Putting out the feelers to Long Island comp teams.

[volkanator]

Trying to put together the framework for a BBQ comp next summer in Lynbrook, NY. Wanted to 1-get a rough feel for what kind of turnout we might be able to get from the local competition teams. 2-wanted to see if you guys had any advice on my concept.

Looking to run a fundraiser for the fire department. Figured in order to make it a public friendly event to get the public to open their wallets I figured we'd do a People's Choice Rib Cookoff.

Contestants could cook their ribs on-site or in advance, the public would buy "taste tickets". Whatever it takes to make sure the contestants have enough ribs to last the entire event or as long as possible. For every X amount of taste tickets they buy they get a "vote ticket".

Each ticket would entitle them to 1 rib at the competitor's table of their choice.

At the end of the event the vote tickets would be tallied to determine the People's Choice Champion.

The prizes would depend on the # of contestants and amount of registration fee (was thinking ballpark $50).

I was also thinking a good way to subsidize the meat costs to the competitors would be to split the taste ticket money with them. The more tickets a team accumulates the more money they get back at the end of the day.

Also since this is really all about having a good time and not busting balls ...if participants wanted to hawk their wares that's cool. You have a special rub or sauce you've bottled that you want to sell, have at it. You want to give out cards to advertise your restaurant or catering business? Go for it! T-shirts, grill shwag, etc.

What do you guys think? Any advice/criticism would be most appreciated. Also if this sounds like something you/your team would potentially be interested in participating in please let me know. If I could get a rough idea of the sort of team turnout I should plan for it would really help me to come up with a gameplan.

[biggs98]

I think it sounds great. The more comps on LI the better. Maybe there could be a way you could have the ribs donated for the teams. I'm interested to see how it unfolds

[Sledneck]

I would do it if the ribs were donated.

[BBQchef33]

yeah.. who is supplying the ribs? Dont know how many folks would drop 150$ on a case of ribs to give away. Being subsidized based on vote tickets does nothing, especiallly since its a popularity contest. The team who brinjs down the most family and friends wins most of the time.

These types of events usually have the meats donated and supplied to the teams cooking them. You would get a better turnout doing that. Find a meat supplier who will donate the ribs. I hate to be blunt, but i would be surprised if u get a turnout at all if u expect the teams to buy the ribs and give them away, Chances are, any that do will show up with 3-6 racks and thats not gonna raise alot of $$.

Teams will usually supply rubs, sauces and manpower to cook and slice.. but a case of ribs runs about 150 bucks.. a little much to just give away to a localized charity.

[trohrs123]

agree with phil...but love local contests and would compete kcbs...it is going to be a kcbs event???

[Sledneck]

Originally Posted by trohrs123

agree with phil...but love local contests and would compete kcbs...it is going to be a kcbs event???

i would prefer it to be FBA

[BBQchef33]

Originally Posted by trohrs123

agree with phil...but love local contests and would compete kcbs...it is going to be a kcbs event???

its only a rib cookoff, so I doubt it.

[volkanator]

OK getting the ribs donated is a real good idea. I'll look into that. If you guys have any advice on a starting point or best business to target that'll be the next step.

I wasn't going to do it KCBS. I wanted to keep it less formal so it would be more about fun and community then making it stressful and competitive.

Phil likened it to a popularity contest which is 100% accurate but I don't think that is a bad thing, especially since bringing the most people also means raising the most money for the cause.
The person who ends up bringing home the trophy gets some degree of bragging rights but the truth is it's more about a fun day of cooking against/amongst fellow Brethren.
If some of the more competitive teams wanted to get a side wager going amongst themselves with a judge that'd be cool too.

I just know that in the comp's I've been in, they haven't always been THAT crowd friendly. Especially during crunch time. Haven't we all had instances where a passerby tried to swipe a rib we were staging for a turn in box or pull the cover off a smoker and you just wanted to smack them?

Well this way passerby's would be encouraged to interact.

Also if there are any people out there who wouldn't want to cook but might be interested in being a vendor or sponsor let me know.

[MattCom]

Originally Posted by volkanator

Haven't we all had instances where a passerby tried to swipe a rib we were staging for a turn in box or pull the cover off a smoker and you just wanted to smack them?
.

Nope, I have my grand dads cleaver at the ready.

[BBQchef33]

Originally Posted by volkanator

I just know that in the comp's I've been in, they haven't always been THAT crowd friendly. Especially during crunch time. Haven't we all had instances where a passerby tried to swipe a rib we were staging for a turn in box or pull the cover off a smoker and you just wanted to smack them?

Well this way passerby's would be encouraged to interact.

Just in case, for discussion purposes, think you need to level set expectations.

In people choice events, the items are served from a serving station at the teams site. Some teams slice and serve from a board at the table, and others slice behind the scenes, put them in a chaffer and serve from there. But thats about the limit to "interaction." Chatting up the public at PO events is about the same level of interaction as we do on NON-turnin days. Show interst, and we can yap for hours. However, I dont believe cooks are going to want folks wandering freely thru the sites. Having folks reach onto cutting boards, wander around cook sites, peek into pits, etc is a recipe for disaster. The pits are hot, the tables are full and the knives are sharp. Can u see a mom with a toddler in tow who walks into or touches the side of a firebox, or knocks over a prep station? Events with heavy foot traffic, you wills ee teams rope off the sites to keep folks from wandering thru and swiping food.

I have seen folks so brazen that they walked into my site and sliced off pieces of breakfast fatty we had sitting on a cutting board.

[early mornin' smokin']

sorry bout grabbing that slice of fatty phil, lol