A Cookoff with a Mission in Richmond, Virginia

Barbecue cookoffs are always good times with fun activities so that everyone has an enjoyable experience. Some contests also contribute to an important community cause or local charity, and sometimes an organization conducts an event to promote a greater awareness of its role in a community as well as to raise needed funds.

Signs at the fest promote recovery from the disease of addiction.

With the name of Recovery Fest, the contest each fall in Richmond, Virginia, lets you know that it’s about more than determining the best pitmaster. The fest was started in 2005 to increase the awareness of substance abuse and to celebrate the recovery of individuals and families from the disease of addiction. The barbecue competition, added five years later to expand the activities of the event and broaden its appeal to the public, is the most socially conscious cookoff that I have attended as a judge. Its motto – Smokin’ Meat … Not Drugs –emphasizes the importance of recovery.

Cooking teams set up on the campus of Hatcher Memorial Baptist Church.

The fest and cookoff is organized annually by the McShin Foundation, which helps individuals and their families fight substance abuse disorders. The foundation is housed in Hatcher Memorial Baptist Church, and cooking teams set up on the church’s campus. During the fest, state agencies, supporting nonprofits, and families share resources at kiosks and popup tents, musicians play at a central stage, children activities entertain the young, and vendors sell food. Although the atmosphere is quite lively and spirited, the cooking teams and judges go about their serious business typical of a contest sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society.

With rain in the forecast, musicians perform under a huge tent.

This year the cookoff attracted 29 teams, a smaller turnout than the 35 teams that competed last year. The McShin Foundation even entered its own team, but the results show that the experience of teams competing regularly have a clear advantage. For example, the grand champion (Sauce This BBQ) and reserve champion (Rockin Robyns BBQ) of last year’s contest placed again in the top 10, although they weren’t the top two teams. This year the team Redneck Scientific took home won grand champion honors, and the team 3N1Q was reserve champion.

The team Redneck Scientific, grand champion, settles in on Friday between two other teams.

Many judges had participated in this contest in previous years. Maybe they were motivated to return to a cookoff conducted by a community organization that has such an important mission. Participating in an event that contributes to local causes is always rewarding, and I hope to be a judge again next year.

Judges relax as they arrive before their activities begin.