Page 44 - Barbecue News Magazine May 2022

could learn about different aspects of the sport like busi- ness, techniques, and local personalities. Then the list of speakers drew from across the nation including Kell Phelps, the editor of National Barbecue News, Ardie Davis aka Remus Powers, Chiles Cridlin of Wolf’s Revenge BBQ and Emily Detwiler, KCBS CEO. Soon attendees began appearing from Ne- vada, Arizona, Tennessee, even Alaska.
It was at that point that I no-
ticed Brian was doing some-
thing much bigger than I
thought possible. If you have
never met Brian DeCoud in person, there’s no mistaking him at a contest. He is tall and always gracious. His head is often topped by a cap. His speech is deliberate, articulate, and respectful. He likes to say things in a certain way, with a rhythm, and he doesn’t mind repeating himself for emphasis. If you ask him about himself, you will get a story well told. After all, he is in sales. In fact, he’s the perfect host, comfortable wrangling a group of judges, full of personalities, eager to get back into the tent and get off the webcam. Beyond that, Brian is the recipient of the 2017 CBJ of the Year award
from the CBBQA and in 2021, he was recog- nized as an Outstand- ing CBJ by KCBS.
Asked if he worries that the virtual BBQ Meatings will stop with the end of the pan- demic, he says no. He doesn’t think he will run out of interesting people to talk to. He admits it doesn’t re-
place the face-to-face con- versations he has with peo- ple he would not otherwise know, which is what he en- joys most about judging. The food is exceptional, but the people are more so. Inspired by cooks, he walks out of the tent and expects himself to say hello to people. He ad- mires cooks who must use their wits, learn from others, question themselves, and compete against their good friends. There is a lesson in that for all of us, he says.
When I ask Brian about his BBQ goals, without pausing, he says he wants to earn
100+ contest judge pin. He’s got 89 and he should have been at 100 already but of course we’ve been on pause for a while. When pushed a little further, he’ll admit his fantasy is to have a good YouTube BBQ channel, but he isn’t sure.
For now, he is happy with the monthly virtual BBQ Meatings and bringing people together. He is grateful for his loving and supportive wife, two grown daughters and his mother, whom he speaks to most days of the week and is the recip- ient of his much-improved BBQ. He encourages
his audience to em- brace their differences, drop their walls and opinions and take the opportunity to learn about someone else over food. In this time of adversity, Brian has put his energy into something positive, a collective bonding, saving something uniquely American. Bravo.
MAY 2022
BarbecueNews.com - 45