Hot grills and hotter competition at Lethbridge BBQ battle
The meats are smokin' and the grills are lit down at Exhibition Park in Lethbridge.
Barbecue masters from across Alberta have made their way to Lethbridge for the inaugural 'Smoke, Wind and Fire' competition.
It's the first event put out by the Kansas City Barbecue Society since COVID-19 restrictions lifted, and the people down at ex park couldn't be more excited.
"This event, in its inaugural year, has been an absolute success," said Mike Warkentin, CEO for Lethbridge & District Exhibition.
"We're full in our masters series category for what we expected and we've got twenty four teams competing today in our backyard competition."
The backyard competition is made up of amateur grill cooks from across the province looking to prove they're the best of the BBQ.
The winner, which will be chosen on July 10, will win bragging rights, a cash prize, a new smoker with accessories worth up to $1,300 and much more.
The second competition, the Master Series, will take place on July 11, with the winner there taking home similar prizes.
It's not all about the competition though.
Chef's John Jackson and Connie Desousa, co-owners of the Char Restaurant Group in Calgary, also came down, but not to compete.
They held demonstrations throughout the day, showing others new and exciting ways to cook their meat.
They handed out food samples of their charcuterie from their restaurants, as well as face bacon; smoked meat from a cooked pig's face.
Jackson biked down to Lethbridge on Thursday to prep for the event and was pumped to see what Lethbridge cooking is all about.
"It's about taste of place , and so much of that comes from south of Calgary in the Lethbridge area," he told CTV News.
"Everything from the farms, the ranches, the artisan producers, I think this is just a great showcase of all of that."
For their main demonstration, Desousa and Jackson showed the crowd how to properly debone a pig head.
Desousa, who was also a finalist on Master Chef Canada, is able to do this in less than 50 seconds, a world record.
However, they decided to slow it down a bit to show one Lethbridge chef how it's done.
"John and I have decided to just show Chef Devynn Bohn the ropes of how to debone a pig head," said Desousa.
"She's never done that before and we're excited to teach Devynn, and teach the audience, how to do that."
Devynn Bohn is the co-owner and pit master of Lethbridge's own Hickory Street.
She is also competing in the competition and was honoured to learn from the best.
"It wasn't as gross as I thought it was going to be, I survived just fine," she said.
"It's fun to learn at the hands of a master and somebody that knows what they're doing, so it was really fun."
In addition to 'Smoke, Wind and Fire', it's also Street Machine weekend, so the classic cars were out and about at ex-park as well.
The event also featured a beer gardens as well as the Saturday Farmers' Market in the South Pavilion.
Jackson and Desousa say they were excited to be included in such an amazing event.
"It's been a great experience for us to really understand the culinary scene that's blossoming here in Lethbridge," said Jackson.
The event is free for anyone who wants to come down and they're inviting everybody, young and old, to come and take in the amazing sights and smells.
For more information, you can visit the 'Smoke, Wind & Fire' website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.