2006 Season Recap

As we sit at the American Royal BBQ Invitational/International BBQ competition for 2006 in Kansas City, Missouri, we have to stop and think just how we got here!

In the beginning, Steve had a vision when he saw a hot water heater lying on the side of the road.  He along with Matt and Vince worked each weekend until he had a BBQ that looked like a “pig”.  It had a tail, ears, nose and eyes.  He took it to a family BBQ on the 4^th of July.  Who woulda thought that just a few months later a 5^th wheel trailer would be transformed into an award winning BBQ trailer and a fantastic family team called “All Hogs Go to Heaven” was born!

Let’s start at the beginning of our contests.  Steve, Vicki, Matt, and Vince are assembling their team.  They need a runner, garnish person, an electrician and a handyman, and a chicken person!  The runner was Ardith, the garnish person was Toni and the electrician and handyman was Ted, and chicken person was Ron.

The first competition at Viejas near San Diego was in October 2005.  We had the team assembled and Steve and Vince set out at 4:00 am to meet Ted and Ardith at 90^th street east and Ave J.  That all went well, we were to meet Ron and Toni who had rented a motor home in San Bernardino for breakfast at Denny’s.  All was going great until we got near the Hwy 15, 215 split.  Steve thought there was a Denny’s on the 15, when in fact it was off the 215.  To make matters worse it was so foggy that you couldn’t see the side of the road.  So on the walkie talkies we figured out that Vince and Steve were on the wrong road.  Ted and Ardith proceeded to the Denny’s to find Toni and Ron waiting.  Ron gets on the cell phone to find out where Steve and Vince are and after some tense moments, Steve and Vince arrive….finally the TEAM was together at last.  But of course Steve and Vince were so nervous that they couldn’t eat.  After breakfast we proceed to Viejas.  What a nice place to have a BBQ contest, Art, Joanne, Charlie, and Jennifer met us there.  There was shopping at the Outlet mall and a car show.  We also volunteered in the vending booth that the California BBQ Association had.  Since it was our first time we didn’t win, but the experience we gained would benefit us in future contests.

The second contest was at the Rose Bowl December 2005 just before New Years.  It was actually on Toni and Ron’s anniversary, they celebrated at the BBQ contest, now that is dedication to the team!  The BBQ was in conjunction with the float decorating for the Rose parade.  We left Lancaster on our way to Pasadena, as we arrive we are the first team to arrive, so we got the pick of the spaces.  Steve parked the trailer in a great spot with a huge tree beside us.  The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce was great to us, of course, we kept feeding them!  We met a volunteer who grew giant pumpkins for the California State Fair.  He sent Steve some seeds, Ron and Toni and Ted and Ardith planted them.  We did have 4 pumpkins, but they sure aren’t easy to grow.  Steve and Vince stayed up all night to make sure that the meat came off on time the next day.  This time Kathy and Pat joined us as well as Julie, she even ate a piece of meat just to be a good sport.  As the day progressed and it was time for the awards, we all gathered near the stage, never thinking that we would actually win.  As the teams were named they called “All Hogs go to Heaven” for 5^th place in Pork Ribs and 3^rd place in Pull Pork.  What a great surprise!

The next contest was April 2006 at the Gene Autry museum in Glendale.  Steve, Vince, Ted and Ardith drove down that morning and set up our space.  Toni and Ron came later on in a motor home.  This would be the first time that we entered a side dish competition.  Ron did spiced stuffed peppers, and Steve and Vicki worked on a “secret sauce” entry.  All was going well and it was time to turn in the secret sauce.  Ardith the runner was all set to go, but upon getting near the turn-in table, fell with the sauce, but didn’t spill all of it.  The entry was still submitted, but didn’t win.  Ardith felt really bad, and Steve was a good sport about it all, but said “don’t do it tomorrow during the real contest”.  There were to be no awards at the contest.  We got to go to the museum for free and all in all it was a lovely setting for a BBQ.  We met a nice guy who did a demonstration on how to BBQ in a chuck wagon.  Ted and Ardith went back the next day and he gave them a sample of an upside down cake that was delicious!  The cake was golden brown; the sauce over the cake was excellent. 

The next contest would be May 2006 in Modesto.  Ron and Toni had to work that weekend and were not able to attend.  Ted and Ardith were going to the Delta the first part of the week to watch Rick in a fishing tournament, but said they would meet Steve and Vince there.  All went according to plan as Ted and Ardith went to the store and got the garnish.  This would be our first time without the garnish girl Toni.  We attended a class that night on garnish, so Vince and Ardith could learn the basics.  This too would be the first time without Ron doing the chicken.  Steve hates chicken, so everyone was on a new learning curve.  Ted would be doing the running, as Ardith couldn’t be trusted to run the boxes after the Autry incident.  This contest was a street faire with a major track meet at the Modesto College.  This track meet was a qualifier for the Olympics, so it was huge event.  Steve and Vince stayed up all night and got the meat ready.  The next day proceed as usual, and after the final turn in we were all exhausted, but we had promised to volunteer in the vending booth after the awards.  Everyone took a nap before the awards.  At the awards we ended up taking 5^th in Chicken, 2^nd in Pork Ribs, 5^th in Pull Pork, and 6^th in Brisket.  With the numbers all added, we received Grand Champion beating out 41 other contestants.  After the shock of winning we got a burst of energy and were able to volunteer as we had planned.  This Grand Champion qualified “All Hogs go to Heaven” for the Jack Daniels competition in Lynchburg, Tennessee and the American Royal in Kansas City, Missouri in October 2006.

The next contest would bring us to Boulder City, Nevada in May 2006.  Steve, Vince, Ted and Ardith started out from the Antelope Valley heading for Boulder City.  We stayed in a campground in Boulder City, the only campground in the city without a swimming pool! Ardith didn’t do well in picking out a place to stay, who woulda thought in Boulder City with many days of 100 plus temperatures that a campground would not have a pool?  Toni and Ron would be flying in to meet us on Friday through Sunday.  This BBQ contest also had a car show and street faire.  The weather was really warm and the wind blew most of the day and night.  Ron was a trooper and stayed up all night with Vince and Steve.  We were so glad to have the use of Toni and Ron’s hotel room for showers.  We met lots of nice people at this contest.   QN4U won and this qualified them for the Jack Daniels in Lynchburg, Tennessee.  All Hogs go to Heaven placed 6^th overall with a 6^th in Pull Pork and 8^th in Brisket, so we felt really good about our placing as there were a lot of good teams at this event.

The next contest was the 4^th of July 2006 weekend and would take Steve and Vince to Medford, Oregon which was the first longest BBQ drive ever.  Ron, Toni, Ted, and Ardith couldn’t attend these events.  Steve and Vince left at 7:00 pm and drove about half way and stopped at a truck stop to rest.  They sleep for about 3 hours then were back on the road.    They got to Medford to find out that the only team they knew was QN4U from Clovis, California.  Steve and Vince made goods friends with the Team Smoke a Fat one and Raven's Fire. There were no trees and it was very hot.  The team that won was Smoke a Fat one.  QN4U got an amazing 200 point chicken!!!!!  However, there is no 200 points score, the most that anyone can get is 180 points.  The judges had made a mistake, and after they had announced that QN4U got the Grand Champion about 20 minutes later they came and took the check back. Guess its not over until it over!  They finished 7^th Chicken, 2^nd in Pork Ribs,, 5^th in Pull Pork, and 7^th in Brisket. Steve and Vince were back on the road that night to proceed on to Molalla, Oregon.   Once again they drove half way and stop at a Hotel 66, yes its Hotel 66.  It gave them a chance to shower and get some rest.  This BBQ contest has a lot of trees and was a little bit cooler than Medford. The team that won was QN4U.  Steve and Vince entered the Iron chief contest cooking pork chops along with a bell pepper.   The dish looked good but the pork chops weren’t cooked fully, so it didn’t score well.  Was quite an experience for both of them!  They placed 3^rd in Pork Ribs, and 5^th in Pull Pork.

          The next contest took the team to Fairfield, California in August 2006 for the annual Tomato festival.  This was a street faire also, with everything tomato that you could think of.  A motorhome was rented and Toni, Ron, and Ardith met Steve and Vince at their home around 5:00 pm and we proceeded up Hwy 5 to Kettleman City where we would camp and spend the night.  We went to eat at a restaurant where the special was “chicken fried steak”, however they were out of it.  Steve, Ron, and Vince had to pick something else on the menu, was a big disappointment to say the least.  Everyone had a good nights rest and we proceeded the next day to Fairfield.  Ron stayed up all night at this event with Steve and Vince.  The weather again was quite warm.  Booths were set up along the streets with lots of crafts and every kind of tomato that you could think of.  They even had heirloom tomatoes, guess they are tomatoes seeds that were passed down through families.  Ron bought a zebra tomato, which came in several different colors, from green to deep red, and it had black stripes around it.  At this event All Hogs go to Heaven finished 2^nd in Pork Ribs and 5^th in hot sauce

The next event would take us to Clovis, California in September 2006.  This contest was a street faire with lots and lots of crafts, a hot air balloon festival, and a classic car show.  Steve and Vince left around 4:00 am to head for Clovis, while Ted and Ardith left around 7:00 am.  Toni, Ron, Don and Kathy would drive up later in the day and meet us there.  There were a lot of activities at this event, including a contest where they gave contestants a grill, and all the ingredients needed to create a mouth watering dish and 1 hour to put it all together.  It was fun to watch as everyone had the same ingredients, tri-tip, cake mix, corn meal, pasta, peppers, etc.  Watching them bake cake on the grill was fascinating.  The contestants had 2 minutes each to describe their creation to the judges.  It was amazing what they all came up with in this contest.  In this BBQ contest we finished lst in Chicken and 5^th in Pork Ribs.

In September 2006 the draw for the Jack Daniels championship BBQ contest was held.  There were 3 teams from California - All Hogs go to Heaven, Otis and the Bird, and Burbank Bad Boys - in contention for this event, but only one team would be going. All Hogs go to Heaven was in the draw for the Jack!  However, it was not meant to be, there were 3 names in the hat and they drew the Burbank Bad Boys.  Since we had a Grand Champion we were invited to attend the American Royal in Kansas City, Mo in October 2006.  The plans were made to go, Ted, Ardith, Steve and Vince would drive, and Toni and Ron would fly.  Steve and Vince were so excited that they left a day early.  Ted and Ardith met up with them on the second day in Gallup, New Mexico.  They camped at KOA’s along the way, and the next stop would be Elk City, Oklahoma, with the final night in Lawrence, Kansas.  On 5 October 2006 we drove into the American Royal in Kansas City, Missouri, what a sight to behold!  It was so exciting, the place was huge and there were so many BBQers, 86 in the Grand Champion Invitational Competition, and 486 in the open competition.  Toni and Ron met us there the morning that we arrived and the team was complete. 

As we all sit here today we are reflecting on all that transpired to get us to this point in just one short year!  As the first day of competition came to a close, Toni and Ron had to leave for California as they had to work the next day.  We attended the awards ceremony and what a surprise when All Hogs go to Heaven was called, to receive, 13^th place in Chicken.  The announcer said “the 13^th WORLDS BEST CHICKEN” award goes to All Hogs go to Heaven!  This was an international competition making the winners the best in the world, not just the USA.  We also got 16^th in Pull Pork.  All Hogs go to Heaven was representing California and the California BBQ Association.  The next day in the open competition we finished 224 out of 480 teams, we were in the top half, so not bad for so many teams.  We started home and decided to go another route as we came in on Hwy 40 and would come home on Hwy 70.  The weather didn’t cooperate and Steve and Vince experienced some snow flurries and Steve stated he had a white knuckle ride in the Colorado Mountains.  Vince had to pry Steve’s hands off the wheel.  Don’t think they will forget that ride anytime soon.  All in all we traveled 3,300 miles with 55 hours of driving time. It was truly an experience none of the team will forget. 

May the family team spirit of the All Hogs go to Heaven continue to blossom through the coming years.  As Steve’s motto states, “there is no “I” in team”.   Even though a lot of our duties from the beginning of the contests have changed, the team spirit lives on.  Thanks to all the team and family members that have helped throughout this past year too make this a Grand Champion year!