, in my opinion, the whole reason for the evening. Teams were recognized for finishing in the top ten of each of meat four categories plus the top twenty overall. Pellet Envy was recognized in all five categories, finishing no lower than fifth place and one of only three teams of the 4345 teams competing in KCBS sanctioned events to be included in every category. Additionally, we were recognized as one of only five teams to achieve a perfect score in a category and scored the most points in any contest in 2008. The following are the category finishes for Pellet Envy:
Overall - 2nd Runner Up
Chicken - 1st Runner Up
Ribs - 5th place
Pork - 4th place
Brisket - 1st Runner Up
We feel very fortunate about our 2008 season. The 2009 season is already underway with two January events in Florida. Old School versus High Tech kicks off the season with our first class in Great Bend, Kansas next weekend. The competition season is starting earlier and ending later every year. Before we know it, our season will be continuous. If nothing else, this shows the popularity of barbecue. The future of competition barbecue sure looks so bright from here, I gotta wear shades.
Rob of Ulika BBQ did a nice job recapping the event. You can read his account on the Ulika Food Blog. I thought having the mayor of Nashville address the banquet was a great touch. Obviously a very busy man, he did his best to relate to us despite not really knowing anything about us. I also like the shortened version of the banquet compared to years past. This trend started last year. Prior to that, I recall years where the banquet went well into the early morning hours.
The culmination of the evening was the Kansas City Barbeque Society Team of the Year awards and, in my opinion, the whole reason for the evening. Teams were recognized for finishing in the top ten of each of meat four categories plus the top twenty overall. Pellet Envy was recognized in all five categories, finishing no lower than fifth place and one of only three teams of the 4345 teams competing in KCBS sanctioned events to be included in every category. Additionally, we were recognized as one of only five teams to achieve a perfect score in a category and scored the most points in any contest in 2008. The following are the category finishes for Pellet Envy:
Overall - 2nd Runner Up
Chicken - 1st Runner Up
Ribs - 5th place
Pork - 4th place
Brisket - 1st Runner Up
We feel very fortunate about our 2008 season. The 2009 season is already underway with two January events in Florida. Old School versus High Tech kicks off the season with our first class in Great Bend, Kansas next weekend. The competition season is starting earlier and ending later every year. Before we know it, our season will be continuous. If nothing else, this shows the popularity of barbecue. The future of competition barbecue sure looks so bright from here, I gotta wear shades.
1 comment:
Congrats on a great year.
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