Apr 7–8, 2023 · Meerbeke, Belgium · BELGIUM · 📍 GEMEENTEHUISSTRAAT
Reps: Marianne Van Galen, Mayco Van Galen
SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE won Grand Champion at the Eastern BBQ Contest 2023 - Day 1 on April 7, 2023 in MEERBEKE, 9402 at GEMEENTEHUISSTRAAT, scoring 683.9656 in a field of 10 teams. BBQ Team Laurentius took Reserve Grand Champion with 674.8456. Category winners: Chicken — BBQ Team Laurentius (173.7028); Pork Ribs — SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE (171.4400); Pork — PARKSTAD SMOKERS (176.0000); Brisket — SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE (176.0116). This is the 4th of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2022 edition was won by Southern Dutch BBQ.
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
What it has taken to win here, 2019 to 2023 — this edition picked out.
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 77 times in 100
SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE came in rated below the field's top team, BUNCH OF SWINES, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 23-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
2 of 4 tracked editions
Southern Dutch BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 4 tracked editions.
Chicken places 2–3: COOKLOUNGE BBQ and BUNCH OF SWINES tied on 171.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 6–7: PARKSTAD SMOKERS edged ANTWERPS BBQ-TEAM by 0.0112. Pork Ribs places 6–7: The BBQ Ranch edged BBQ Team Laurentius by 0.0116.
SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE won Pork Ribs, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork at 6th.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: BUNCH OF SWINES (won 2019).
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 2019 | Ninove | Ninove, 9600 | 25 | 701.1544 | BUNCH OF SWINES | IQ - NETHERLANDS |
| Aug 13, 2021 | Meerbeke | GEMEENTEHUISSTRAAT | 19 | 677.0520 | Southern Dutch BBQ | IQ - NETHERLANDS |
| Apr 15, 2022 | Meerbeke | GEMEENTEHUISSTRAAT | 19 | 683.3944 | Southern Dutch BBQ | WHITE SQUIRREL BBQ |
| Apr 7, 2023 ← this one | Meerbeke | GEMEENTEHUISSTRAAT | 10 | 683.9656 | SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE | BBQ Team Laurentius |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 173.7028 | 168.5828 | 158.7884 |
| Pork Ribs | 171.4400 | 166.2400 | 158.8688 |
| Pork | 176 | 167.9656 | 153.1316 |
| Brisket | 176.0116 | 162.8572 | 146.2972 |
10 entries · top 683.9656 · median 665.0226
10 entries · top 173.7028 · median 167.4170
10 entries · top 171.4400 · median 165.6972
10 entries · top 176 · median 167.6856
10 entries · top 176.0116 · median 162.5600
Run by the organizers alongside the sanctioned contest. These are judged on their own terms and do not count toward the overall score, so they're kept out of the meat stats above.
3 entries · top 173.7256 · median 169.1544
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ Team Laurentius | |
| 2 | SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE | |
| 3 | Barbecoa BBQ Team |