Cookoff in Apex, NC, Features Top Barbecue Teams Again

Finishing third overall was Blue & Gray BBQ, which placed first in the ribs category. Photo: Blue & Gray BBQ via Facebook.

Peak City Pig Fest continues to earn accolades for featuring some of the best barbecue cooking teams that compete in contests sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. In addition to being a fun event each year for the town of Apex, NC, the Pig Fest has a long history of supporting its community. 

The chicken entry by Swine ‘N’ Roses looks wonderful; however, the team managed just an eleventh-place finish in that meat category. Photo: Swine 'N' Roses via Facebook.

Organized by the Sunrise Rotary Club of Apex, the Pig Fest has contributed more than $500,000 to local charities; the primary one this year is Western Wake Crisis Ministries. 

Smokin Skullies BBQ won first place in the brisket category with a perfect score of 180

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At the start of the judges’ meeting, organizer Graham Wilson announced that 25 teams were competing — a few new ones but most were elite teams that had been competitors before. They were vying for the $10,800 in prize money.

The judges get organized before their meeting begins.

To judge the entries of all the cooking teams, four tables of judges with a table captain were needed. The table where I was assigned included judges with a wide range of experiences, including one who was participating in just his third cookoff.

In addition to the barbecue cookoff, the Pig Fest includes a two-day street scene with live entertainment, food trucks, beer garden, sponsor displays, and vendors.

Before the contest began, the favorite team to win was Mcadoo Heights, which had been the grand champion in the previous two years. However, this year they slipped to 10th place overall, although they did win first place in the pork category.

Mcadoo Heights won first prize in the brisket category. Photo: Mcadoo Heights via Facebook.

The winning team was Optimus Swine from Williamsburg, Va. Although they did not win in any meat category, they placed second in both ribs and chicken. Their lowest finish was fifth place in brisket, and overall they accumulated more points than any other team. 

Optimus Swine went home with the top cash prize, trophies as Grand Champion and winner of the People's Choice contest, and awards for three meat categories.

Apex has always been one of my favorite contest sites. Now that I live just 15 minutes away, it’s even more enjoyable to be a judge at the Pig Fest. I hope to be able to continue to participate in this event. It’s a worthwhile event for the local community.

Cooking teams set up in off-street locations in downtown Apex.

Another Pig Fest in Apex, NC

The Mcaddo Heights BBQ team celebrates being the grand champion of the 2023 Peak City Pig Fest. Photo: Peak City Pig Fest via Facebook.

Being in Apex, NC, again for barbecue judging means that another rendition of the Peak City Pig Fest is being held. The event is a great weekend for the local area to celebrate their community spirit and enjoy food and drink with barbecue as the unifying ingredient.

Crowds begin to congregate around the food vendors as lunchtime arrives.

Peak City Pig Fest

The first Pig Fest that I attended as a judge was in 2015. Since that year, the organizers have contributed more than $100,000 to charities. The 2023 event attracted another sizeable crowd as it did last year.

Before the crowds arrived, the cooking team area was extremely quiet early on Saturday morning as they prepared their meat entries.

For this event, I was a table captain and coordinated the scoring at a table of six judges where I presented samples of all four meat categories chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket initially for appearance scores. Then the judges scored them for taste and tenderness, which is the format of an event sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. Our table had some of the best ribs and pork entries. Because all judging at a KCBS event is “blind,” we don’t know which teams were judged at our table.

The critical part of the contest begins when the cooking teams turn in their meat samples.

The key to being a successful cooking team in Apex was finally disclosed by the town’s mayor in his welcoming remarks to the judges before their meeting began. He said that it’s important to take into account the town’s elevation (which he pointed out with pride is 499 feet above sea level). It has enjoyed in being known as the Peak City since its early days. The nickname derives from 1867 when a train depot was built on the highest point on the old Chatham Railroad. For that reason, Apex is known as the “Peak of Good Living.”

Apex Mayor Jacques K. Gilbert discloses how a cooking team can be successful in Apex

Top Teams at Pig Fest

With more than $10,000 in prize money, the event attracted 32 cooking teams. Throughout the weekend, crowds walked among the teams and watched them at work. Although most teams were from North Carolina, one traveled from as far away as Illinois. 

The crowds arrived early and were not eager to leave ... at least from the beer garden.

They included Hold Your Horses BBQ from Georgia, the top international team so far in 2023. Also competing was Uncle Pig's Barbecue of New Jersey that was the top team in 2022. In this year’s Pig Fest, it placed second and was edged out of first place by Mcadoo Heights of North Carolina by just 0.0116 points out of 720 possible points.

The top trophies await the winners.

With such a rich history and excellent organization, the Pig Fest will continue to attract top teams to its annual event, which means many judges will be eager to participate.

The beer garden stage featured five bands that played live music for seven hours.

Returning to Asheboro

Pigs and Pedals in Asheboro, NC, continues to impress me as a top-notch and well-organized event. Now in its fifth year, it has improved each year and succeeded in bringing crowds into the downtown area on the first weekend in August.

Cooking teams set up in downtown Asheboro near the park stage.

In addition to the barbecue competition, the festival again this year included a show of antique cars that kept the crowds busy looking at the historic vehicles on display before they voted in the people’s choice contest for one of the 20 cooking teams that participated. Music and other entertainment acts were also featured on the park stage.

Judges listen as contest organizers explain procedures.

For the second time, a kids’ barbecue competition was part of the weekend and added a youthful component to the cookoff. In addition, a new event was a “pig” eating contest — the winner ate the most cupcakes decorated with pig “faces” in five minutes.

Judging took place in The Exchange, a banquet facility, while the car show was occurring outside.

For the barbecue cookoff, 48 teams vied for top honors and a share of the $12,000 in prize money. Rather than being a judge this year, I was asked to be a table captain, which means presenting and distributing barbecue entries to the judges at the table where I was assigned and then collecting their scores after they had evaluated the entries. Although I missed being a judge, I did sample several entries and compared my judgments with the scores turned in. I was also shadowed by a “new” table captain who had just been certified after completing the required training and was able to answer her questions as we performed our tasks.

BBQ samples were prepared for the people's choice contest.

In addition to several master judges, the table included the pitmaster for Speaks for Itself, a competition cooking team that enters about eight contest annually. He is certified and judges at about three other events each year to experience how entries are judged and to hone his competitive skills. Because events sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society use a “blind judging” process, judges do not know which teams they evaluate. However, being both a judge and cook may explain the success that his team achieved at the Jiggy with the Piggy cookoff in Kannapolis in 2017 when it placed third out of 75 teams in the pork category and won fourth place overall.

Pigs and Pedals keeps downtown Asheboro busy during the first weekend in August.

Working with the table of judges and a new table captain was a refreshing change of pace and made Pigs and Pedals an enjoyable experience again this year.

The Peak of Good Judging

Judging at the Peak City Pig Fest in Apex, NC, has been a goal since I was first certified as a judge. The classes that I attended for being both a judge and table captain were conducted by the Apex Sunrise Rotary Club, the organization that organizes the Pig Fest, and I wanted to participate in the club’s signature event.

Even though the Pig Fest was established as recently as 2012, it has quickly become one of the popular barbecue competitions on the East Coast. The Rotary Club, which has only 28 members, takes barbecue seriously — half the members are certified judges — and considers the Pig Fest as its signature event for good reason. It raises about $20,000 annually for local charities, which is usually donated to two worthy causes such as Western Wake Crisis Ministry (which provides emergency financial aid and food to families in a crisis) and Operation Coming Home (which builds homes for disabled veterans).

The grand champion wins $2,000.

The cooking teams were vying for a first place prize of $2,000 and competing for $9,000 in total prize money. The Pig Fest also has been proclaimed a N.C. state championship by the governor (although more than one state championship may be held). Because the Pig Fest doesn’t charge for parking or admission and is held in the historic downtown section of Apex, it’s very popular. More than 20,000 visitors attend. Most adults are interested in the pork barbecue prepared by the cooking teams that is sold by the plate with slaw and bread, but the kids are also interested in pig races that are held every two hours on Saturday.

More than 1,200 platters (200 more than last year) of pork barbecue are sold.

The Pig Fest is named for Apex, which has a nickname of Peak City and is known as the “peak of good living.” When the railroad station at Apex was chartered in 1854, it was the highest point on the route between Richmond, Va., and Jacksonville, Fla. Proof of its high point (although only 499 feet above sea level) occurs when it rains. Water on one side of Salem Street (the main street) flows to the Neuse River, and water on the other side to a different river basin, the Cape Fear River.

Salem Street (the main street of Apex), known historically for its elevation, is now legendary for its Pig Fest.

At the Pig Fest, I met Bill Jones of Richmond, Va., who may set the record for judging contests in one year. Jones is a master judge — meaning that he has judged at 30 contests, cooked with a competition team, and passed a qualifying exam. He told me that he had applied to 38 events in 2015 and has been accepted so far at 28. Jones enjoys picking locations outside of his home state — Wisconsin, Vermont, Mississippi — and making an adventure of visiting new areas. He is inspiring for how much he enjoys being a judge.

Judges relax before the cooking teams begin to turn in their best barbecue.

The number of cooking teams was capped at 48 because the space available could not accommodate more. Typically, a contest needs a similar number of judges. However, more than 150 applied to the Pig Fest that needed 48 judges and 8 table captains. Terry Winebrenner, Chairman of Judging, culled through the applications to select a range of experience and background.

Cooking teams set up in 'Hog Heaven" in a parking lot on the west side of Salem Street.

For each table, which consists of a table captain and six judges, Winebrenner selected a master judge, a judge from out-of-state, and a newly certified judge. Letting new judges participate is important to the Kansas City Barbeque Society so that they can gain experience. As planned by Winebrenner, new judges have a chance to ask questions and work with experienced judges, such as Bill Jones.

Trophies await the judges' scores for best chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket.

In the two previous years, I had applied to judge but wasn’t selected (too many applications). In fact, the first event that I applied to judge after I had completed the judges’ class (with almost 100 others) was the Peak Fest, which was overwhelmed with more applications than it could accept. Fortunately this year my application was accepted, and I enjoyed sitting at the table where Winebrenner was the captain.

The Pig Fest was a great experience — the barbecue was excellent, the event is expertly run, and the setting in an old historic downtown is picturesque. Because the event was organized by the club that conducted my initial training, being a judge was even more special. Being in the Peak City is the peak of good judging.

Traveling to the Bull City

Durham, NC, is not that far from my home. When I learned about the Bull City Barbecue Classic Cookoff, I was interested in participating for several reasons. Being at the event would give me the opportunity to experience an event that is still developing, work with several highly regarded barbecue experts, evaluate the value that a sanctioning organization provides, and develop more completely my judging skills.

Cooking teams set up on the grounds of the Durham County Stadium.

First, the event is still in its infancy. It started in 2012 with five cooking teams and three judges. Led by Renee Brown, the contest organizer, the cookoff has attracted more cooking teams in each subsequent year. This year 20 teams signed up to compete (and 19 did). For judges, Renee had put out a call in her network and recruited 19, a few who had been judges for her last year. Even as the cookoff has grown, it still limits teams to cooking two meats (pork ribs and barbecue), unlike other competitions that typically also include chicken and beef brisket.

Smokin' Joe's BBQ was one of the 19 teams competing for contest awards.

Bob Garner, BBQ expert,
judges one of the ribs.

Next, I recognized several names in the “barbecue world” or media who had committed to judge and whom I would enjoy getting to know. One was Bob Garner, author of several books about North Carolina barbecue and traditional cooking, who is also a well-known pitmaster and connoisseur of N.C. barbecue. Another was Graham Wilson, who organizes the Peak City Pig Fest annually in Apex, NC, and in four short years has taken that event from being a dream to becoming one of the top N.C. contests sanctioned by Kansas City Barbeque Society. In addition, Anthony Wilson, news anchor and reporter for WTVD, the ABC TV affiliate in central N.C., was returning as a judge in Durham.

Anthony Wilson (right) returned to the cookoff again this year as a judge.

Another intriguing aspect of the Bull City Cookoff is that it is not sanctioned by any professional barbecue society such as KCBS, although Brown eventually hopes to make the transition to a sanctioned contest. Because all events that I have attended have been KCBS-sanctioned, being in Durham gave me the opportunity to see how judges perform who haven’t completed a uniform training program or don’t share a set of formally published rules. Although the judges did well, I easily recognized the value that a sanctioning organization provides.

Coookoff judges take their responsibilities very seriously.

Because the cookoff is not sanctioned, it attracted a wide variety of cooking teams. Some were had never competed before, and their equipment was quite basic. Others had very expensive setups, vans, and trailers; they also displayed trophies to show off their past successes. As the public entered, some teams were well-prepared to sell their barbecue and sauces, while other teams looked on and observed how they could improve their operation the next time that they competed.

Smoking Dave's shows off racecar,
trophies, and new trailer.

People Choice's trophy went again
to Smoking Dave's, also the winner
in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

The cookoff also helped develop my table captain skills. Several days before the event, Brown had asked if I would explain the procedures to the judges at the start of the competition and serve as table captain as the samples were distributed to judges for evaluation. Although a table captain at a KCBS-sanctioned event serves only six judges, two volunteers helped me stay on schedule.

A cooking team keeps the grill hot with barbecue to sell to the public.

The Bull City event achieved the purpose of a cookoff: encourage teams to compete and promote barbecue as a culinary technique and sport. I look forward to watching as the cookoff continues to grow and eventually transitions to a formally sanctioned contest.

The line formed early for people interested in attending the cookoff;
admission was $5 per person.