It's official: I'm certified!

It has been three long weeks but my badge finally arrived. The wait reminded me of being a kid and waiting for that item you wanted so badly off of a cereal box. So now it’s official I am a Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) certified barbeque judge. Just wanted to share a few of the tidbits from the class I took to become a Certified Barbeque Judge (CBJ) as we like to call it in the business. (just kidding)

These competitions are serious business with a lot of money on the line.

Right now the best competition cooks in the nation are right here in Iowa. Seven out of the top ten finishers at a national event in Arkansas were from Iowa and the guy who fixed the chicken for the class was won the overall grand champion.  

There are many rules for the cooks to abide by just in presentation alone

If a CBJ just takes a one ounce bite from everything they are presented with in a normal competition they will eat up to two pounds of BBQ that day.

Oh yea, ribs are not supposed to fall off the bone

However the biggest disappointment of the day was coming to the realization that much of the stuff you eat you will never be able to buy. Many of the cooks just compete they don’t have restaurants.

I was really concerned going into the class because I had built it up so much in my mind in the months leading up to it. Usually once something like that arrives you are disappointed. However in this case the class was even more than I expected.

Just remember you can still invite me over for a BBQ I won’t judge what you serve me unless I happen to be wearing my badge.  However if you want to get in a discussion over the best BBQ joints to eat I may have to whip out my badge on you if we don’t agree.

Now I am feverishly applying to become a judge at some of the upcoming events in Iowa.