The well-known BBQ franchise is hosting the competition to promote innovation and find the best pitmaster in the United States
Barbeque enthusiasts take heed: Famous Dave’s of America (FDA) has announced their effort to find the best barbeque teams in the country. Their new partnership with the World Food Championships (WFC) will answer once and for all who wears the crown of best pitmaster in the country.
The Famous Dave’s All-Star BBQ Series, which kicks off this May in Las Vegas, will feature both celebrity and local pitmasters facing off in a multi-category barbecue challenge at Famous Dave’s restaurants throughout the country. Winning teams at the restaurant level will then qualify to advance into the Famous Dave’s All-Star BBQ Championship, hosted by WFC and taking place during its 11th annual tournament in Dallas, Texas this fall.
The All-Star BBQ Series will include 15 regional events across the nation, starting in May and ending in late August. Each contest will feature six barbecue teams, a $5,000 prize purse and two golden tickets for the grand champion. Contestants will be required to create at least three entries, which must include a chicken and pork ribs offering, and then a special wild card dish. Each division will have a winner, while overall points from all categories will determine the grand prize victors of the golden tickets. There will be no entry fees for the teams, which will have to register at www.worldfoodchampionships.com/allstars in their respective region. The reserve grand champion will advance to the WFC super event in November.
The partnership effort with WFC marks the first strategic gateway program for WFC’s barbecue category, with over $500,000 awarded during this year’s Tournament of Food Champs, which encompasses twelve categories of food and cocktails.
“This is an exciting moment for Famous Dave’s of America,” said Dave Anderson, Founder of Famous Dave’s. “BBQ is really America’s food. Competition barbecue has always been an important part of our legacy and our brand, with Famous Dave Anderson leading the way from our very beginning in 1994. Throughout our nearly 30-year history, we’ve found that competitions lead to innovation for our industry.”
Anderson went on to say, “Giving local pitmasters the opportunity to share a family BBQ recipe and the craft they’ve handed down for generations is what BBQ is all about and what makes it interesting. That’s why this is such a passion project of mine. Every community has local legends who are known in the community, love what they do and we want to celebrate their uniqueness and skill.”
All events are free and open to the public. The first 200 attendees at each event will receive free BBQ wings, and all eligible attendees can enter to win a Gateway Drum Smoker. Famous Dave’s locations that will be hosting an event as part of the series include the following:
- Vegas Blue Diamond, Las Vegas, NV (May 13)
- El Paso, TX (June 3)
- Hermitage/Nashville, TN (June 10)
- Long Beach, CA (June 17)
- Tukwila, WA (June 24)
- Sioux City, Iowa (July 1)
- Addison, IL (July 8)
- Westland, MI (July 15)
- Waldorf, MD (July 22)
- Billings, MT (July 29)
- Colorado Springs, CO (August 5)
- San Jose, CA (August 12)
- Rancho Cucamonga, CA (August 19)
- Minnetonka, MN (August 19)
- Taylor, MI (August 26)
Judging each event will be a group of local celebrities, Famous Dave’s franchise owners and occasionally even Famous Dave Anderson himself, who started the franchise in Hayward, Wisconsin. Their expert opinions will be critical to choosing the winners, as several celebrity barbecue champions have already signed up to participate, including:
- Memphis-based Willingham’s World Champion BBQ
- Scottsdale-based Loot N Booty BBQ
- South Carolina-based Ironhead BBQ
- Texas-based Texas Revolution BBQ
“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with the World Food Championships and hope to motivate great barbecue teams throughout the country,” said Anderson. “We expect to see a lot of innovative ideas that can possibly be integrated into our menu as we look to bring new and exciting culinary options to our guests.”
To learn more about the Famous Dave’s All-Star BBQ Series and the World Food Championships, follow them on social media or visit: https://www.famousdaves.com/LandingPage/AllStarBBQSeries. To participate in the competition as a competitor or a partner, contact info@worldfoodchampionships.com.
Famous Dave’s of America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of BBQ Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BBQ). Famous Dave’s was founded by “Famous Dave” Anderson, whose passion for BBQ led him on a 25-year cross-country trek to find the best regional BBQ recipes in the country before opening the first Famous Dave’s in Hayward, Wisconsin. As of November 5, 2020 Famous Dave’s has 117 locations in 31 states and two countries, including 29 company-owned and 98 franchise-operated restaurants. Famous Dave’s is known for its on-premise real pit smokers, scratch-recipe cooking, and 700 national and regional awards for everything from best ribs to best barbecue sauce to best cookbook. Famous Dave’s offers a wide variety of BBQ favorites, including its signature award-winning St. Louis-Style Ribs, Texas Beef Brisket, Georgia Chopped Pork and Country-Roasted Chicken. Each seasoning blend was personally developed by Dave himself, after years of research and development, to bring flavorful and authentic BBQ to his Guests. Scratch-recipes round out the menu with delicious items that include Famous Dave’s award-winning Cornbread Muffins and Dave’s Famous Bread Pudding. Learn more about Famous Dave’s: https://www.famousdaves.com.
BBQ Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBQ) is a national restaurant company engaged in franchising, ownership and operation of casual and fast dining restaurants. As of March 14, 2022, BBQ Holdings had multiple brands with over 100 Company-owned locations and over 200 franchised locations, including ghost kitchens operating out of the kitchen of another restaurant location or shared kitchen space. While BBQ Holdings continues to diversify its ownership in the restaurant community, it was founded with the principle of combining the “art and science” of barbecue to serve up the very best of the best to barbecue lovers everywhere. Along with a wide variety of BBQ favorites served at their BBQ restaurants, BBQ Holdings also operates Granite City Food and Brewery restaurants, which offer award winning craft beer and a made-from-scratch, chef driven menu featuring contemporary American cuisine. Village Inn and Bakers Square add a legendary Family Dining element to BBQ Holdings, with these concepts specializing in breakfast and pies. Tahoe Joe’s is known for their pellet-broiler cooked and smoked infused steak.
The World Food Championships (WFC) is the highest stakes food competition in the world. This multi-day, live event culinary competition showcases some of the world’s best cooks who compete for food, fame and fortune in 12 categories (Bacon, Barbecue, Burger, Chef, Cocktail, Dessert, Live Fire, Rice/Noodle, Sandwich, Seafood, Soup and Vegetarian). Each year as Food Sport kicks off in January, teams have to earn their way into WFC by winning a Golden Ticket at a previous competition. Almost 40 countries and every state in America have been represented at WFC’s main event since 2012.
WFC’s judging process requires certification in the proprietary E.A.T. methodology. Click here to learn more about getting certified online or in person.
All entries will be judged on the WFC proprietary E.A.T. Methodology and require a silver platter turn-in process. A panel of five local celebrities and Famous Dave associates will judge each of the contests in an open, live presentation format that consumers and fans can watch.
