It’s finally here! Wednesday is the official kickoff of the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest for this year’s Memphis in May.
It’s the first year the public will be able to attend the contest on what is traditionally known as friends and family night. Memphis in May officials decided to open it up to the public because of past demand.
Typically, this is the day where teams put the finishing touches on their tents and have a fun night with friends and family before the competition really fires up.
We spoke with Sloppy Chops, one of the many teams out of Memphis. They have been competing here for the last 20 years and they say what started as a fun thing for friends has turned into a family business of sorts.
“I had friends that I started with, like on the bottom as a helper and have just grown into a bigger aspect of the team,” says Frank Talarico. “I wanted a place for my kids to come and hang out. Now they’re grown and they’re team members and my daughter is one of our rib cooks.”
The teams go all out for their set-ups.
“The Usual Saucepects,” another Memphis area team, says their place will have almost a Vegas-like feel this week. For starters, it’s decked out with a $100-thousand light and sound system. There are four TVs inside that will be able to automatically display any social media posts with the hashtag #GetSauced.
The team even has a mini driving range set up in front where you can hit golf balls out into the Mississippi river. We asked one of the team members where the idea for all this came from and what people think of the setup.
“A few years back, we started with a joke called scaffold-zilla. We kind of got too big and were told we had to scale down. We’re at the point now where we’re a little over 3,000 square feet. Multiple story scaffolding. We have the biggest lot you can get down here on the river because the view here is fantastic for Memphis in May,” says Matt Savard. “A lot of compliments, people walking by. ‘Hey, I saw that place last night, it was going crazy!’ Our booth comments were saying it looks like a pinball machine, when you walk by you can see it. We have lights shooting up in the sky. You can see it from all around the park.”
The fire department checks every cooking site before the competition starts to make sure they’re safe. While most teams only need one fire extinguisher, “The Usual Saucepects” needed three because of all their high-tech setup.
These guys are serious when it comes to the barbecue, too. They have placed in the top 10 here multiple times over the years. This year they are competing in the ribs category, but they obviously don’t have a problem having some fun while competing.
Gates for Wednesday’s events opened at 5:00 p.m. To make it more interesting, Memphis in May is bringing back barbecue sauce wrestling. Teams will be facing off in 40 gallons of sauce in an actual wrestling ring. That will be at the main stage starting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
