Thursday, July 29, 2010
Eats 20/20 Failure in Declo
Posted by Randy King on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 4:30 PM
I was recently asked by a customer to compete in the State BBQ Championships in Declo. I agreed thinking that I would have no problem being a competitor with all my years of professional experience. I called on a fellow chef, my father and former sous chef to come along. Collectively we called ourselves “Son of a Berkshire.”
- Looks great, huh?
We made some extraordinary food. My ribs were Thai peanut glazed with cilantro and lime. Our brisket was cooked with chipotle and kalbe barbecue. We made roasted garlic and cracked-pepper pulled-pork. Our chicken was seasoned with elderberry and rhubarb. When we turned our food over to the judges, we had confidence that, at that particular moment in the time space continuum, we had just made the best barbecue on the planet.
Like the Metallica song says “The light at the end of the tunnel is just a freight train coming your way.” That is exactly what happened in the competition. We got out butts kicked, ran the hell over. Not just a little whooping, a whole can of it.
Out of the 20 teams that competed in the competition we came in last. With more than 55 years of combined professional cooking experience, award winning barbecue restaurants, a certification from the American Culinary Federation and a borrowed $4,000 smoker “Son of a Berkshire” took absolute last place in the competition: 20th place. The highest any one of our dishes scored was 18th place and it was for the Kobe brisket. That hurts a guy’s ego.
After we received the judges' score sheets, we received a little talking to from the event promoter about the “style” that was expected. We cooked “above the expectation and the judges’ wishes.” Basically we were told that these competitions do not take lightly to changes in recipe or formula. The food we cooked was too out-of-the-box for this style of competition. The judges wanted hardwood-smoked and barbecue sauce-rubbed items. No Thai peanut sauce allowed.
Comments (13)
Showing 1-13 of 13
Apparently you aren't too familiar with BBQ contests! As soon as I read the words "Thai Peanut" I knew your fate was sealed! HEE HEE!!!
The idea of a BBQ contest is to prepare TRADITIONAL BBQ, not to go "outside the box". Traditional BBQ is an acquired skill. It's definitely *not* "barbeque-sauce rubbed items".
Maybe if you'd tried some of the other contestants food, you might have learned something from the experience. As it is, you just sound like a sore loser.
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Welcome to Idaho.... Now that you have been put in your place will you dare to enter next year and allow the judges to expand their pallets if not their minds?
I'm not surprised. You can't write and you can't compete. You try too hard and it's painful to read.
Stick to being a "chef" for Sysco, whatever that means.
This article was hilarious. I love the thought of Thai peanut ribs! I've never been to a BBQ contest and wouldn't have known either that the 'traditional' in the title of the contest is understood...I bet your food rocked--it's obvious the judges didn't want sophistication or creativity.
Lol, wow some animosity towards a guy getting learnt. He shares a story of humility and getting his butt whooped royally and all (some of) you have is bile and poison spewing from your mouths. Way to make a showing for humanity people...
He wasn't talking about humility. He's saying he cooked "above their expectations" and is trying to convince us of how sophisticated he is.
Are you really trying to say that you had the best food there but because you're so cutting edge, they ranked you last? Sorry dude, but if your food was great, you wouldn't have ranked last. I guarantee there was some dry brisket and overly sauced baby backs ranked above you.
As for the writing, it's amateurish. You're trying to get in on the food blogging trend, but you don't have anything clever to say. I'm kind of sad for Boise that this is the best you have.
Well Randy, I for one have always dreamed of having a meal cooked by you, and I find your writing to be bangin'! I'm sure that your food was awesome, but I can't say I blame the judges. After all... they were judging 20 other tomato-based sauces and you hit them with peanuts and elderberries? Their poor palates were probably screaming bloody murder.
@Bouquet garni... I think his writing is over your head. Your paraphrase was amateurish and incorrect. I'm kind of sad for Boise that this is the best you have.
Randy,
I am not surprised that you were told that you failed because you were "to-out-of-the-box" for this compitition. The people from that area look down upon anything outside of the box. Dont look at it as a loss. My guess is that the winner was picked, not by his BBQ, but his last name.
Wow...I thought we had some nice people in Idaho but some of you are just down-right rude. Randy is in his late 20's and has accomplished more than most at his age so show a little respect. What you might not also know about Randy is that he grew up here so it's pretty funny to me that this happened to him as well. He has openly and PUBLICLY admitted his misinterpretation and loss from the BBQ and you're saying he's a sore loser?... and @ Bouquet Garni...it was the judges that said they "cooked above their expectations", not Randy, that's why it was put in quotes so saying that he's trying to convince us of his sophistocation is a misunderstanding on your part. As far as his writing is concerned Bouquet Garni...anyone that uses the term "dude" in speaking or writing just shows everyone else that you aren't qualified to rate anyone's writing....and "dude", he's not trying to get in on the food blogging trend, he writes for the Boise Weekly and I'm pretty sure that's not a blog. Randy, I'm sure you've learned your lesson and will pay closer attention to the rules and guidelines of any future BBQ competitions you may enter. I'm also sure that your food rocked as well and would have loved to try it. You're welcome at my BBQ any time.
I've talked to plenty of BBQ competition contestants, and "traditional" is the WAY...the ONLY WAY at BBQ competitions. But how were you supposed to know? 55 years of culinary experience between you is like sending the Marines in to play some paint-ball at your local facility with the teenagers...they're not even playing the same game.
I wouldn't go so far as to agree with dr. toon's comment (c'mon, we're not that inbred), but I wouldn't doubt that there were local favorites, and you probably got the "newb" treatment, as well as being sidelined for your "sophisticated" fare (you think bbq sauce is scoffed at in Thailand?)
Randy, I'd love to read your interview with a judge or two from the competition. No lamb-basting, just an honest interview (or a couple of quotes) regarding the nature of judging, what they expect, and what you could do better next time.
@Banquet garni, just curious what makes you qualified to make those statements regarding food quality or writing. Opinions are what they are, and every layman has them, but this guy has represented Idaho in other countries with his cooking. I'm willing to bet the food wasn't the problem, and there probably was some smoked brisket that one-upped Randy and crew, but you can't blame the judges for being specific in their expectations.
I'm glad that Randy has such nice, supportive friends. Good for him.
Cellarhuk, I'm sorry my paraphrase didn't meet your standards. I'll be sure to not start a blog dedicated to my paraphrasing skills. I apologize for hurting your feelings enough that you're picking apart my comment styling as opposed to the actual content.
LEET- There's the tone used in the article. If he wanted to talk about being humbled or learning something, he could have done that without sounding as if his food was so extraordinary they couldn't handle it. Me saying "dude" in the comment section of a blog isn't exactly the same as attempting to become a published writer, is it? Oh, and look above. The title of this section is COBWEB - The Boise Weekly Blog. This isn't a feature article.
Listen, I wasn't putting the guy down (don't even know him, so why would I???), I'm simply saying that he misunderstood the whole concept of a BBQ contest.
Check out any serious BBQ event and you will see what I mean. Check out "Memphis in May"; it's probably the largest and most prestigious....and yes, it's by invitation only. Hell KCBS (Kansas City Barbeque Society) *alone* sanctioned 54 events just in July. There are very serious rules in these events and freelancing will get you the boot every time. They want to test your skills at traditional BBQ and even too chunky of a BBQ sauce can spell disaster.
I have been a Chef for 28 years and I only learned how to make really good "Q" in the last two. It's a hard-won skill because nobody's giving away any secrets, so please don't insult or disabuse the serious competitors simply because *you* don't understand what the competition is about!
And yes, I will put my Apple Smoked spareribs and Chipotle-Prickly Pear BBQ Sauce up against *anyone's*!
Sigh. Just like a real bouquet garni, BQ looks nice but adds very little to the final dish. Except bitterness - sounds like you've been passed over for promotion by most of your chefs and so now you come to the web to anonymously trash a person trying to share a humorous anecdote. Good for you, tough guy.
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