The barbecue franchise is partnering with the World Food Championships to find and celebrate America’s best pitmasters in a 15-stop national tour.
Pitmasters unite! Famous Dave’s of America is kicking off its second annual All-Star BBQ Series this May in partnership with the World Food Championships, celebrating National BBQ Month with a quest to find the best pitmasters in the nation. With a 15-stop nationwide tour, Famous Dave’s will identify the communities’ best barbecue experts and send them on to a national competition later this year.
“Famous Dave’s connection to barbecue competitions started in the early ‘80s when I started competing in local barbecue cook offs. I remember my first win at a Lion’s Club BBQ Competition; I only won third place, but I was so proud of my $25 prize and little six-inch plastic trophy,” said Dave Anderson, founder of Famous Dave’s. “That inspired me to keep on competing and build Famous Dave’s as a legacy brand. Now as we celebrate our 30 year anniversary, we’re excited to sponsor local events that will pave the way for and elevate the talents of local pitmasters across the country.”
“Famous Dave’s has stayed true to its roots and continues to be run by America’s best pitmasters, and these competitions aren’t just about the fire — they’re about igniting the passion for great barbecue across the country,” said Al Hank, chief operating officer of BBQ Holdings. “We’re proud to be a part of an event that creates so much team spirit and competitive camaraderie while lifting up the next generation of award-winning pitmasters.”
The Famous Dave’s All-Star BBQ Series, which kicks off May 18th in Union Gap, Washington, will feature celebrity and local pitmasters facing off in multi-category barbecue cook-offs at Famous Dave’s restaurants across the country. Teams can register to participate at WorldFoodChampionships.com/allstars. This year, the categories are chicken, ribs and wild card, meaning competitors can get creative and submit any barbecue dish they please.
Pitmasters are competing for a $1,000 Grand Champion prize, $400 Reserve Grand prize, and $500, $400, and $300 payouts for first, second and third-place finishes in each barbecue category. Teams who win the Grand Champion and Reserve Grand prizes at local events will also receive a golden ticket to compete at the World Food Championships in Indianapolis for a prize purse that exceeds $300,000.
Each division will have a winner, while overall points from all categories will determine the grand prize victors of the golden tickets.
Guests can attend their local Famous Dave’s cookoff event to taste (and vote for) free wings cooked by competitors, enjoy free barbecue and Kurvball Original Barbecue Whiskey samples, and pick up commemorative merchandise. Famous Dave’s locations hosting cookoffs for this year’s tour include:
- Union Gap, Washington (5/18)
- Fresno, California (5/18)
- San Jose, California (5/25)
- Las Vegas, Nevada (6/1)
- Colorado Springs, Colorado (6/15)
- Long Beach, California (6/22)
- Williston, North Dakota (6/29)
- Hermitage, Tennessee (7/13)
- Louisville, Kentucky (7/20)
- Taylor, Michigan (7/27)
- El Paso, Texas (8/3)
- Minnetonka, Minnesota (8/10)
- Sioux City, Iowa (8/17)
- Columbia, Maryland (8/24)
All events are free and open to the public, with judging provided by local celebrities and Famous Dave’s franchise owners — and, in some cases, even Famous Dave Anderson himself. With several celebrity barbecue champions already slated to participate, the teams’ judging expertise will be crucial.
“Teaming up with the World Food Championships to recognize America’s best pitmasters gives us an opportunity to connect with our community of barbecue aficionados and gets us back to our barbecue competition heritage,” said Anderson. “There’s nothing more fun than an all-American barbecue competition to celebrate the Best Pork Ribs, Best Chicken, and my favorite, the ‘Wild Card’ category! What can be better than family and friends getting together with the best barbecue in town, cold beers and rockin’ music on a summer weekend?”
To learn more about the Famous Dave’s All-Star BBQ Series and the World Food Championships, follow them on social media or visit: FamousDaves.com/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. Famous Dave’s has 100+ locations in 31 states. 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 Corn Bread Muffins and Dave’s Famous Bread Pudding.
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 Sport 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, Dessert, Live Fire, Noodle, Rice, Sandwich, Seafood, Soup and Vegetarian). Each year as Food Sport kicks off in January, thousands of cook teams try to earn their way into WFC by winning a Golden Ticket at an official qualifier. Almost 40 countries and every state in America have been represented at WFC’s main event since its inception in 2012. This year’s championship will occur in Indianapolis from Nov 8-12.
