Join me at Silicon Valley BBQ Championship, Santa Clara CA, June 28, 2014


 

Chris Allingham

Administrator
Staff member
I will be visiting the Silicon Valley BBQ Championship in Santa Clara, CA on Saturday, June 28. I plan on arriving around 9:30am to check-out the event and will stick around to see the awards ceremony that afternoon.

I'll be handing out TVWBB pins to teams using Weber grills and smokers, and if you catch me there, you can get a pin, too! I'll be wearing a TVWBB t-shirt like this one and a Weber logo cap, so look for me! Would love to meet some Weber fans, so stop by if you can...we can meet near the judging area at 12:00pm. Text me at mail@virtualweberbullet.com so we can connect.

There will be barbecue, beer, wine, live music, and kid's zone, so bring the whole family!

http://www.svbbq.com/
Santa Clara’s Central Park
909 Kiely Blvd. Santa Clara, CA
 
It turns out I will be judging at this event, so I will not be wandering around before the turn-ins handing out TVWBB pins. But I will try to connect with TVWBB folks after judging is over, maybe 2pm?

Best,
Chris
 
Chris, judging an event sounds COOL!
How did you get into judging?
AND, can you ask if the BBQ was cooked on a WSM? ;)
 
It turns out I will be judging at this event, so I will not be wandering around before the turn-ins handing out TVWBB pins. But I will try to connect with TVWBB folks after judging is over, maybe 2pm?

Best,
Chris

The ultimate compliment has been bestowed upon our fearless leader! Congratulations on being selected as a judge Chris! My Sun-Mon-Tues work schedule ends this December - I can't wait to try and hit some of these Saturday events!
 
First of all, let's be clear: It's not a compliment to me. I am a newbie, the lowest of the low, a humble student of BBQ judging at this point. I have learned the basics, but I have so much more to learn. I'm just grateful that there were judging slots still available for this event.

The last time I judged was at the 1999 West Coast BBQ Championship in Santa Cruz, California. A loooooong time ago. That was before I became a Certified BBQ Judge. Took that course in 2002 and maintained CBJ status ever since, but never did any judging. Now that I've got more free time on my hands, I thought judging would be interesting and a good way to take part in competition BBQ. However, I did not want to impose myself on competitors without brushing-up on my judging skills first, so I went to the CBJ class again last weekend as a refresher.

At the class, they had sign-up sheets for judging at the Santa Clara event. I filled-out a form and sent it in, and I guess they still had open slots and I got one. I'm looking forward to it!
 
Here are the top three winners at the 3rd Annual Silicon Valley BBQ Championship...all using WSMs to take home the big checks and trophies!

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From left to right:
Reserve Champions Lupe & Jerry Aguilar, Burnin' and Lootin' from Corona, CA
Grand Champions Vincent Carrocci and Alexa Fairbairn, Rhythm 'N Que from Phoenix, AZ
3rd Overall Zach Galiste, Son of Smoke from Manteca, CA

Congratulations to all, great to see you in Santa Clara!
 
Here are full results from Santa Clara, including backyard entries.

Congrats to my old friend Ric Gilbert and his Ric's Righteous Ribs crew for a top 10 finish overall. Also, congrats to Carlos Lopez and his Los MexiQtioners crew for not coming in last in any category or overall! Every time out is a learning experience, keep at it and you'll be rising in the rankings soon enough. :)

Also, best wishes to my friend John Reyes and his Lord of the Ribs crew...they were absolutely killing it with their ribs and beef vending...maybe distracted a bit from the competition, but still good times!

Overall
1 RHYTHM 'N QUE 678.9028
2 BURNIN AND LOOTIN 678.2284
3 SON OF SMOKE 661.5884
4 THE PIT CREW BBQ OF SOCAL 658.2628
5 PORK DADDY'S BBQ 653.0168
6 CECIL'S SMOK'N BBQ 652.0004
7 BAD S. BBQ 651.9540
8 BIG B'S DOWN-N-DIRTY BBQ 651.3940
9 THESMOKERING.COM 647.9084
10 RIC'S RIGHTEOUS RIBS 647.4400
11 SMOKEY LUV BBQ 646.2284
12 BOWLING OVER PIGS 645.7260
13 PIRATES OF THE PIG 642.8000
14 RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ 641.6228
15 PIG PIMP'N BBQ 639.9772
16 WOODHOUSE BARBECUE 634.1828
17 LIP SMACKIN BBQ 629.2572
18 GET SOME SALTWORKS BBQ 627.3480
19 MEAT FIRE BREW BBQ 623.8968
20 PORKTERA BBQ 620.4688
21 SMOKE SLAYERS 619.9544
22 ROYAL SMOKIN' HOT 619.8972
23 Smoked Out BBQ 616.5140
24 TOO ASHAMED TO NAME 614.1712
25 SMITTY'S SMOKE PATROL 611.9656
26 CRIME SCENE 609.7028
27 SMOKE AND BERNS 606.2856
28 WINE WITH SWINE BBQ 605.6340
29 BENT SMOKE 604.5596
30 Ron John American Dry Rub BBQ 603.9660
31 SISSY'S TNT BBQ 601.7368
32 SMOKIN MC 600.5600
33 M.A.C. BBQ SHACK 598.1828
34 CANYON RIDERS BBQ 595.2228
35 IRON BULL BBQ 591.3372
36 Adamsons Texas Style Barbecue 590.3200
37 LOOSEN YOUR BELT BBQ 590.2056
38 ALL REASONS MOVING 585.1312
39 VOODOO BARBEQUE 579.8284
40 Hatton BBQ Team 577.7144
41 LORD OF THE RIBS 576.9372
42 Los Mexi Q"tioners" 574.7544
43 CaddyShack BBQ 564.4800
44 HOLY SMOKES 545.0852
45 JUICY O'S BBQ TEAM 494.9028
46 PROPS BBQ 491.5312
47 Grill Stars 479.6680
48 Jopa BBQ/REW 444.7204

Chicken
1 BURNIN AND LOOTIN 175.4172
2 SON OF SMOKE 174.8456
3 RHYTHM 'N QUE 170.2628
4 PIRATES OF THE PIG 168.0116
5 SMOKE SLAYERS 166.8800
6 Ron John American Dry Rub BBQ 163.4056
7 RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ 161.7028
8 Hatton BBQ Team 161.1888
9 SMOKEY LUV BBQ 160.5828
10 WOODHOUSE BARBECUE 160.5600
11 PORKTERA BBQ 160.5372
12 TOO ASHAMED TO NAME 160.5140
13 BIG B'S DOWN-N-DIRTY BBQ 159.4056
14 RIC'S RIGHTEOUS RIBS 158.2972
15 BAD S. BBQ 157.7028
16 WINE WITH SWINE BBQ 157.1428
17 BOWLING OVER PIGS 156.5828
18 LIP SMACKIN BBQ 156.5712
19 CRIME SCENE 156.0456
20 CECIL'S SMOK'N BBQ 156.0344
21 M.A.C. BBQ SHACK 155.9656
22 PORK DADDY'S BBQ 155.3828
23 LORD OF THE RIBS 154.8572
24 ROYAL SMOKIN' HOT 154.8344
25 CANYON RIDERS BBQ 154.8116
26 IRON BULL BBQ 154.2744
27 LOOSEN YOUR BELT BBQ 154.2628
28 PIG PIMP'N BBQ 154.2284
29 BENT SMOKE 153.7140
30 Los Mexi Q"tioners" 153.1200
31 VOODOO BARBEQUE 152.5484
32 Smoked Out BBQ 152.0228
33 Adamsons Texas Style Barbecue 151.4628
34 THESMOKERING.COM 151.4056
35 THE PIT CREW BBQ OF SOCAL 151.3712
36 GET SOME SALTWORKS BBQ 150.2856
37 CaddyShack BBQ 150.2856
38 SISSY'S TNT BBQ 148.6400
39 SMITTY'S SMOKE PATROL 147.9772
40 Jopa BBQ/REW 147.4744
41 PROPS BBQ 147.4172
42 MEAT FIRE BREW BBQ 147.3712
43 SMOKE AND BERNS 143.4056
44 HOLY SMOKES 141.1428
45 ALL REASONS MOVING 138.8456
46 SMOKIN MC 134.8000
47 Grill Stars 114.0112

Pork Ribs
1 THE PIT CREW BBQ OF SOCAL 175.4400
2 CECIL'S SMOK'N BBQ 173.1544
3 RHYTHM 'N QUE 172.0344
4 JUICY O'S BBQ TEAM 169.1772
5 Smoked Out BBQ 169.1428
6 PORK DADDY'S BBQ 168.5828
7 PIRATES OF THE PIG 167.4400
8 SMOKEY LUV BBQ 166.2860
9 RIC'S RIGHTEOUS RIBS 165.1544
10 BURNIN AND LOOTIN 164.5600
11 THESMOKERING.COM 163.9772
12 WOODHOUSE BARBECUE 162.2744
13 BIG B'S DOWN-N-DIRTY BBQ 161.7256
14 BAD S. BBQ 161.7028
15 MEAT FIRE BREW BBQ 161.1772
16 PIG PIMP'N BBQ 159.9888
17 TOO ASHAMED TO NAME 159.4172
18 GET SOME SALTWORKS BBQ 158.8112
19 BOWLING OVER PIGS 158.2516
20 SMOKE SLAYERS 157.6916
21 PORKTERA BBQ 157.1316
22 RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ 156.5488
23 BENT SMOKE 155.4172
24 LIP SMACKIN BBQ 154.8916
25 SMOKIN MC 154.8572
26 IRON BULL BBQ 154.8228
27 Ron John American Dry Rub BBQ 154.3316
28 CRIME SCENE 153.6800
29 VOODOO BARBEQUE 153.6572
30 SON OF SMOKE 153.6456
31 HOLY SMOKES 152.6400
32 M.A.C. BBQ SHACK 152.5488
33 SMITTY'S SMOKE PATROL 150.8000
34 ROYAL SMOKIN' HOT 150.2400
35 Los Mexi Q"tioners" 148.5716
36 CaddyShack BBQ 148.5372
37 ALL REASONS MOVING 147.4284
38 Adamsons Texas Style Barbecue 147.3944
39 WINE WITH SWINE BBQ 146.2744
40 Jopa BBQ/REW 145.1888
41 Hatton BBQ Team 144.5256
42 SMOKE AND BERNS 140.5716
43 SISSY'S TNT BBQ 139.3484
44 PROPS BBQ 134.2056
45 LOOSEN YOUR BELT BBQ 131.3828
46 CANYON RIDERS BBQ 131.3372
47 Grill Stars 127.3940
48 LORD OF THE RIBS 126.6516

Pork
1 RHYTHM 'N QUE 171.4284
2 BURNIN AND LOOTIN 169.6684
3 JUICY O'S BBQ TEAM 169.1656
4 PIG PIMP'N BBQ 168.5828
5 RIC'S RIGHTEOUS RIBS 168.5600
6 THESMOKERING.COM 168.5256
7 CANYON RIDERS BBQ 166.8456
8 BAD S. BBQ 165.7028
9 THE PIT CREW BBQ OF SOCAL 164.5944
10 MEAT FIRE BREW BBQ 163.9656
11 LIP SMACKIN BBQ 162.9372
12 PORK DADDY'S BBQ 162.8228
13 CRIME SCENE 162.2856
14 SMOKE AND BERNS 161.7600
15 BIG B'S DOWN-N-DIRTY BBQ 161.7028
16 PORKTERA BBQ 160.5600
17 SON OF SMOKE 160.5372
18 SMITTY'S SMOKE PATROL 159.4628
19 RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ 159.4056
20 Smoked Out BBQ 158.8456
21 SISSY'S TNT BBQ 157.7256
22 GET SOME SALTWORKS BBQ 157.7256
23 LOOSEN YOUR BELT BBQ 157.7028
24 CECIL'S SMOK'N BBQ 156.5372
25 ROYAL SMOKIN' HOT 156.5372
26 WOODHOUSE BARBECUE 156.5256
27 BOWLING OVER PIGS 154.8572
28 Adamsons Texas Style Barbecue 154.8456
29 Jopa BBQ/REW 152.0572
30 SMOKEY LUV BBQ 151.9884
31 Ron John American Dry Rub BBQ 151.4172
32 ALL REASONS MOVING 150.8572
33 WINE WITH SWINE BBQ 150.8340
34 SMOKE SLAYERS 150.2628
35 SMOKIN MC 149.7600
36 IRON BULL BBQ 149.6800
37 Los Mexi Q"tioners" 148.5828
38 LORD OF THE RIBS 148.5828
39 M.A.C. BBQ SHACK 145.1656
40 TOO ASHAMED TO NAME 144.5372
41 VOODOO BARBEQUE 144.5256
42 BENT SMOKE 143.4284
43 PIRATES OF THE PIG 141.0856
44 Hatton BBQ Team 137.2000
45 Grill Stars 130.8340
46 CaddyShack BBQ 128.5600
47 PROPS BBQ 124.5484
48 HOLY SMOKES 114.7884

Brisket
1 BOWLING OVER PIGS 176.0344
2 SON OF SMOKE 172.5600
3 BURNIN AND LOOTIN 168.5828
4 BIG B'S DOWN-N-DIRTY BBQ 168.5600
5 SMOKEY LUV BBQ 167.3712
6 THE PIT CREW BBQ OF SOCAL 166.8572
7 BAD S. BBQ 166.8456
8 CECIL'S SMOK'N BBQ 166.2744
9 PIRATES OF THE PIG 166.2628
10 PORK DADDY'S BBQ 166.2284
11 RHYTHM 'N QUE 165.1772
12 THESMOKERING.COM 164.0000
13 RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ 163.9656
14 SMOKIN MC 161.1428
15 SMOKE AND BERNS 160.5484
16 GET SOME SALTWORKS BBQ 160.5256
17 ROYAL SMOKIN' HOT 158.2856
18 PIG PIMP'N BBQ 157.1772
19 JUICY O'S BBQ TEAM 156.5600
20 SISSY'S TNT BBQ 156.0228
21 RIC'S RIGHTEOUS RIBS 155.4284
22 LIP SMACKIN BBQ 154.8572
23 WOODHOUSE BARBECUE 154.8228
24 SMITTY'S SMOKE PATROL 153.7256
25 BENT SMOKE 152.0000
26 MEAT FIRE BREW BBQ 151.3828
27 WINE WITH SWINE BBQ 151.3828
28 TOO ASHAMED TO NAME 149.7028
29 ALL REASONS MOVING 148.0000
30 LOOSEN YOUR BELT BBQ 146.8572
31 LORD OF THE RIBS 146.8456
32 SMOKE SLAYERS 145.1200
33 M.A.C. BBQ SHACK 144.5028
34 PORKTERA BBQ 142.2400
35 CANYON RIDERS BBQ 142.2284
36 CRIME SCENE 137.6916
37 CaddyShack BBQ 137.0972
38 Adamsons Texas Style Barbecue 136.6172
39 HOLY SMOKES 136.5140
40 Smoked Out BBQ 136.5028
41 Ron John American Dry Rub BBQ 134.8116
42 Hatton BBQ Team 134.8000
43 IRON BULL BBQ 132.5600
44 VOODOO BARBEQUE 129.0972
45 Los Mexi Q"tioners" 124.4800
46 Grill Stars 107.4288
47 PROPS BBQ 85.3600

Backyard
1 .Pit Bull Bar B Q 314.8800
2 Slow & Low 314.3428
3 .Grillin' The Shed 311.4172
4 .Dish Ditty 311.4056
5 QNQT 310.4000
6 .The Ring of Fire BBQ 307.4172
7 .Cutting Edge BBQ 304.5944
8 .Smokin J's 296.5368
9 .Rob's Nearly Famous Backyard Bar-B-Que 295.9196
10 .Beer & Bones BBQ 295.4512
11 .Herb's BBQ 289.7488
12 .Wheres There's Smoke 284.7084
13 .Face Invaders 283.5204
14 .Pork U BBQ 283.3828
15 .R+B's BBQ 281.7140
16 .Santiago's Afro Asian American 279.4400
17 .JT and the Smokin Chestnuts 277.0968
18 .Ready..Set...Smoke 271.9888
19 .Code Three Grillers 264.3312

Backyard Chicken
1 .Pit Bull Bar B Q 163.4628
2 .Smokin J's 161.7256
3 .Grillin' The Shed 158.2856
4 .Rob's Nearly Famous Backyard Bar-B-Que 157.6684
5 Slow & Low 157.2116
6 .The Ring of Fire BBQ 156.0000
7 .Beer & Bones BBQ 154.8340
8 .Cutting Edge BBQ 151.4400
9 .Face Invaders 151.4288
10 QNQT 150.9028
11 .Dish Ditty 150.8456
12 .Code Three Grillers 145.7256
13 .Ready..Set...Smoke 145.6916
14 .Pork U BBQ 141.6688
15 .Santiago's Afro Asian American 140.5372
16 .R+B's BBQ 139.4512
17 .JT and the Smokin Chestnuts 132.5484
18 .Wheres There's Smoke 130.8796
19 .Herb's BBQ 125.7144

Backyard Tri-Tip
1 .Herb's BBQ 164.0344
2 .Dish Ditty 160.5600
3 QNQT 159.4972
4 Slow & Low 157.1312
5 .Wheres There's Smoke 153.8288
6 .Cutting Edge BBQ 153.1544
7 .Grillin' The Shed 153.1316
8 .The Ring of Fire BBQ 151.4172
9 .Pit Bull Bar B Q 151.4172
10 .JT and the Smokin Chestnuts 144.5484
11 .R+B's BBQ 142.2628
12 .Pork U BBQ 141.7140
13 .Beer & Bones BBQ 140.6172
14 .Santiago's Afro Asian American 138.9028
15 .Rob's Nearly Famous Backyard Bar-B-Que 138.2512
16 .Smokin J's 134.8112
17 .Face Invaders 132.0916
18 .Ready..Set...Smoke 126.2972
19 .Code Three Grillers 118.6056
 
Judging Fail: Silicon Valley BBQ Championship

As you may have read in another post of mine, I got my CBJ in 2000 but never did any judging. Now that I've got some extra time on my hands, I decided I wanted to give judging a try. I also figure it's a way to help support KCBS and CBBQA and competition barbecue. Yes, I have the stomach to eat barbecue, but no, I don't have the stomach to actually compete. :)

I refreshed my skills at the CBJ class in Santa Clara on June 9. I didn't want to foist myself on all the competitors without first brushing-up on judging and all the rules that changed since 2000.

After the CBJ class, I contacted the good folks at the Silicon Valley BBQ Championship about judging, and they said yes. Great, this will be my first official judging experience, right in my own backyard. Yay! Can't wait for June 28 to roll around.

Rewind to one week earlier...June 21...I'm visiting the Pechanga BBQ Championship in Temecula. Had a great time. Met a lot of people, shook a lot of hands, slept in a cold, air-conditioned hotel room. Got home and by Monday morning, I had a cold. Stuffy nose, cough, mild fever, the whole bit. Can't smell or taste anything.

The Friday of the Silicon Valley BBQ Championship rolls around and I'm feeling fine. I don't think I'm contagious anymore. So I roll on over to the event to visit with the teams. When I get there, everything smells weird and acrid, like nothing I've ever smelled at a BBQ contest. I realize that my sense of smell is still messed up. This does not bode well for judging the next day. But hope springs eternal, let's wait and see how I'm doing on Saturday morning.

I showed up at the venue early Saturday morning. I walked to the edge of the team area and took a big whiff. Same as Friday. Nothing smells right. I check-in with the contest rep and tell her that I can't smell or taste properly due to the after-effects of a cold. There's no way I'm going to try to fake it through judging when my senses aren't working right. Not fair to the competitors, but a real disappointment for me.

So I spent my time receiving the Styrofoam boxes and relabeling them for judging, and I sorted literally hundreds of comment cards from the judges. It wasn't as fun as tasting barbecue, but it was important work that needed to be done, and I was glad to contribute in some way.

So that's the sad tale of my first time out as a CBJ. But don't feel bad for me, it will get better from here! :)

Here are some photos I took on Friday afternoon and Saturday at the awards ceremony.

IMG_2518_zps2550de05.jpg

Carlos Lopez of Los MexiQtioners BBQ. Great guy, fun to talk with him!

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The Los MexiQtioners setup...where all the MexiQtioning takes place.

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Jerry Aguilar of Burnin & Lootin BBQ injecting a whole mess o' pork.

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Someone's got a double-barreled margarita machine...adult flavor on left, kids flavor on right.

IMG_2521_zps94f301bf.jpg

Ric Gilbert of Ric's Righteous Ribs trimming that money muscle.

IMG_2530_zpsa1c6dde9.jpg

My buddy John Mansmith of Mansmith BBQ and Rubs. Hope you're feeling better from recent back surgery!

Continued...
 
IMG_2534_zps1e333570.jpg

My friends from Armadillo Willy's BBQ were out in force, both vending and competing. Armadillo in the house!

IMG_2537_zpsa9f604d1.jpg

Here's the Armadillo Willy's competition team's smoker. If you're a long-time customer of their restaurants, you may recognize this smoker. It was mounted to a truck that sat inside the Camden Avenue restaurant for many years!

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Lots of vending going on for People's Choice.

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What the cow said.

IMG_2541_zps65b64413.jpg

Judges taking the oath.

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Burnin & Lootin steps up to collect a big check and trophy for Reserve Champion.

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Your Grand Champion...Rhythm 'n Que takes home $3200 and a ridiculously large trophy.

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The big win is just starting to sink in...

img_2558-1024_zps52c4d900.jpg

Your #1, #2 and #3 finishers...Rhythm 'n Que, Burnin & Lootin, and Son of Smoke...all competing with Weber Smokey Mountain Cookers! That's a lot of shiny hardware! :)
 
Jim,

This has been a topic of discussion recently. Our local teams seem to do well in competitions outside of the state.
So the thought is the judges here are more critical. Question is... why.

According to the KCBS, a judge's scoring is based on that judge's lifetime BBQ experiences.
If the above is true, and we are judging more critically here, then what would receive an Excellent elsewhere would receive a Very Good here.
Again... why

Maybe ( a BIG Maybe ) our lifetime BBQ experiences have been at a higher level than elsewhere. This would set the bar higher.
With generally fewer BBQ restaurants than in other areas of the country, might those restaurants that stay in business be producing
better BBQ than in other areas of the country. Sounds plausible... but then again, maybe not.

Really don't know, for certain, the reasons why. But you are correct. The scores are generally lower here. And it doesn't seem to be the teams.

Bob
 
Great write up and photo documentary, Chris! It was great to finally meet you in person and what a great day to have three all WSM teams take the top three overall places at the contest!

Kelly & Kathleen McIntosh, the KCBS Reps for the contest, stopped by our site after the awards ceremony and they told us that the work you did in the Judge's Tent was invaluable and that they really appreciated you being there. I'm sure they told you that themselves but, if not, I wanted to make sure you knew.

As I mentioned to you at the contest, from the time we first started competing back in 2006, this site has been a fantastic resource of knowledge and information about cooking on these fabulous smokers. We are routinely approached about how to cook on WSMs and we always make sure they know about TVWB and how much they can learn from the forum and from all the dedicated information on the rest of the site.

If there is anything we can do for you, please let us know!
 
Are these low of scores typical for the west coast?


To be honest, Jim, I thought the scoring was much more balanced than I've seen at a contest in a long time. It was obvious that the judges there were not afraid to use more than just 8s & 9s which seems to have become the norm at most events around the country. Cooks often complain about judges who don't hand out many 8s or 9s but a judge who doesn't give out anything but 8s or 9s is just as bad. Honest feedback in the form of scores, both high and low, are vital to the improvement and growth of a competition barbeque team. We had a good range of scores on our sheet and nothing seemed too far out of line from our perspective.
 

 

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