It has already been a month since the last competition, and on May 14 & 15, 2022, the Meetjesland BBQ competition was organized for the first time in Aalter.

The organizers were FiveQ barbecue team and Elkedag-bbq.be

And to immediately give compliments: everything was very well organized, the weather was great, the atmosphere was great. But about the free breakfast on Sunday morning everyone will talk for a long time: that was really insanely good! Really well done!

In the rankings we were in a promising position before this match:

Ribs: 1

Pork: 2

Brisket : 3

Chicken 4

Overall: 4th

Why was this encouraging: everything is very close together, and only the best 3 results count.

So in this 4th match we could try to improve some of the less good results.

The strange thing is that the ranking was not a goal at all at the start of this adventure.

The only clear agreement Dimi and I made at the beginning of the season was: don't finish last.

That was our goal.

But the results are very good to us and every time we try to improve some things.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But hey, the jury is subjective, so you have to decide for yourself how much value you attach to it before you make any radical decisions.

We do everything in baby steps, so that we can slowly but steadily arrive at a recipe that we fully support and know will not disappoint us.

But we weren't there yet... and spoiler alert... we still aren't.

We feel that things can and should be even better.

FiveQ is also in the top 4, but because they are co-organizers, they do not participate in the competition and therefore cannot improve any points. That is very sour for them, because the risk is that someone else can now take a big step forward.

That's the theory, but will it also become reality?

19 teams, with again the top teams from the Netherlands and UK present and 3 teams from the top 4 of the Belgian competition, as well as a number of other teams ready to achieve a good result, which would also prove to be the case...

We did everything we had planned, in the meantime we could also enjoy the fact that our salt, rub, and sauce were also nicely in the shop of every day Bbq :-)

The competition:

Everything arrived on time and we had a good feeling. especially with Kip en de Ribben.

But hey, you never know....

And then came the points....

Chicken : no mention, so no top 10. Strange, and still inexplicable.

Turns out we finished 17th 😩

Ribs : no mention and our courage sank after the chicken results,

but then: at no. 1: Barbecoa! Our first category win! I can die satisfied now!

Pork : 6th place. More was probably not possible, but still satisfied.

Brisket : yes it was good, but in our opinion the least of the 4 categories... and suddenly we get a walk on the 4th place! An equal of our best Brisket result so far.

There were so many other teams that finished high, so it was really impossible to predict who would score well overall...

But fate was immensely kind to us... as we finished in 2nd place overall, 3.5 points behind the winner Southern Dutch.

The 2nd place is called RGC, or Reserve Grand Champion.

This is a really fantastic result in competition bbq. Something every team is happy with.

And finally we became Best Belgian and we have an extra chance to be drawn to go to The Jack in US ; ☺️

We are often told that we are having a great season,... and as a newbie I sometimes can't quite grasp it all because we have been achieving good results since the first competition, we have actually been performing very consistently high... and that of course results in a nice ranking in the Belgian Championship.

Yes guys, it's a fun game, so if anyone decides to join after reading these experiences; don't let that stop you... it's a lot of fun, and only costs you an arm and sometimes a leg 🤦‍ ♂️ But you'll quickly forget that with all the fun experiences you're going to have!

Therefore a big shout out to the sponsors: Carmans and Atelier Francois, Big Green Egg and Red Bull

We are still enjoying our result in Aalter!

And now we wait to see what the new ranking will be...

The next competition is in September and then this series will probably end.

In this series of blog articles I have tried to put into words everything I have learned about KCBS competition BBQ and introduce you to a very fun competition

That's why so many details and emotions.

I hope you find this useful and that you will soon try to make something low and slow at home and be sure to come and see it on September 17 and 18 in Sint Niklaas, because then you will see what it is really like.

All information: www.bbqchampionship.be

See you soon for the final chord of the 2022 KCBS Low and Slow BBQ competition