Page 9 - July 2020 Barbecue News Magazine

SCA will hold a steak contest on Friday and the BBQ event will follow on Saturday. This is a great example of how the BBQ Fam- ily is here to support each other and make competition BBQ even better.
Carolyn proudly likes to discuss the many changes she has seen through the years in competition BBQ. To begin with American’s overall cuisine has constantly im-
proved through the years. This, of
course, put more pressure on cooks to
improve what we call BBQ. If you look
at the history of BBQ, the lowly cuts of
meat, that normal folks would not eat,
were normally cast away. Through the
years people have found ways to im-
prove these cuts to become highly de-
sired smoked meats. Plantation
owners would never consider eating
ribs but look what their staff was able
to do to this delicacy. Brisket was con-
sidered inedible for many years and
today it is the first choice on the BBQ
circuit for a lot of people. The developments in rubs and spices has been incredible. But where Carolyn really sees improvements are in injections, that were unheard of not many years ago. New and completely different sauces, and a lot of different forms of cooking equipment, never heard of when we all started judging competition BBQ. And most of these improvements evolve from competition cook teams trying something new to set themselves apart from the other competitors. What she sees coming through all of this is the passion in this sport that keeps improving every aspect. In the 1980’s she would look out across a contest and see pick up trucks and station wagons bringing in the teams. Today she sees six figure RV’s, and fifth wheel trailers. Many with elec- tronics to monitor the cooking process. Trailers with complete living quarters, air conditioned, and much more. The passion just keeps rising higher and higher. She often wonders what is coming next. Wouldn’t you like to see a BBQ contest 20 years from now, and note the differences.
I am sure you have seen the PhB after Carolyn, and some other’s names. This is the Doctor of BBQ. This was originally started by Ardie Davis, known to most as Remus Powers. He intended this to be a recognition of those few folks that have given back in a big way to the BBQ world. There have been only 36 recipients of this very prestigious credential and only 18 are still alive. Carolyn was one of the very first to be honored with this very prestigious honor. This is similar to a graduate degree and it requires a thesis, a review of the candidate’s contributions to BBQ, and what they have given back, plus a paper directly relating to the PhB as it ap- plies to them. Another honor that Gary and Carolyn Wells were one of the first to earn was the BBQ Hall of Fame. This was started by Ray Bosco and Mike Tucker. As it grew they turned it over to the American Royal to administer. Now the recipients receive this honor at the American Royal banquet. Carolyn shys away from the limelight and I already mentioned, she wants to contribute from the background, to make sure everything runs smoothly. She likes to take care of those items frequently overlooked by others so the overall contest is flawless. And she has proven that she can do this very well for over 35 years. Fortunately for all of us she continues to keep doing this today. There are two very prestigious awards named for our profile folks. The Gary Wells KCBS Sports- manship Award is given to a “KCBS Member who displays a high
level of fairness, generosity, good character and observance of the rules” The Carolyn Wells Ambassador Award is given each year to a “KCBS Member who displays a high level of good character as well as promoting KCBS as an organization”. Both of these awards are presented at the KCBS Annual Meeting. I have always inter- preted these two awards as recognition for all that Gary and Car- olyn have given to the BBQ Community through the years and
made competition BBQ what we know it to be today.
Gary served as president of KCBS for 21 years. Where do you see anyone elected to an office for that long. In those formative years he was often re- ferred to as a benevolent dictator. Gary was a very thoughtful leader but he al- ways was driven by one very important goal. Competition BBQ had to be con- ducted on a level playing field. I don’t think there is any more American food than BBQ. But BBQ is a very regional food that is driven by the tastes of
those that prepare and consume it. It would not be fair for a team from Texas to be judged by a judge from Memphis unless there were some standards to be followed, all around the world. That was Gary’s goal, to standardize the entries and ultimately the judging of competition BBQ. I have often said that what I like in BBQ may not be what you like, and that is OK. But when we come to competition BBQ we must be judging against some strict stan- dards, to make it fair and equitable. A level playing field. We have the Wells and KCBS to thank for doing just that. I don’t know how many times I have heard a cook team say, when they are cooking at home for their family, they do not prepare their meats like they do at a contest. But to win points, and dollars, you must cook against these standards because you will be judged by those stan- dards. I have been judging for over 40 years, before KCBS was formed. I am a Master Certified Judge coming up on 300 contests, a Certified Table Captain, and have judged BBQ in many areas of this wonderful country we live in. I continue to admire what Car- olyn and Gary started, and more that they maintained this level playing field. More important, all of what KCBS has done for the world of competition BBQ. Without them I doubt that we would see the world of BBQ as it exists today. Something Gary often said, we have to be the very best at what we do, or change, so we are the best at what we do. He instilled those principals in KCBS from the outset. Thank you Carolyn, thank you Gary, for all you have done for us.
JULY 2020
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