Interesting story about becoming a judge....

A lot of good information there for folks who may want to judge but aren't planning to get certified. It's good to at least see these standards of competition BBQ being promoted publicly so as to further the education of would-be judges.

Two things that kinda turned me off about the guy though... he seemed to be in it to just eat good Q and not necessarily to a good solid job of judging. Second... the finger licking thing (including a photo of it)! Judges shouldn't be licking fingers! I found that difficult in the CBJ class but I think for sanitary purposes, you need to avoid it. Just my 2 cents...

Thanks for posting the article, Rob!

I liked the quote from Clark “Smoky” Hale.

“Barbecue is not just about food. It’s how you share your time, your most finite resource. But instead of sharing just an hour with someone, you’re sharing 12 hours, the time it took to cook your pulled pork or beef brisket.”

Good article.. and I am with you Jeff about the finger licking thing... This is not KFC

Thanks BQ... good article...

That picture of the finger licking gets more disturbing the longer you look at it...

So, has anyone tried to get accepted for judging duties at the Jack ? Is it as hard to get a spot here as the article made it seem ? If so, what happened ? I'm guessing Jim Minion, Rod or Dr. BBQ may have had the connections to do so. I know Poobah took a trip to the event.

I'd be willing to take a crack at a letter to see if I'm "Jack worthy"... I went to the website but did not see any info...I'm assuming you need to wait until we get closer to the Oct. date... If by chance they said OK, that would be a costly trip just to judge..

Good find Rob. Great read.

MilitantSquatter said:

Thanks BQ... good article...

That picture of the finger licking gets more disturbing the longer you look at it...

So, has anyone tried to get accepted for judging duties at the Jack ? Is it as hard to get a spot here as the article made it seem ? If so, what happened ? I'm guessing Jim Minion, Rod or Dr. BBQ may have had the connections to do so. I know Poobah took a trip to the event.

I'd be willing to take a crack at a letter to see if I'm "Jack worthy"... I went to the website but did not see any info...I'm assuming you need to wait until we get closer to the Oct. date... If by chance they said OK, that would be a costly trip just to judge..

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The Jack Daniel's takes very few judges who are not linked to the media in some regard. See, if you write for a newspaper or magazine, if you're on TV or are a celebrity that might get some coverage for being in Lynchburg, you have a REALLY good shot at being a judge for their event. It only makes sense. It's about the press they get. Some of it is priceless. They have a large budget for their event, but I can't begin to imagine what kind of bucks the coverage would translate into in advertising dollars.

kcpellethead said:

The Jack Daniel's takes very few judges who are not linked to the media in some regard. See, if you write for a newspaper or magazine, if you're on TV or are a celebrity that might get some coverage for being in Lynchburg, you have a REALLY good shot at being a judge for their event. It only makes sense. It's about the press they get. Some of it is priceless. They have a large budget for their event, but I can't begin to imagine what kind of bucks the coverage would translate into in advertising dollars.

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All I know is, those media types have great taste in ribs !! :wink:

YankeeBBQ said:

All I know is, those media types have great taste in ribs !! :wink:

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Very good point Mr. 2005 Jack Daniel's World Championship Rib Category Winner!

MilitantSquatter said:

...So, has anyone tried to get accepted for judging duties at the Jack ? Is it as hard to get a spot here as the article made it seem ? If so, what happened ? ..

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As has already been stated you have to be a celebrity to get on the list. There are usually a few who don't show up and if you are in the right place at the right time then you may get lucky and get to judge. I was one of the few who got lucky this past October. I was just hanging out on Saturday morning and was asked to fill one of the empty judging seats. It was definitely a treat. The best thing to do is volunteer to work on one of the committees to help set up and put on the contest. That way you are there and involved and available if they need someone to step up and judge. I'll be back this year helping park teams on Thursday and Friday. Hope to see some of you there.