Rudgwick

[Eddie]

If any non competitors are thinking of going to Rudgewick, please do. Myself and my family when last year and it was a fantastic day out. They had lots of stalls and a marquee where you can purchase local produce and arts & crafts, A full size funfair where all the rides were powered by steam, My fav was the motorcycle wall of death that was cheap considering the enterainment that you recieved, lots of classic cars, vans and motorcycles that were worth a look at, and steam locomotives galore. If after all of that you felling a bit peckish there are lots of vendors selling food and drinks ( hog roast, crackling and apple sauce ) was really good eating. Last but not least the BBBQS willl be there and you might have a chance to speak to the competitors to get any helpful advice and tips that you may be looking for.

Eddie.

[keith157]

The foodtaster and I will going to Rudgewick, but sadly only on the Saturday so won't get to see the end of the competition. Can we just say Good Luck to all taking part, we haven't met anyone yet so have no favourites our best wishes are for all "you lucky people"

[wade]

I was at the show today (Sunday) and it was great to see you all. The tension on the competitors side was aparant as we approached judging time - which was great. From the samples I tasted the judges would have had a tough time this afternoon.

It is a pity that a level of excitement was not in evidence on the public side. I overheard several questioning what it was all about and why were there so many people BBQing with none that they could eat. I think they had a fair point and maybe there is a trick that we are missing. Perhaps next year, alongside the competition entries, we could have some retail BBQ meat on sale throughout the event (in a roll, with slaw, loose, or even vacuum packed slices to eat later) so that people can actually sample the kind of things that are being judged in the competition and hopefully become more enthused. From the queues at the other food outlets there would certainly be demand for another food stall.

I dont know if any of you tasted the rolls from the "Hog Roast" van - probably not if you had been preparing meat all night. Maybe I went there at the wrong time but mine was fairly disgusting and it made me feel quite queezy on the drive home. I know what we are doing is not the same but it is places like that that give proper cooked pork a bad name...

[JEC]

That sounds like a massive oversight, not intentional though I'm sure. Part of the reason for public competitions is to promote true BBQ if Joe and Jo Public can't try it how are they ever going to know what they are missing, even if it is the Doc and he's Meat Beast it's got to be better than nothing


















P.S. Al the above is a joke and I hope you take it in good humor, I have tasted your food and can vouch for it's quality

[British BBQ Society]

Shame you didnt ask the question when you were here, we had the option to vend and indeed the equipment, unfortunately I was let down on staff on the Wednesday prior to the event and had to make a decision, spread myself too thin or concentrate on making sure the competitors had the event they deserved. It is always difficult but the teams will always come first.

We are putting a new structure in place for 2012 which includes a vending team and an information booth for all events (which allow it).

If anyone attended and has suggestions please email them to me toby@bbbqs.com

Cheers

[wade]

Staffing is always a tough nut to crack. Despite that the event seemed to be going well. Great work Toby.

[clairbare]

I have to say that all the members of the society certainly helped spread the word - we had lots of people asking questions, as I am sure did most teams and I am convinced we blew the society trumpet nice and loud

I agree that there should be an information booth or something that people can take away to remember, so well thought of Toby for next year!

Also if the public were around at the right time (Like you Wade ) they actually got "free" samples of the food that was cooking - only when we were turning in were our heads right down

[wade]

Timing is everything I wonder why I picked that time to come round.....

[keith157]

My thanks to all the hardworking competitors who took the time to talk to "the old fart in the Bear Grills Tee shirt" asking daft questions on Sunday or just had time to wave & smile. Due to heavy traffic we arrived at just the right time................just as meat was being finalised for judging. Part of the problem IMHO is that the BBBQS site was kind of tucked away and the map in the program was less than accurate. As to food, I would agree that it was a missed opportunity as the quality of food offered around the show by the EXPENSIVE concessions was, at best, poor judging by the amount filling the bins.
As to the judges I started off on our arrival thinking "You lucky people" (as Max Miller would have said) however having tasted a few morsels it quickly changed to "rather you than me" . Although we didn't get to taste everyone's wares we had a varied enough sampling to know we (the food taster and I) didn't have "the buds" for judging it.
Again many thanks to all, especially the kind gent who spent 20+ minutes explaining the concept of smoking and the "Pros" & cons of a certain brand of bullet smoker.

[British BBQ Society]

love it! looks like we need a get a couple of you to compete! The most important thing about judging is understanding the work that goes into the food. If you dont understand or like this style of food its just not for you.

I think people are getting confused about the event. It was our national final to decide which team was going forward to represent the UK at the Jack Daniels invitational. A competition not an exhibition (unlike the Big Feastival) if people were interested in what we were doing, they had an amble round, took a few pictures and spoke to anyone that was available. From the forum and past competition experience, you would understand that Sunday is completely the wrong day to socialise with the teams.

My priority will always be to the teams, not the public which is why i didnt take up the vending spot that we had. Next year with at least 6 events, there will be plenty of opportunities to sell the food, and we will also have a dedicated information booth. I think people need to research a little before jumping to conclusions.

Cheers

Toby