If only for a weekend, Pine Bluff became a world culinary destination.
“It seemed like a random adventure in some way that it’s off the beaten track, somewhere you’d never go on the tourist trail,” Nick Cooper said.
Cooper and Adrian Luppino traveled from Sydney and joined their friend Tyler Cannon of Weatherford, Texas, to the Arkansas Delta in hopes of winning the $15,000 grand championship prize in Smoke on the Water at Regional Park. The trio formed Butter Beard BBQ, one of 45 cook teams who prepped their best entrees in four meat categories Friday and served the masses Saturday beside the Arkansas River.
“I think pork today was our best,” Cannon said. “Good pork ribs are hard to find (in Australia). You guys are spoiled for choice with your supermarket ribs. Ours are nothing like that. It just burns in a bit of meat. The pork industry is different. Pork is protected.”
Cannon suggested he and his pals from Down Under travel to Pine Bluff to see how their barbecue measures against the rest of the field. Twenty-four states were also represented this year.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“It lines up with school holidays in Australia, so it’s good to go,” Cooper said.
Butter Beard BBQ won Australian team of the year in 2018 and competed well in the Full Throttle Invitational in the Hunter Valley of Australia, Cooper said. The team name comes from the condition of their beards once they finish “chowing down” on barbecue, Luppino said. He and Cannon connected online more than five years ago, and Cannon’s family flew him and his wife to Australia.
“We started talking and sharing secrets and (Luppino) said, ‘Hey, would you like to come out to Australia?'” Cannon said. “I was like, ‘Wow, yeah, I’d probably like to do that.’ I never met the guy ever. We talked on the phone and sent a million messages, they booked us flights and my wife and I went on an 18-hour flight to Sydney. This guy picked us up, and it’s been an instant brotherhood.”
In addition to the top check out of a $50,000 purse, the successful barbecue artists also received championship rings of 10-karat solid gold and gemstone from title sponsor Sissy’s Log Cabin and a “golden ticket” to the World Food Championships, Nov. 9-12 in Indianapolis. The winners also would be entered in a draw for the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue, Oct. 11-12 in Lynchburg, Tenn.
Smoke on the Water was founded in 2003 by Ronnie Cates. This was the third consecutive year the competition was held in its founding city.
Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned the event and provided the judges — one for each entry.
“All the judges have to be trained and certified to be able to judge this contest,” said Bobby Truman of White Hall, one of the judges. “The Cates do it a little different. They have the same judges. They picked their judges 20 years ago, and they try to use most of the same judges. His mother started that.”
A People’s Choice contest was also held, with the winner earning a $500 prize. Proceeds from that and the Ribba-Ramma amateur contest, which awarded $300 to the winner, benefited the Third Ward sports park project.
“We’re grateful to be back in Pine Bluff,” judge Drake Palmer said. “We love putting on this festival. We hope it goes on for a long time.”
The presenting sponsor for Smoke on the Water was Saracen Casino Resort. Palmer said plans are for the event to remain free to the public to keep Pine Bluff involved.
Samples of barbecue entered into the People’s Choice category are pictured at Smoke on the Water. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
From left, judges Bobby Truman and Sandy Truman of White Hall, Smoke on the Water founder Ronnie Cates of White Hall and judge Drake Palmer of Pine Bluff finish a day of judging barbecue inside the Officer John R. Fallis Waterfront Facility. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)