Well, well, well. I finally attended my very first BBQ Festival and Competition…and NOW, I fundamentally understand both the ADDICTION to participate in these events as well as the fervor of entering The BBQ Competitions!!! The sights and sounds, the action- packed schedules, THE AROMA OF BBQ WHICH CAN BE SNIFFED FROM AT LEAST 3 BLOCKS AWAY, the live music, the cocktails, and the absolute JOY and palpable happiness from the crowds are all elements that EACH AND EVERY BBQ FAN SHOULD ABSOLUTELY EXPERIENCE IN PERSON!!! I paid a visit to The Tampa Bay Barbecue Festival and Competition on Sunday January 12th, 2025. Held on the spectacular waterfront at the historic VINOY PARK in Downtown St. Pete, Florida, the venue was sublime. The Festival Event Information advertised, “The Annual Tampa Bay Barbecue Festival at Vinoy Park is a festival full of rich & smokey brisket, juicy chicken, fall-off-the-bone-ribs and delicious craft beer, spirits, and cocktails.” Features included in the venue statement were; “What could be better than sitting waterside, enjoying some smokey barbecue and sipping on a cold beer… and listening to some live bands?” AND, YES: THIS EVENT SPELLED BBQ/BARBEQUE AS= BARBECUE. For a full list of vendors, competitors, and upcoming announcement of the 2025 competition WINNERS please visit: www.tampabaybarbecue.com
As touted, “The heart of the 2025 Tampa Bay Barbecue Festival is the fierce barbecue competition featuring the nation’s finest pitmasters. Competitors will fire up their grills and smokers to deliver a range of expertly prepared meats, from brisket to ribs, chicken, and pork butt. VIP Attendees sample each competitor’s briskets and cast their vote for The Brisket Bay VIP Award. With every bite, you’ll experience the unique flavors and techniques that make each competitor stand out. Whether you’re a BBQ Aficionado, or just a fan of great food, this is your chance to savor the best barbecue Florida has to offer!”
Included in our VIP Pass Ticket were:
- -Entry to Festival with access to Waterside VIP Area
- -Brisket Samples from Competing BBQ Teams after the official “Turn-Ins”
- -Cocktail, Beer and Spirit Samples from Local Breweries and Distilleries
- -Large Dining Tent and Comfy Furniture
- -Private Front Row/Stage Area with High Top Tables
- -Executive A/C Bathroom Trailer
- -Cigar Lounge with Furniture
- -Small Batch Whiskey Bar
- -Mobile Golf Simulator, Mini Golf Course, and Photo Booth
As we entered the VIP Brisket Bay Tasting Tent, we were greeted by the brightest ray of sunshine, Halle Brooks. Halle is a current student at St. Pete College. She has been given opportunities to work St. Pete Specialty Events, The BBQ Festival being one of them. Halle says that, “I do it for fun -but for the money as well! I try to collect a few side-hustles,” like these culinary specialty events coordinated and held in St. Pete. “I just love being outside in nice weather and with The St. Pete Community!” She is an EXCELLENT, ATTENTIVE, VIVACIOUS EMPLOYEE, and as patrons, we recommend her future hiring at other outstanding social gatherings! She explained the VIP Brisket Bay Tasting Rules in order for us to cast our votes for the coveted “People’s Choice Award!” Her effervescent attitude kicked off our day at the festival with a glorious start! The brisket sampling Servers were jovial, convivial, and knowledgeable as they expertly doled out portions of each competitor’s brisket! It was a veritable MEAT TASTING FEAST!
We sampled some delightful cocktails from PREEZ DISTILLERY, owned and operated by Ramon Perez, and located in Largo, Florida. PREEZ Distillery hand-crafts high quality vodka and spirits from fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Quote: “Our distillery houses 6 main stills, allowing our team to produce 400 monthly bottles. This ensures that every bottle of vodka and liqueur is always fresh and of the highest quality. What sets our spirits and liqueurs apart is that we don’t blend them. Instead, each vodka and liqueur is aged individually resulting in a smooth and distinct flavor that you won’t find anywhere else, and each recipe is meticulously developed through extensive research, trial, and error, and the enjoyment of sampling the finest vodkas available. But don’t take our word for it; take a tour and taste it for yourself!” Tours and Tastings are available, and you may find further information at www.preezdistillery.com
While waiting in the VIP Brisket Bay Tasting line, we purchased scrumptious Margaritas from COCO BONGOS, “The Leader in Frozen Drinks,” A Full Service Nationwide Mobile Bar Company. To learn more about their fleet of mobile bars, products, and set-ups, you may go to their website http://cocobongos.com After receiving your brisket tastings, you were invited to try a variety of tasty rum sips from 82*W Distilling, www.82westrum.com – Veteran Owned and Operated, 82 West Sports Bar in The Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa, states that it is a “Bar of A Navy Man,” and that “It’s no surprise that a Navy guy would own a rum bar!” Also serving up Spirit samples was www.fishhawkspirits.com Fish Hawk Spirits is Florida’s only “Medal Winning Farm-to-Bottle Ultra-Premium Spirits Distillery,” located in Ocala, Florida, Fish Hawk has a portfolio of 27 Spirits! “Distilled on a farm in a shed with a hand-built stills and processing equipment,” Fish Hawk grows their own corn for making their whiskey, harvests fresh fruit from their own groves, and grows their own herbs and botanicals for their infused Spirits! Offered for sale at The Specialty Cocktail Tent were unique and specifically tailor-made beverages with apropos names such as: “Maple Bacon Old Fashioned,” The Butcher,” “Mermaid Lemonade,” “Tornado,” and “Washington Apple!”
One of our favorite “Meet and Greets” was at the tent of www.fireandsmokebbq.com where we sampled, then purchased, a SENSATIONAL NEW BBQ SAUCE named, “OLD TOWN,” created by Mikey and Amanda Kay. “Fire & Smoke BBQ Company,” is family owned and operated by the couple, along with the assistance of their daughter, Ember. “Our story begins back in 2017,” say the husband and wife duo, when they “wanted to do more with their passion of cooking. After running a successful BBQ Food Truck in the Chicagoland area, many (customers had) asked how they could recreate those flavors at home. And that’s how the product line was born.” You can follow the family’s gastronomic adventures on social media where you shall see cooking videos and recipe sharing, of course utilizing their 6 essential rubs; “The Classic- All purpose,” “Estes Ave.-Burger Seasoning,” “Shiitake-Steak Rub,” “Six Corners-Brisket Rub,” “Windy City-BBQ Rub,” and “Second City-Sweet BBQ Rub,” as well as The Old Town BBQ Sauce. Personally speaking, we were awed when Mikey told us to expect a “kick of pepper” at the end of our sauce tasting…and gosh, by golly, was he ever telling the truth! YUM-THEN, POW! Fire & Smoke BBQ Company produces “small batch products” and Mikey and Amanda “strive to provide high quality seasonings for EVERYDAY COOKING. Free from fillers, preservatives, MSG, and sugars, Fire & Smoke BBQ Company (products) can be used in the kitchen just as easily on the grill or smoker.” “With the addition of their Award-Winning original BBQ sauce, Old Town, –the product line comes full circle to provide mouth-watering flavors for the ultimate cooking experience.” You may find them on Instagram and TikTok @firesmoke_bbq and “Smoking it Right,” on YouTube as well as purchasing their fabulous products from their website, listed above.
Photo 8
Fire & Smoke BBQ Company Collage
This delectable, succulent, flavorsome bottle of “Old Town Original BBQ Sauce,” shall be packed in our suitcase to bring it back up to Rhode Island next week! As described on the bottle itself, Mikey and Amanda “developed a sauce that would work with (other) flavors and enhance food, not masking a single thing. It’s years later, and they’re finally putting it (the BBQ Sauce) into a bottle to enjoy at home, on the go, and everywhere in between. Don’t hide a single flavor. Enhance it with the sweet heat of Old Town BBQ Sauce.”
Throughout the day, equally important, over 100 BBQ and side dishes, and desserts from over 30 food vendors were available to purchase! The options were ENDLESSLY PLENTIFUL! And, besides BBQ, A DELICIOUS RECURRING THEME RAN AMONG THE FOOD TRUCKS….BACON. THERE WAS BACON EVERYWHERE!! There was a “Godshall’s Simply Better Beef Bacon Tent,” replete with SWAG Bags. Godshall’s states, “Since 1949, Godshall’s has been dedicated to supplying premium bacons, sausages, and hams to family tables everywhere. We pride ourselves on our quality, freshness, and taste. Our team of employee-owners constantly strives to bring wholesome products to consumers. If you’re ready for premium US raised turkey and beef delicacies that taste great, look no further.” www.godshalls.com “The Bacon Boss II Truck,” was parked along the end perimeter of the festival, with their Motto, “KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE…AND YOUR BACON CLOSER,” emblazoned among the painted flames of their Food Truck. You can find The Bacon Boss HQ Restaurant in Wesley Chapel, Florida in addition to their Food Truck and further info is available at www.thebaconbosshq.com Next, we found the HILARIOUS, HARD-WORKING, and WONDERFULLY ENTERTAINING employees of “BACON ON A STICK…AND THAT’S IT!” The story of “Bacon On A Stick,” is such: “Founded with a passion for all things bacon, Bacon On A Stick was born out of a desire to share the joy of this timeless treat in a convenient, on-the-go format. Our journey began with a simple idea: what if we could make bacon even more irresistible by putting it on a stick? That lightbulb moment sparked the creation of our signature product—perfectly cooked, mouthwatering bacon served conveniently on a stick.” Their signature classic flavors include: Honey Hot, Garlic Parmesan, Bourbon Cinnamon, and Jamaican Jerk. You may contact them to cater your event, or provide a BACON TENT for you, at www.bacononastickandthatsit.com We ordered the Bourbon Cinnamon Bacon- “12 inches of thick cut smoked bacon,” on a skewer! IT WAS CRAZYPANTS INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS! Follow them on Instagram @bacononastick
Finding myself at the end of the day, IN A BACON INDUCED COMATOSE STATE, as well as with 346 photos and 14 videos encapsulating The 2025 Tampa Bay Barbecue Festival and Competition, I am aptly entitling this article “PART 1!” Again, aside from the HULABALOO and ABUNDANCE of BBQ, there is an ancillary enthralling component to this festival reportage which I cannot FIT into a single article! I hope you shall be looking forward with preeminent anticipation to PART 2 of my festival coverage in next week’s edition of www.bbqnews.com !!
Let the whirlwind depiction of luscious BBQ and unequivocal, distinguishable BBQ jubilance and jollity continue!
