Trip Report - Judging BBQ at World Food Championships '13

By Dru Chai

From a judge and visitor's perspective, the 2013 World Food Championships trumped the inaugural 2012 event by a wide margin. The event was held at the Fremont Street Experience in Downtown Vegas -- a vast improvement over the crowded Strip location last year. There were no grumpy bodyguards shadowing Adam Richman's every move.

400 competitors, 7 categories, and $300k in prize money. That's a lot at stake, for sure. Thousands applied to be a judge, and I was lucky enough to be selected (having a BBQ blog doesn't hurt either). Here's my quick and dirty Vegas trip report:

11/7 - I arrived in Vegas around noon and my first stop for lunch was Monta Ramen. I slurped my bowl of Kuro ramen (with black garlic oil) within a matter of minutes. People barely sat down and I was already out the door. I was really, really hungry.

Kuro ramen has black garlic oil -- perfect to keep the vampires away

After a satisfying lunch, it was time to visit my favorite casino -- The Mirage. It doesn't have that glitz like the newer hotels, but its location and comfy casino keeps me coming back. I played several sessions of double deck blackjack, hit some lucky streaks, and cashed out on top. Next, it was on to the sportsbook. Between college football, NBA, and the Lakers, I sat my ass on a plush leather chair for the next 5 hours. Yes, I was in heaven.

I got my fruit and vitamin C for the day

Having to wake up bright and early the next day for recipe judging, I decided to turn in early. Visions of ramen, blackjack, and the Lakers awesome 1-point win over the Rockets (take that Dwight Coward!) danced in my head as I slept the night away.

11/8 -  I woke up feeling refreshed and headed north on the 15 to downtown Vegas. There was some light traffic but not too bad. When I arrived at Fremont St, it was still bright and early, so I did a walk-through of the entire venue. Kitchen stadium was impressive, with dozens of stoves and ovens lined up row after row.

Smack dab on Fremont St in downtown Vegas

Look at all that exposed wiring... good thing it didn't rain!

After checking in at the judges table around 9am, it was time to judge the recipe category -- both pasta and mac 'n cheese. The group of judges included chefs, B-list food TV personalities, bloggers, and foodies. My six pasta dishes were less than impressive. One dish was overpowered by bleu cheese and another looked like something a 5-yr old could make -- it was just spaghetti with bolognese sauce.

I judged these mac 'n cheese entries --  good thing I like cheese.

The mac 'n cheese entries scored a lot better. One dish had awesome presentation -- huge lobster chunks in a mini skillet. Unfortunately, some of the lobster meat was a bit overcooked and chewy. My favorite was the shrimp mac 'n cheese. The shrimp was perfectly cooked, the pasta was al dente, and the cheese sauce was nice and creamy. I asked other judges if they were going to eat their leftover lobster and shrimp. I know, I have no shame.

After about an hour break, it was time to judge BBQ (preliminary round). The top scoring teams would then move on to compete in the final "World" food round -- given the choice of using different meat and more elaborate presentations.

Just in case anyone forgets.

Behind the judging tent... lots of happy judges eating BBQ.

Unlike KCBS sanctioned BBQ competitions, this one was missing the chicken category -- so just ribs, pork, and brisket. The ribs were the best of the three, by far. Most all of them were sweet, juicy and meaty -- not overcooked. Some ribs even had a slight hint of spice in the background, which was a welcome surprise. Usually competition ribs have a very sweet profile.

Leftover ribs after judging... gone within minutes.

This judge described BBQ like a seasoned CNN reporter.

The pulled pork and brisket weren't impressive at all. Perhaps one decent entry per category. It was a far cry from last year's judging experience, in which everything I had was excellent. After judging was done around 4pm, I was asked by the A&E crew to do a quick interview. Must be the shirt I was wearing, or they wanted some diversity (I'm not an old white guy with a pot belly).

"Uh, do I have anything stuck in my teeth?"

After a long day of judging 12 pasta dishes and 15 BBQ entries, I was more than stuffed and needed a nap. Talk about carb and protein overload! This was a well organized event, and kudos to all those involved. Fremont St is the perfect venue and brought a lot of energy into downtown Vegas. I definitely hope to be back for next year's World Food Championships -- whether as a judge or as a media member.

To view more pictures, check out the album on the Dirty Smoke Facebook page.

How To Be a KCBS Certified BBQ Judge

By Dru Chai

It seemed like only yesterday that I sat through a BBQ judging class. People from all walks of life were crammed into a hotel conference room in San Diego, eager to learn about the strict judging standards set forth by KCBS. Since then, I've judged over ten BBQ competitions. Each judging experience is different from the other, but one thing's for sure -- I always get excited when I'm sitting at the judge's table, ready to dig my fingers into another meat category.

So it's no surprise that the most commonly asked question is "how do you become a BBQ judge?" When I tell them that all they need to do is take a class for a few hours, the usual response is "that's it?" Yes, that's it. But the problem is finding a class that's local. You can search for the nearest class on the KCBS website, or simply go to Las Vegas on November 7.

The World Food Championships official logo...
See the fork and spoon in there? Yes, intentional.

Yes, Las Vegas! The 2nd annual World Food Championships will be held from November 7-10 and luckily for those who are in Southern California or nearby states, now is your chance to become a BBQ judge. Classes just don't happen very often, especially on the West Coast. So if you've ever wanted to become a BBQ judge, now's your chance.

This year's World Food Championships is a bit more low key, taking place in downtown Vegas. Last year's event was hosted by Adam Richman (who has since slimmed down) along with other celebrity judges and chefs. While it was a fun event to judge and attend, I felt like the food competition was overshadowed by all the glitz and glamour of the Strip. I can already tell that for this year, the focus will be on one thing, and one thing only -- the FOOD!

Sign up to become a certified BBQ judge.

Trip Report: WFC Vegas '12, Meeting Adam Richman

By Dru Chai

The World Food Championships wrapped up in Las Vegas about a couple of months ago, but the memories are still fresh. Not only did I get to judge some of the best BBQ in the county, but I also got the chance to meet and chat with Adam Richman. Overall, I thought that the event was a success -- not quite the rousing success that the promoters had anticipated, but I think it's something that they can build upon for next year.

I was fortunate to be able to judge two days worth of BBQ, as well as the first round of the sandwich competition. The BBQ was some of the best I've had in my short tenure as KCBS certified judge. I gave some of the highest scores for both ribs and brisket, while the pulled pork deserved some moderate-to-high scores. Because of some promotional restrictions, there was no chicken in this competition. Instead, it was sauce. I'm just not a big fan of judging BBQ sauce.

During one of the judging days, Adam Richman dropped by to sample some of the pulled pork. Many of the judges simply stopped and started taking pictures, including myself. Hey, when one of the more popular food celebrities walks over, you have to take notice, right?

During one of the days, I was lucky enough to be able to win free admission to the VIP burger event, which took place right in front of Bally's. This event was heavily promoted, mostly because Adam was going to be there in person, but the high price of admission ($175, I believe) deterred many people from attending. The few burgers that I sampled were great in concept, but unfortunately were lukewarm to cold at night. Burgers are at their best hot and fresh off the grill.

Of course, the highlight of the evening was meeting Adam. My conversation with him was brief, so I just asked him what some of his favorite BBQ restaurants were -- a very open-ended question. He proceeded to rattle off about a dozen BBQ places off the top of his head, many of which I recognized from his show Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel. He mentioned the Salt Lick in Austin and Rendezvous in Memphis. He even talked about Phil's BBQ in San Diego, one of my favorite BBQ restaurants in Southern California.

All in all, the World Food Championships was well organized with plenty of star power in the food industry. I saw Dr. BBQ, Chef Tim Love, Chef Eric Greenspan, and even the winningest man in BBQ himself -- Myron Mixon. If they can gather even more celebrities to help draw more people to the event, it would definitely raise the profile for this food competition a couple more notches. Who knows, they should even start judging and competing international food dishes, instead of just American food. 'Til next year!

Judging the World Food Championships in Vegas

By Dru Chai

Going to Vegas as a kid, the only thing I looked forward to was playing carnival games and eating buffet at the Circus Circus. I knew that eating at the buffet was my one and only opportunity to go full Fat Albert without my mother chastising me to eat more greens. I went all out, picking up all the fried and fatty, American fare like burgers, sandwiches and BBQ -- food that wouldn't normally be anywhere near my standard Chinese home-cooked meals of rice and vegetables.

So it's only fitting that I return to Sin City about a couple decades later to check out the World Food Championships (WFC) from Nov 1-4. Hosted by Adam Richman, it's tauted as the biggest and baddest food competition in the world. (Here's a great interview by LA Weekly). Vegas is a great destination to host this event, as the city has grown into a culinary powerhouse over the last several years. Buffets are fancier and bigger than ever, celebrity chefs are all over the place, and "foodies" have flocked to the city in search of hidden gems in Chinatown.

One thing's for sure, America will still and always love their comfort food. The WFC won't be judging fancy food here -- it's all about the burgers, sandwiches, chili, side dishes, and BBQ. With bragging rights and more than $300,000 at stake, who will elevate their dishes to the next level without compromising its true integrity? Hundreds of chefs and food lovers, including myself, will be judging. I'm slated to judge the first round of the sandwich competition, while judging all of the BBQ (pork, sauce, ribs, and brisket). One thing's for sure, I'm arriving on an empty stomach!