Barbecue Judge Training Is Fun And Tasty
Thirty-two trainees attended the barbecue judge’s training class Saturday in Water Valley. The training was held by the Memphis Barbecue Network to recuit and train judges for upcoming cookoffs.
By Jessie Gurner
Herald Contributor
WATER VALLEY – Water Valley’s first barbecue judge’s training was held Saturday, April 15 by the Memphis Barbecue Network (MBN) at the Mechanics Bank Community Room.
The class was organized by Tonya Eubanks, who oversees the Train Track Pork Attack BBQ contest held each year during the Watermelon Carnival as a MBN sanctioned event. This year mark the 13th anniversary for barbecue contest.
The training was taught by MBN representatives Tom and Barb Anderson and covered all aspects of barbecue judging. The topics included Definition of Meat Categories, Judging Process, Judging Criterion, and MBN Scoring, Score Cards and Judge Responsibilities among other subjects.
The trainees had the opportunity to taste barbecue from prepared by two MBN Championship Teams. Providing the tasty part of the judging materials were Hank Vaiden, an American chef and owner/founder/head pitmaster of Hank’s #1 BBQ Restaurant and Hanks Products in Columbus; and Nick Woolfolk, head pitmaster and co-founders of “The Great Pig in the Sky” BBQ who won their first Grand Champion title in Water Valley at our Trains Track Pork Attack BBQ contest in 2021.
The training attracted 32 would-be new judges. The day long event began with an 8 a.m. registration and carried through until the final test at 2 p.m. This class was only the first step to becoming a fully qualified MBN judge.
Judges who complete the training could be part of the team that judges this year’s Train Track Pork Attack.
“I want to thank everyone that came to Water Valley’s MBN BBQ judges class,” Eubanks reported. “It was a great turn out. MBN reps Tom and Barb Anderson are the best in my opinion.
There are a lot of people I want to thank. The pitmasters at Hank’s #1 Championship BBQ and The Great Pig In The Sky BBQ for giving their time and being awesome teachers. Chamber of Commerce board members for always being there to help. Mechanics Bank for allowing us to use their Community Room, and Freida Hallman for sharing her barbcue judges’ knowledge with us. If you missed our class you missed a good one. See you new judges in August.”
