MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis could be home to five new world record holders by the end of the weekend. That's if one group of friends have their way.
A group of five friends is attempting to break the Guinness world record for the longest barbecue marathon by a team. The record is currently held by a group of Italians who set the record with a time of 40 hours, 53 seconds while they celebrated the opening of a convenience store. The group of friends will attempt to cook for a full 48 hours.
"We looked up the individual record and some dude went over three days by himself, just barbecuing. So we were like, 'well, we're not doing that,'" said Addison Forsdick.
Forsdick and Robert Hammons will man the grills. They must remain by the grill station at all times with a five-minute break every hour. If they don't use their break in a given hour, the breaks can stack.
Since the pair can't leave the grill, David Watkins mans the kitchen cutting meat and vegetables and preparing food for the grill. The Guinness Book of World Records requires the event to be filmed so Dominic Nayan is in charge of the team's Twitch account, live streaming the event.
The brain of the operation is Rob Stukenborg, who sent in the application to Guinness. He also handles administrative duties including donations and making sure everything runs smoothly. Grilling has been a common bond for the group since the pandemic began.
"It's pretty cool that we've all been friends for a while, since middle school at least," Forsdick said.
"I love grilling, especially since COVID and all that happened. We all just got real into grilling, tried different things and we saw this record and we knew we can just crush it," Hammons said.
The team began cooking at 9 a.m. on Friday and will finish at 9 a.m. on Sunday. They originally were going to try for the record in the spring but decided that wouldn't do.
"Everybody comes back in time this time of year so we thought this was the best, most ideal time and if we put it off, we were never gonna do it," Forsdick said.
The team plans to cook pork shoulder, belly and tenderloins, chicken quarters and thighs, ribs, tri-tip steak, salmon, ducks and bologna. 500 bratwursts were also donated by Johnsonville.
"We've had a great response from the community. A lot of great feedback, a lot of people excited and just ready to see it happen," said Hammons.
The group also has to distribute the food they cook so they've invited a large number of friends and family. The public is invited to come to watch the event and can donate for a plate as well. Any food remaining on Sunday will be donated to charity.