Holding a Summit for Whole Hog Contest Training

When the N.C. Pork Council began the Whole Hog Barbecue Series in 1985, it established the procedures for sanctioning contests and certifying judges. For each contest, all judges must be trained and approved by the NCPC. To enhance how the series is conducted, the NCPC held its first Whole Hog Barbecue Summit, what promises to be an annual event, in 2018.

The summit was initially planned as a refresher for currently certified judges as well as an opportunity for anyone interested in becoming a sanctioned judge. Previously a judge could be certified by shadowing a training judge during a contest to observe the judging process and learn how the scoring criteria are applied. Now attending a summit is a requirement for initial certification as is the requirement to shadow cooks during a contest to understand the cooking process from a competitor’s perspective. To maintain certification, a judge also needs to attend a summit every five years (a new requirement). In addition, attending a summit is a prerequisite for becoming a master judge, a new category being created by the NCPC.

Brownie Futrell, a veteran judge, explains several rule changes being implemented in 2018.

Held in the spacious Lenoir County Livestock Arena in Kinston, NC, the 2018 summit was attended by cooks, judges, and contest organizers. What was started as an opportunity to train judges expanded into an opportunity to help cooks and event organizers in preparing for contests because the NCPC realized that all participants could benefit from receiving the same information. The summit also provided an opportunity to announce several rule changes and changes to the scoring criteria being implemented this year.

A panel of training judges -- Brownie Futrell, Dave Cowley, Lubin Prevatt and Charlie Martin -- answer questions asked by attendees.

A major component of the summit was a chance to observe veteran judges as they evaluated pigs cooked for demonstration purposes by four competitors and listen as they discussed their reasons for determining the scores that they assigned. To make the judging activities at the summit as realistic as possible, the cooks included past winners of the Whole Hog Barbecue Championship, the culmination of the series each year. In the series, winners of regional contests advance to the championship and compete for the honor of being proclaimed the state champion and admitted into the Whole Hog Hall of Fame.

Kevin Peterson (Showtime Legit BBQ), winner of the 2017 state championship, was one of the competitors cooking at the Summit.

The day of learning at the summit included ample time for fellowship. The camaraderie evident at the summit shows the close bond that the Whole Hog Barbecue Series has developed among cooks and judges. I enjoyed the chance to talk informally with cooks whom I’ve judged at contests but didn’t have adequate time to talk to because the judging schedule follows a very tight timeline. I also was able to talk to judges whom I’ve worked with and others that I hope to meet soon at future contests.

Chris Fineman, 2016 Whole Hog Barbecue Champion, shows off the pig that he cooked for the Summit before the judges arrive to evaluate.

No one left the summit empty-handed. Judges received an official nametag to wear at contests, and everyone received a Whole Hog Series apron. The best part of the summit was that everyone also left with a better understanding of the scoring criteria and judging process.

Summit attendees watch judging activities on a large screen as others crowd around a cooker as veteran judges explain the scoring criteria.