Ever want to be on a Memphis in May BBQ Team?

Just wanted to throw this out there to anyone that may be interested.  My BBQ Team, Too Sauced To Pork, is recruiting new members for the Memphis in May World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest or MIM WCBCC, for short.  BBQ Fest, as the locals call it, is a huge festival with over 100,000 visitors every year.  Due to the fact that the contest has been getting bad press for being elitist, a few of us teams are trying to lead a movement amongst the other teams to be more open to outside members.   There is only one way to truely experience, and enjoy this contest, and it is on the inside of a booth.  If anyone is interested, the contest runs from Thursday May 12th - Saturday May 14th 2011 on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi, in the heart of downtown Memphis... We basically cook 24 hours a day from Tuesday night to Saturday afternoon, so there is never a shortage of food...or drinks :-)
 
Neil Gallagher
Pitmaster - Too Sauced To Pork Championship BBQ Team
Buffalo NY - Memphis TN

 
Wow.  There was a time I'd have jumped on the idea.
 
You are right. I've been to MIM a couple times and if it weren't for having had an invite to some corporate thing it would have been a total washout ... as it were it was only a medium washout.
 
Then there was the music ... I got back to  my room one time and the phone was ringing ... it was my wakeup call.  Ouch.

Roz and I have been to MIM a couple of times.  You are correct in stating that it was sorta elitist.  There was nothing to do but walk around and enjoy the good smells.  We would not go back.  If you do not have a friend smoking, all you can do is walk around.
 
The organizers desperately need to do something that is much more inviting to the general public who pay big bucks to walk.
 
Thanks for the invite to Roadfooders and I am sure some will take you up on your offer.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I'd be all over this if I didn't already have my May booked solid with travel between work and family.
But I'll echo the other comments... I've already been to plenty of BBQ events where the regular public couldn't even get BBQ, and barely even see BBQ.

I echo these sentiments. All you see are the same big names and the same people winning and the rest of the populace gets to pay for smelling the BBQ. I have had more fun at the BBQ and chili cook off at my VFW. And I got to eat BBQ.

Hi TooSauced:
I am very interested in being part of your team.
I have sent you an email on this site, with some info about me.
Hope we can make this happen.

I understand the feelings people have toward the contest, that is why a few of us teams are trying to be more open to the public.  But to play devils advocate and defend the contest, it is a competition, all of us teams spend thousands of dollars to enter.  Those booths are private because it would bankrupt most of us if we fed and watered random people. It is, and always has been, posted on the Memphis in May website that teams do not sell or give BBQ to the public.  Please accept my appology for your bad experience at the MIM, but it is a totally different experience in a booth than outside a booth...Please do not flame me, I'm not trying to argue with anyone, we truely are trying to give people an inside experience at the contest.
 
Neil Gallagher
Pitmaster - Too Sauced To Pork BBQ

if you are paying thousands but it would bankrupt you to give or sell bbq to the public, I guess I am confused........
 

I can understand why the vendors do not sell to the public because of various state and local regs.
 
I was last at MIM a couple of years ago and the food vendors were scarce and quite frankly, it was very boring to me.  I believe that it is very important to the contestants but if the organizers want it to be more entertaining to the folks who pay big bucks to get in, they had better look at ways to improve its public perception.
 
I left the event and went down to Beale St. where I had a very good time.  MIM has a opportunity to turn the event into much more than what it is.  They have to work on the persona of the total event.  Not just for the contestants.
 
I did enjoy looking from the outside to the decor of many of the contestants and I saw that they had spent big bucks on their presentation.  Regardless, it is not fun to us who are on the outside.
 
Much more fun and food is to be had at the Jack Daniels event in Lynchburg where the vendors do sell their BBQ or give it away.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Half of us contestants at MIM are not restaurants...we do not have health permits.  In order to vend BBQ or to give it away to the public at the contest we would all have to obtain food permits.  It is also against the rules of the contest to give or sell anything to the crowds.
 
As for the money side of it, we pay for this contest out of our own pocket.  Thats why many teams do not let people in to their booths.  If we let in anybody off the street it would cost us a lot more...We already take off a week of vacation from work and pay 2 grand just to enter.  Plus unlike the Jack and the Royal, the booths are much larger, we have huge parties, and over 110,000 people come to the contest...thats alot of mouths to feed
 
I'm sorry some people don't agree with the contest or how it is run.  My team was literally trying to help people out, and give people a chance to see it from the inside. We were not expecting to get in an arguement about the contest.  Memphis in May is not going to change, it is one of the oldest BBQ Contests in the US.  Both the Royal and the Jack are younger.  I'm sorry if I caused people to get riled up, that was not my intention. 
 
Neil Gallagher

Neil, folks love to get riled up around here.
Consider it a compliment that you stirred a discussion.
  Do you do the other 2 mentioned too? How do they compare as to what folks are saying?
Bill

Personally,. I am not riled up at all.  It is just not a event that I care to visit because of the issues I mentioned.  I understand the cost to the participants and the health issues.
 
It is just not a very good entertaining venue for us poor folks.
 
Thanks for your response and I certainly did not expect any of the vendors to give free food as most folks would gladly pay.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Hehe...gotcha,
Both the Jack and the Royal are amazing.  Unlike the MIM, the Jack and Royal are invitationals, you have to win a contest to get a spot.  The Royal  pulls from winners of certified KCBS (Kansas City BBQ Society) contests.  The Jack invites the best of the best from all over the U.S. and all BBQ Societies. Both are great contests, and are awesome to both cook in and attend.  The Jack is one of my favorite contests to attend, as both a competitor and a spectator.  Plus you are on the steps of Gentleman Jack's distillery, what better spot for a contest! :-)
 
If you have a chance to go, it is well worth it.
 
Neil Gallagher

Hi Neil, I would love to be on your team and participate in Memphis in May.
I am the pitmaster of The Smoke 'N Barrel Competition BBQ Team from Seaford, Long Island, NY. My team and I can't afford to compete in MIM, but I would love the opportunity to go and be a part of a team that is competing.
I know all of the in's and out's of competition bbq and I would know my role as pit-bitch if I were to be a part of your team. All that I can say is that I would offer my help and knowledge and do what I am asked in order to help the team win.
Please email me at: thesmokenbarrel at gmail dot com if I seem like a good candidate.
Hope to hear back from you.
James

The contest itself also likely does not want the liability of having participants feeding the public. I'm willing to bet it is written into the contract bbq'ers sign.
 
Jack McDavid invited me to be a member of his team at the Blue Ridge Barbecue festival. I agree that this is the best and maybe only way to do a bbq contest. Judging works too, but then you can't hang out with the teams until the judging has ended.
 
Here's my write-up on Blue Ridge:  http://www.hollyeats.com/BlueRidgeBBQ.htm

Holly Moore


The contest itself also likely does not want the liability of having participants feeding the public. I'm willing to bet it is written into the contract bbq'ers sign.

We don't sign contracts, it is mostly a health dept issue...We do have a big ole rulebook, and in said BBQ Bible it states that - and I quote... "Teams can only feed their invited guests"
All you have to do to make someone your "INVITED GUEST" is invite them into your booth...we feed 200 "guests" a day :-)
 
Neil Gallagher
Pitmaster - Too Sauced To Pork BBQ
Memphis TN - Buffalo NY

The application form seems to be a contract and spells out that a team will abide by all rules and regulations including, I assume, not to serve food to the public.
http://www.memphisinmay.o...entry_form_revised.pdf
 
One of the benefits in working on a bbq team is getting to sample a lot of bbq from fellow teams.

I'm from Memphis, and a wonderful memory is walking down to Tom Lee Park and smelling that wonderful smoke.
 
Most teams are now corporatate, FedEx, Sherring Plough, Morgan Keegan and those   types of businesses. The entry fee is quite steep to get in ( I just looked it up, according to Wiki and another source, the fee is $60 per entry, plus between $700-$2600 to rent a booth.) and there are other hoops and hurdles involved, it's not quite as simple as getting a couple of beer buddies together and just doing it.
 
There are several things that turned me off on the BBQ contest. First, unless you are a team member, you cannot go to the area where the contest is  (which is in a public tax supported park). I'm sure that family members would have no problem, but the general public isn't allowed there, which smacks to me as being elitist.
 
Second, They are not allowed to sell or give away their food. (which makes sense since unless you are a member of a team, they don't want you back there anyway)  There are some vendors right outside, but good BBQ can't be found Downtown. (Roundevous is kick ass, but a tourist hole and their BBQ style is not really Memphis style) Downtown itself is a dump outside the Peabody and the ball park. I would not under any circumstances walk around there at night with my wife.
 
The BBQ contest will consist of mainly corporate hacks who will spend the weekend eating, belching, farting, drinking all sorts of alcohol to dull the senses of a mundane life. Memphis is like an elephant fart. if you are an elephant, and you have been around that smell for a lifetime, it does not bother you. However, if you were sent in there, you can smell it and would hate it.
Memphis has a lot of ghetto people who flock to events where humans are and try to take advantage of people. MOstly beggars and hustlers, crackheads or 40 ounce juice people. Since this is such a huge event, the city tries to keep the ghetto people to a minimum, but since Memphis is mostly a ghetto, this is hard to accomplish.
 
The problem with Memphis and May and this contest is that there will be tens of thousands of people down there, a lot of them intoxicated.  During these festivals, open containers are quasi-legal, there are just too many people and too little cops. One year (drunk) I climbed on the shoulders of the Elvis statue on Beale Street. Speaking of Beale Street, the bars there suck and are totally expensive. Do not wander off Beale Street, especially towards the south. GHETTO with many tranny hookers (Vance St.).
 
So, corporate fatheads, rednecks, drunks, crackhead beggar bums, a city that resembles The Congo and lame nightspots on Beale Street charging outrageous prices to the out of towner. Our trannies are sensational though.
  
  
 

I'm from Memphis, and a wonderful memory is walking down to Tom Lee Park and smelling that wonderful smoke.

Most teams are now corporatate, FedEx, Sherring Plough, Morgan Keegan and those   types of businesses. The entry fee is quite steep to get in ( I just looked it up, according to Wiki and another source, the fee is $60 per entry, plus between $700-$2600 to rent a booth.) and there are other hoops and hurdles involved, it's not quite as simple as getting a couple of beer buddies together and just doing it.
 
Actually most of the teams (about 75%) are NOT corporate.  I happen to run one of the non corporate teams.  We are a bunch of buddies that get together and enter...it is that simple.  All you have to do is fill out an application to be considered.  There are reserved entries (winners from the previous years contest) but the rest of the teams are drawn at random.

There are several things that turned me off on the BBQ contest. First, unless you are a team member, you cannot go to the area where the contest is  (which is in a public tax supported park). I'm sure that family members would have no problem, but the general public isn't allowed there, which smacks to me as being elitist.
 
You can go to the area where the contest is.  It is a huge mile-long park with vendors, team booths, and a music stage.  Everyone that passes through the gate pays $8, even family members.  What I believe you are refering to is the team booths, which are all private parties.  We only let members and guests into the booths due to the cost of the contest, health department, and contest regulations.

Second, They are not allowed to sell or give away their food. (which makes sense since unless you are a member of a team, they don't want you back there anyway)  There are some vendors right outside, but good BBQ can't be found Downtown. (Roundevous is kick ass, but a tourist hole and their BBQ style is not really Memphis style) Downtown itself is a dump outside the Peabody and the ball park. I would not under any circumstances walk around there at night with my wife.
Roundevous is Memphis style...it is a dry rub rib, served with sauce on the side.  You can make it "Muddy" if you prefer which is a dry rib made tacky with sauce. 
Downtown has been revitalized in the last 10 years...It is actually a very nice area around the river and more and more people are moving there every year.
The BBQ contest will consist of mainly corporate hacks who will spend the weekend eating, belching, farting, drinking all sorts of alcohol to dull the senses of a mundane life. Memphis is like an elephant fart. if you are an elephant, and you have been around that smell for a lifetime, it does not bother you. However, if you were sent in there, you can smell it and would hate it.
Wow...The contest is made of people from all walks of life.  There are corporate hacks there, but all of us regular people FAR out number them.  As far as the smell, the contest actually makes the entire downtown area smell like BBQ for 4 days...but hey we do eat, drink, (sometimes fart and beltch) and have an amazing party all weekend.

Memphis has a lot of ghetto people who flock to events where humans are and try to take advantage of people. MOstly beggars and hustlers, crackheads or 40 ounce juice people. Since this is such a huge event, the city tries to keep the ghetto people to a minimum, but since Memphis is mostly a ghetto, this is hard to accomplish.
 
This is actually totally off base.  Due to a HUGE Police presence and a gate admission there are no bums, beggers, hustlers or crackheads in the contest proper. That is a very generalized statement about Memphis, and yes parts of Memphis are ghetto just like any large city, but there are good parts, some great parts.

The problem with Memphis and May and this contest is that there will be tens of thousands of people down there, a lot of them intoxicated. 
Actually over 110,000 people visited the contest last year, and during the day before 6pm or so it is a family enviornment.  After 8pm all bets are off, it is a huge party with lots of drinking and dancing.
 
During these festivals, open containers are quasi-legal, there are just too many people and too little cops.
Open containers are totally legal, we walk around with kegs in lawn carts, open beer cans and cups, shots are freely distributed, and open liquor bottles are no problem.  It is all part of the culture of the contest.
 

So, corporate fatheads, rednecks, drunks, crackhead beggar bums, a city that resembles The Congo and lame nightspots on Beale Street charging outrageous prices to the out of towner. Our trannies are sensational though. 
 
Glad you liked the tranny hookers, they are fabulous, even the ones that look like Liza Minnelli :-)
 
Neil Gallagher
Pitmaster-Too Sauced To Pork BBQ

Your points are well taken.  I have been there several times.  I am sure the event is very important to the participants and the aroma is more than fantastic.  The event does have some serious issues as it has a major attraction issue with the general public.  The partipants have a wonderful time but the event is not particulary important to the general public like myself and many others.  You can walk around with some occasional intertainment and some food but it is not worth the entry fee.
 
You may criticize me because of my response but you need to critique many of the entries.  I heard many of them complain because of the entry fee, nothing was there for them but to smell and view the wonderful  displays of BBQ. I agree that they were nice but it does not work.  The folks who put the event on need to analyze the event to understand what it would take to make the event more fan friendly.  Please do not take this as total criticism but advice on how to improve MIM.
 
I do not have any issues with downtown Memphis as I have stayed at the Marriott several times and visited Beale st. each time I was there and took the trolley to the location.  Memphis is like not other city of its size.  They have their issues and other cities have theirs.
 
Respectfully and Sincerelly
Paul E. Smith

The contest was never meant for the general public.  Since 1978 it has always been about the competition between the BBQ Teams.   MIM in recent years has added the People's Choice contest and the Cooker Caravan Tours to give the public a little something to snack on.  If someone is to blame for people thinking they can just waltz in and eat what they want it is the news and media.  I have seen countless reports from food network, E!, and others that give the persona that anyone can just walk in and eat until their heart is content.  It is posted all over the official MIM Website and literature what to expect, and it has been posted there for 10 years.  And for some reason, people still get surprised and pissed off at us teams at the contest when we won't let them in the booth.
 
Some of us teams have realized in recent years that the contest has been branded as elitist...and it is very elitist.  You can't get into a booth unless you know someone...just like at Mardi Gras you can't go to the Balls unless you are Krewe or have an invite.  There are a few of us teams that have gotten together and offered memberships to the general public.  We have all been on the other side of the fence at some point, and it sucks...so a few of us are doing what we can to help.  That was the original intention of the post.  I was inviting people from the forum to be a part of something they normally couldn't take part in.  We were trying to share our love for this contest with everyone and show them a good time, but people just ended up attacking the contest.  It is a VERY elitist contest, but we are trying to give people a chance to break through that and be a part of it
 
This contest will never be totally open to the public...that is what alot of teams like about it.  This is one of the oldest BBQ competitions in the U.S, and it is not going to change, not anytime soon anyway...
 
I'm sorry if I rubbed anyone the wrong way...We love this contest, and just wanted to share an inside experience with fellow food lovers...
 
Neil Gallagher
Too Sauced To Pork BBQ
 
 

While I am sure its a fantastic event for people participating, it doesnt seem to be public friendly or a particularly interesting day for those of us not on a team. Walking around watching people compete without tasting the fare just doesnt interest me, especially if I have to pay admission.Its a tease-yep, I can smell all the wonderful BBQ, but nope, cant have any.I am not disrespecting the contest in any way, I wish you much success.And at Mardi Gras, there are so many events to the open public, that not going to the ball isnt a big deal for most, I am sure.

annpeeples


While I am sure its a fantastic event for people participating, it doesnt seem to be public friendly or a particularly interesting day for those of us not on a team. Walking around watching people compete without tasting the fare just doesnt interest me, especially if I have to pay admission.

This entire thread was an INVITE to be ON A TEAM at the contest...
 
Neil Gallagher
Too Sauced To Pork BBQ

I fully understand that. And I am responding to the description you wrote about the entire event, not just the competition, when you responded to senor boogie woogie.

Neil,
I think you made your point(s) very well, and your invitation to join your team is a real opportunity for someone interested in seeing the contest from a very different perspective. Thank you for reminding us of the magnitude of the contest (and it's limitations for public participation).
  I think many folks go to MIM with inaccurate perceptions of the public's role in the whole thing. That is NOT the fault of the competing teams... I think the Board of Directors or whomever establishes and operates the overall Festival misleads the tourist-public (deliberate or not- who knows???) into a "Let's all get into the BBQ" then leaves them 'wanting' as they wander the grounds. Sort of reminds e of the "Gentleman's Club" behavior, where one is to buy a lady a beverage or two with the goal to be some form of exchange of affection later...but when all is spent and drunk the hostess disappears without sharing the warm feelings the customer expected!!! Well thats how Poverty Pete explained 'Gentleman's Club Rules' to me one time !!!  MIM is a good place to visit as a tourist ONE TIME. Beyond that I would recommend one of the smaller regional competitions for a casual visitor to attend. We have several here in the OHIO VALLEY where there are major team competitions AND smaller 'Backyard' Teams and public participation also. Those are really a great time too.

Part of the problem is that the Food Network has shown it a number of times in a way to make it look like everyone joins in. They have a whole hour program on MIM that they run periodically that features the contestants but never mentions the "spectator" part.

Did you get the word the location has moved?  Due to the rising Mississippi, the festival will be held at the old Mid South Fairgrounds.

Oh yeah, all us teams got to vote if it would be postponed or canceled.  We will know all the details on Wed May 4th.  I will post when I hear what the plan is.

Neil, I have been a lifetime barbeque junkie, hence my RF handle. In my travels around the country, I've often been known to detour 50-75 miles out of the way to chase after a rumor of great que. However, I have never been able to get to MIM, but have always fantisized about doing so.
Therefore, thank you for initiating a very informative Roadfood discussion about the reality of attending MIM--both for contestants and guests. No complaint against you (and kudos to you for your offer to take on some new team members), but I think this thread has helped me understand that I would not have realized my fantasy if I had shown up there w/ my unrealistic expectations of having some great que. Have to go along w/ Mayor Al and Sundancer that this event isn't my cup of barbeque sauce.
Best of luck to your team! 
QFan
Bonita Springs, FL

Sundancer7


Roz and I have been to MIM a couple of times.  You are correct in stating that it was sorta elitist.  There was nothing to do but walk around and enjoy the good smells.  We would not go back.  If you do not have a friend smoking, all you can do is walk around.

The organizers desperately need to do something that is much more inviting to the general public who pay big bucks to walk.

What? I don't understand. You seem to be implying that the BBQ rigs are not selling their ribs, pulled pork, etc. to the general public. This would be bizarre. Ribfests have exploded in Ontario in the last fifteen years or so and they're designed as events for the public to buy and thus sample the ribs from multiple rib joints all of whom are not just competing for the honour of being deemed the best by the judges but are competing for the general public's dollars.
 
Moreover, there is no cost of admission for the general public. The festival organizers and the BBQ pits want as many people as possible to come and buy the ribs being BBQed.