Photo Credit Meredith Symonds
February 2024 marked an amazing milestone for the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest, presented by Cotton Holdings — 50 years of barbecue. This year’s event not only commemorated a cook-off featuring fantastic food, but also a long line of volunteers, team members, sponsors, judges and attendees who return year after year because they have found a family.
In 1974, the first official World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest was held in a parking lot with 13 teams, some Weber grills and Igloo® coolers. Entries were judged on a flatbed trailer by three judges who deliberated over the best chicken, ribs and brisket. The contest formed out of an idea of Bill Bailey’s in 1973. Bailey was inspired by a Go Texan team’s successful cook-off “championship.” The following year, the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Committee was formed. Today’s legendary event consists of 253 teams.
Gone are the days of setting up underneath a pop-up tent with a charcoal grill. The event changed to individual teams bringing their own generators and then grew again into today’s setup, which consists of an entire electrical grid to power the tents as the contest expands, allowing for bigger and better outcomes each year. Dutch Oven and Open have been added to the original categories of ribs, chicken and brisket, with 85 judges per category.
At this year’s 50th anniversary party, three volunteers were honored with a commemorative pin for having served all 50 years: Gloria Presser, Margaret Anderson and Cheryl Haney. “Mixing and mingling with the cookers has been one of my favorite memories over the 50 years,” Presser said. “The committee and the cookers have become a family.” From rookies to long-time committeemen, this event has bonded people for a lifetime. According to volunteer Kellye Brown, the committee was there for her during one of the most challenging times of her life. “Sometimes the BBQ committee holds you up when you can’t stand alone,” she said.
Today, hundreds of volunteers are needed to execute the contest organized and hosted by just a handful of people in 1974. While teams used to set up in a day, now it takes two weeks to erect the sprawling streets of tents. In 2008, a new layout and the addition of street names helped people find their way. Originally, the contest was set up in an area about the size of The Hideout. Now, each team has a minimum 40-by-40-foot plot, with some teams combining spaces to create even larger tents. With so many teams competing, volunteers must ensure that tents are no more than two inches off their marks. In 1988, the teams began serving the public; in 2024, a record 234,456 people attended. “We are looking for ways to find more room and host even more teams and attendees, which will allow for more funds to be contributed to the education efforts of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™,” World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest Committee Chairman Lisa Schutzenhofer said.
Teams competing since the beginning include the Floyd, Morrow and Larkin Team and Bottomless Pit. Floyd, Morrow and Larkin won third place in the Open category, continuing the family legacy of head cook Gary Morrow’s uncle, Abraham Morrow who was the original head cook in the 1970s. “We continue competing because it is a legacy, and we can’t trust anyone else to do it,” he said. “We eat the best and turn in the rest!”
Many of the teams are nonprofit organizations that donate the funds collected from tent ticket sales back to the Show. “The bottom line is this helps the youth of Texas,” Kevin O’Kelley said of the Over The Hill Gang, competing since 1979.
Ritch’s Raiders, a team that began in 1986, started bringing families of children with special needs to their tent in 1990 for a meal and a huge party. This year, they served more than 500 kids and their families. Randy Ritch’s unique celebration of youth inspired other teams to give back. Around 2010, the Planet Texas Cook Off Team began providing barbeque and carnival packs to families of children with cancer. This year, they helped 75 families enjoy a day of fun, entertainment and Western heritage.
Jamie Bell, leader of the Jack Daniel’s Barrelhouse Cookers that has competed for 25 years, noted that although the size, technology and entertainment have evolved over the years, the most positive changes are the safer, cleaner environment, water stations throughout the grounds and the use of more ride-sharing services by guests. Former Chairman of the Board and previous World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Committee Chairman Jack Lyons, agrees. “A safe barbeque means a great start to the Show,” Lyons said.