Page 17 - NOV2020 BNM Digital Issue
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and Guy Simpson, who were excellent pitmasters. Other notables in his early BBQ life were Billy Bones, Smoky Hale, and Joe McGuff, the Editor of the Kansas City Star. Diddy-Wa-Diddy got so large he could no longer manage it himself. It was initially folded into KCBS but today is better known as the American Royal International Bar- beque Sauce and Rub contest. This event is in its 29th year and is the largest sauce contest in the World. Ardie still administers the Judge’s Oath at this event, an event he started from scratch. He spent three terms on the KCBS Board and helped structure much of what we see today at BBQ events. Carolyn Wells, one of the founders of KCBS, referred to Ardie as a “National Treasure.” She said he loves to do research and used words to describe him like conscientious, thoughtful, kindness, and caring. I talked to every- one at KCBS and all had the highest regard for Ardie and all he has done for BBQ.
Ardie had so much going on in his life; he felt he should share some of it with the BBQ Community. He began to write about his experiences and what he was learning along the way about BBQ. He was a big fan of Uncle Remus and the Song of the South since he was five years old. He followed Brer Rabbit and the many stories associated with him. He feels Brer Rabbit is a part of all of us. There was a mechanic in his Fathers auto shop named Powers, and he always gave Ardie his attention at the shop.
also required more structure, and KCBS felt that judges should have a training and a certification process. Paul Kirk worked with Ardie on this program, and they patterned it after the Memphis in May judge certification. Ardie helped structure the judge certifica- tion program. Ed Royce took this program and taught most of the early classes. I was certified from an Ed Royce class. The first judge’s class was held in the Kansas City Kansas Community Col- lege.
Ardie is big on ritual and tried to reflect this in the oath, the struc- ture of the rules for both cooks and judges, and wanted to keep competition BBQ at the highest level he could. Later the Master Judge program evolved for judges with more judging experience. He felt cooks needed to know what judges do and judges to know what cooks do. So one of the requirements for a Master Judge was to cook with a team at a competition. The Florida BBQ Association and many other BBQ organizations have adopted this principle in their judge programs. The Master Judge program also requires a written examination that is now done online.
Competition BBQ grew rapidly and today is World Wide. Ardie, and some others, felt like there should be a program to recognize those few folks that have contributed heavily to this success. Drawing on
Powers wore the wire-rimmed glasses. So out of all this came his pen name, Remus Powers. He still wears the wire-rimmed glasses. In the 19th century, butchers always wore white aprons and black derby hats. Since BBQ deals with meats, he adopted his attire as the black derby and white apron. His daughter made his apron for him with the Remus Powers name. He felt it had to be BBQ oriented, so he added the rib bones as a final touch. The tuxedo shirt and black bow tie came later. I have been looking at this outfit and reading his columns for many years and never knew the history behind any of this. I sus- pect you did not as well.
Ardie has been married to his wife Gretchen
since 1964. His career has been varied, to say
the least. He taught Sociology at the Johnson
County Community College, waited tables at
local restaurants, and was also a manager at
Baby Doe’s restaurant in Kansas City. While in
New York City, he was an Executive at the YMCA. His primary ca- reer was with the State of Kansas, where he was responsible for Community Outreach and Marketing for the aging. During those years, he commuted to Topeka. He has published eleven books on grilling and smoking, as well as several cookbooks. I have some of those books, and they are outstanding. Remus Powers is a regular columnist in this publication, Barbecue News Magazine, and he has a regular column in the KCBS Bull Sheet. His words of wisdom ap- pear in several other places. I always look forward to seeing what he has to say each month. His columns are always entertaining and very informative.
In 2016 he was inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame as the Celebrity/Humanitarian candidate. At that time, there were only 15 members in this prestigious group.
During the late 1980s and the formative years of KCBS, it was clear that more structure was needed. He helped form the rules that we still abide by today. Early on, it was evident that the judging side
his many years of education, he wanted to de- velop a Bachelors's, Master's, and Ph. B of BBQ. Out of this thought grew the Ph. B that you see on just a few people’s credentials. He drafted up a structure and some rules, and KCBS initially administered it. This is a recognition for what you have done and how you have given back to BBQ. The candidate for a Ph. B must submit three topics, for a dissertation, to a review com- mittee. The team selects one of those topics, and then the candidate must write a disserta- tion. This is an honorary recognition, but the candidate must earn it; it is not merely given to the person. An oral exam follows the disserta- tion, and anything goes in this part. Any ques- tion pertaining to BBQ is a fair game. Ardie was awarded the first Ph.B, and he is very proud of this accomplishment. Carolyn Wells, who was profiled in the July Barbecue News Magazine, also earned the Ph. B.
Ardie has more than 300 contests where he has participated through all these years. He couldn’t tell me how many
states he had visited for competitions, but he came up with a dozen in our discussion, and I am sure there are a lot more. He al- ways makes the American Royal, Memphis in May, Jack Daniels, and Lenexa, where he started. Bill Nicks is the former Lenexa Parks and Recreation Director and was instrumental in starting the Great Lenexa BBQ Battle. Today Ardie and Bill teach a 3rd-grade class on the History of BBQ. Among his many accolades are the Smoky Angel Award from the Kansas City Barbecue Forum, The Judge’s Choice Award in the 2002 Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invi- tational Barbecue, the Spirit of Barbecue Award from National Bar- becue News in 2002, and in 2003, he was named a Kansas City Barbecue Legend by the Kansas City Star.
They broke the mold after Ardie Davis as he has been instrumental in the formation of and technicalities of competition BBQ. It would not be what it is today without the many contributions from Ardie Davis, AKA Remus Powers. Thank you, Ardie, for all you have done for all of us in the BBQ family.
 NOVEMBER 2020
BarbecueNews.com - 17
Photo courtsey of Ardie Davis
Remus with Certified BBQ Judge grandson Zachary Davis Krause at Royal BBQ 2019.












































































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