The BBQ competition will feature ‘Best in Taste’ in three divisions: chicken, beef and pork. Manassas restaurants competing include Old Towne Sports Pub, Adair’s Brothers BBQ, Absolute BBQ of Manassas, Willards BBQ & Smokey Joe’s Cafe.
Goycochea is one of the foremost experts on barbecue in the country. He sits on the boards of the three largest barbecue associations in the country: The Kansas City Barbecue Society, the National Barbecue Association, and the California Barbecue Association.
He helped them out with a competition that same weekend, and was instantly hooked. From there, he upgraded his pit, buying a $6,000 unit. Weeks later, he upgraded again, purchasing a $12,000 unit that would sell for around $25,000 today.
“We’ve been so lucky to have Gene in our corner, since he pretty much runs the BBQ world,” Walchef said. “He’s a big advocate of BBQ on all levels, professional and amateur.”
“Essentially, we’re trying to use the smoker for the best of its abilities. We want to have fresh BBQ all the time,” said co-owner Shawn Walchef. We are working at really featuring it Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays for NFL football. But we are BBQing every day. People have been loving the tri-tip sandwich.”
“As a restaurant, we’d never been in a pro competition. There’s so many rules and tips and techniques,” said Walchef. “Those are things you learn as you go. And those are the things that [Gene] will be teaching anyone interested in competing or just interested in learning about barbecue. It’s a science.”