Royce Armstrong, Grand Champion. Photo by Ed Simon for The Los Angeles Beat.
Downtown Anaheim was filled with the delicious scent of barbeque on Saturday as the 2nd Annual Quein’ and Brewin’ Backyard BBQ took place. 24 teams were mentored by members of some of the top teams in CA such as Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ and Desperado BBQ, and judged by a panel of judges who provided feedback for the teams. The event was designed to give the novices an idea of what an actual KCBS (Kansas City Barbeque Society) sanctioned contest would be like, while also teaching them through mentoring and face-to-face judging.
The overall winner and Grand Champion was Royce Armstrong of I’ll be Good to You BBQ. Royce had a strong showing in the three protein categories of chicken, ribs and beef tri-tip. The Grand Reserve Champion (2nd Place) was Mike Leckliter of Blazin’ Tikis BBQ. Both the Grand Champion and Reserve Champion received awards that had great meaning. Harry Soo gave them the first and second awards he had ever won, the first two in over 100 awards worldwide he has won since then.
Photo essay at end of article
The beef tri-tip category winner was Shaun Guyot of Creole Brothers BBQ. Shaun gave Harry Soo a heartfelt ‘thank you’ and praised him for getting Shaun to the point in BBQ that he was in on Saturday. The chicken winner was Brad Fiske of Hot Stuff BBQ with a strong showing. In the pork rib category, Royce Armstrong showed that his ribs would be welcomed at any competition.
The Volunteer-led event by Slap Yo Daddy BBQ and Desperado BBQ was intended to bring the City of Anaheim together with acts of kindness with the love of BBQ and Brew. The net proceeds from the event will benefit charities such as Operation Homefront, Save the Children and the American Cancer Society. A crowdfunding site is also available for those who want to make a donation to one of the charities through this event.
The day’s competitors all commented on things such as how much they had learned from the event and how good it felt to compete. For many, it was the first time they had cooked in a BBQ competition so it was an eye-opening experience. And for the BBQ fans who got to taste samples made by vendors, all of whom were seasoned competition teams, they and the charities the food sales supported were also winners.
2nd Annual Harry Soo Backyard BBQ Contest
https://www.facebook.com/QingandBrewing
http://www.qingandbrewing.com/
