British BBQ Society Forums

Problem with that is doesnt benefit the society at all, if the society cant pay for itself it doesnt exist.

JEC wrote:Maybe a combination of the two would work well, try it for one weekend for free but understand you will be a gopher and then have a fully fledged role as part of trainee team for which you have to pay for the privilege and a chance to share any prize money the team wins

I think that confuses and over-complicates things. Offer too many different possibilities, and you dilute your brand.

I think much better to view it as two completely separate approaches. Toby running his scheme as an official thing, for which people will pay (and therefore bring revenue into BBBQS); while any teams who feel they can offer novices a place go ahead and do their own thing, off their own bat.

I think this is a good idea as being at a couple of the competitions this year and helping some of the new teams that have been at the competitions i think that for some of these guy's the option to have someone who knows what they are doing giving them guidance and training not only on how to cook this type of BBQ but also how to present it for hand in can only be a good thing.

I think the problem for anyone wanting to work with some of the other teams who are competing is that they might not be too happy when they've put a lot of hard work in and the team gets an award it'll be the pit master of that team walking away with the trophy and that person potentially walking away with nothing.

I'm quite interested in the opportunity to compete in an American competition as I’ve discussed it with the Mrs but doing it off your own back you'd potentially be looking at spending over $1000 to buy a couple of WSM's, knives, tables and other bits like that to then either give / throw away at the end of it as shipping it all home will cost just as much as what you paid for it all.

On another note, have you thought about offering pre equipped pitches for the pit master events? so people who might be interested to compete but don't have all the kit required can do so or teams who don't want o over load their cars can do so.

i have been setup this year to hire out the equipment for teams that dont have it all, although i end up lending it rather than hiring it (too interested in everyone having a good time). What you are suggesting with the pitch would only be half a solution, for example a couple of new teams last week really didint have a clue about presentation and with a little guidance on temps etc could have done really well. i think it has to be an all or nothing approach, of course there will always be those that walk into it thinking they know it all, in which case you just have to support them and soften the blow when it doesnt turn out as expected

As you know I have a large arsenal of equipment ready to hire out should people need a top up.

I say give it a shot Toby, at the end of the day, the society cannot run on thin air. It's hard trying to promote something that not a lot of people understand. Maybe some kind of promo video or something first will whet the tastebuds??

We have one, just waiting for the final cut to be sent to me, it was the one filmed in May, looks good and gets the message across. its being sent to aload of PR firms etc in the next couple of weeks.

British BBQ Society wrote:We have one, just waiting for the final cut to be sent to me, it was the one filmed in May, looks good and gets the message across. its being sent to aload of PR firms etc in the next couple of weeks.

Oh cool, and will you add it to the society website?

Toby, Will people be able to purchase a copy of the DVD, or is it promotional only.

Regards

Eddie.

Sticking my 2p in.

I think it's a great idea and well priced. Obviously there has to be a lot of interaction to make it worthwhile but I'm sure you appreciate that and will select an appropriate pit master to run the courses. My mind harks back to how Jim Rhino runs his BBQ boot camp and that seems to work well but I'm sure jim's character and charisma has a lot to do with that.

I think value will be perceived from the experience and what can be taken away, including printed cook's notes as part of the package, cooking on different style cookers and vac packing left overs up for the competitors all add to the experience.

If it's well managed and the team is well run I think it's definately a workable plan.

Thanks guys all this input is invaluable, the dvd will be uploaded to the site, youtube and the others to raise the profile, thanks doc appreciate the response, the initial figure was just a figure but I dont think it can be reduced, if it is it would be minimal. Ref pitmaster the British Bulldog BBQ team will be resurrected and I will give additional training to the pitmaster, I will also be on hand the entire time to help out ad answer questions. A you all know I will talk about any product and the pros and cons, if i cannot recommend a product I will have a reason why and am willing to discuss. Eddie anyone is welcome to a copy, i know of two serious ranges that will be added to the uk market un the next few months, 2012 is going to be very exciting!