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Vinícius Aguiar: The Brazilian Chef Bound for the BBQ World Cup
An accident kept Vinícius Aguiar out of competition for seven years. In 2026 the MasterChef Brasil culinary producer came back with four friends, a perfect 180 in brisket and a BBQ World Cup seat. Next: Las Vegas and $1,000,000.
Heath Riles: Memphis in May Grand Champion and BBQ World Cup Qualifier
At seventeen he welded his own grill in Ashland, Mississippi and set a goal to win Memphis in May. Nearly thirty years later Heath Riles won it twice in a row. Next: the BBQ World Cup and a cook for $1,000,000 in Las Vegas.
Goldee’s Bar-B-Q Won Fort Worth’s First Michelin Star. More Than Half the Line Had No Idea.
Five friends from Arlington, Texas, learned barbecue at five different restaurants and opened Goldee’s Bar-B-Q in 2020. On October 8 it won Fort Worth’s first Michelin star. Most of the line that morning had not heard.
Bobbyrey Delgado: Si Quema BBQ Pitmaster and BBQ World Cup Qualifier
He was the youngest cook in the field when he qualified in February, a twenty-year-old who built his own barbecue team in a high school that had no kitchen. Now Si Quema BBQ, with his mom on the crew, is on the road to the BBQ World Cup and a shot at $1,000,000.
Mark Lee: Six Butt BBQ Pitmaster and BBQ World Cup Qualifier
Mark Lee and his wife are retired lawyers who cook competition barbecue as a hobby, off a pair of Weber Smokey Mountains, no sponsors. That hobby just earned Six Butt BBQ a seat at the first BBQ World Cup, cooking in Las Vegas for $1,000,000.
He Sold Bubba’s Barbecue After Nearly 40 Years in the Business. He Still Comes In Almost Every Day.
Ralph Miller could no longer lift hogs onto the pit, so he sold his Charlotte barbecue restaurant. The new owner changed the name, the menu and the dining room. She kept the old sign, and she kept him.
The Loser Buys the Barbecue: Gardner-Webb Wins a Third Straight North-South Barbecue Bowl, 12-10
Two Carolina colleges play football every fall for a hog trophy and a catered dinner. The loser pays, and the winner picks North Carolina or South Carolina barbecue. Saturday’s game came down to a safety.
Before Lionel Messi’s Last Match for Argentina, His Teammates Lit Two Grills
Lionel Messi’s farewell to Argentina’s national team began two nights before the match, at an asado in the team’s grill house. The cook has fed him since 2005, and the two share a birthday.
Trains Skip Lexington, North Carolina 364 Days a Year. On October 24, Eight Will Stop for Barbecue.
Lexington, North Carolina has no regular passenger rail service. On October 24 the state will stop eight trains there anyway, one block from a free barbecue festival that has drawn as many as 200,000 people in a single day.
Steve Cook of Cook Cartel: New Zealand's First BBQ World Cup Qualifier
Seven years ago Steve Cook could barely fire up the backyard barbecue. This August he won King of the Mountain and became the first New Zealander ever to reach the BBQ World Cup. In April of 2027 he and Cook Cartel carry the Kiwi flag onto the Las Vegas stage, cooking for $1,000,000.
BBQ World Cup Qualifier: BBQ Maestros
A burned-out Indianapolis IT guy and his brother-in-law built the BBQ Maestros into a road team, came 0.62 points short in Pennsylvania, then qualified in Missouri. In April of 2027 they cook in Las Vegas for $1,000,000.
At 25, Toronto Pitmaster Andrew Golden Just Won a Michelin Award for Texas Barbecue
Four years ago Andrew Golden was smoking brisket in his mom's backyard in Toronto. On September 22, Michelin named him its Young Chef for the region and gave Golden Horseshoe Barbecue a Bib Gourmand, one year after the restaurant opened.