Big James Kitchen TN
Rating
1714
peak 1714
Contests
28
in the data
First seen
2023-11-17
latest 2026-06-12
Best ToY finish
#26
Backyard 2025
Grand champs
6
4 reserve
Category wins
4
19 podiums
Overall top-10s
15
of 28 contests
Avg finish
top 19%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
4 🔥
Current form
389.81 ▼
last 5 vs career avg 458.56 (-68.75)
Walk rate
71%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
6
best run (overall)
Best single call
180.0000 🔥
Consistency
±142.51
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 175.62 · weakest Brisket (168.44)
Road miles
4113
mi across 28 mapped stops · furthest 476 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
NORALA BBQ TEAM has finished one call ahead of Big James Kitchen 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
⚔️ A tough matchup
YES, DEAR BBQ has come out ahead in 5 of their 7 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of COOL HAND QUE in 10 of their 12 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Smoke on the Water Guntersville (BACKYARD ONLY) is their spot: 2 Grand Championships in 2 visits.
💔 The heartbreaker
Finished level on points with the champion at Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (2026-03-20) — the Grand Championship went to the KCBS tiebreaker.
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 44-team field at Sip & Swine BBQ Festival.
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) (2024-04-19) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 24-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, LEE LA Q.
Teams like this (closest power rating, TN first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 25 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 180.0000 🔥 | 169.6800 | 175.62 | top 18% |
| Pork Ribs | 25 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 180.0000 🔥 | 157.0628 | 172.66 | top 29% |
| Pork | 18 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 177.7144 | 169.1200 | 174.14 | top 18% |
| Brisket | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.7028 | 160.5144 | 168.44 | top 56% |
“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.
By state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| TN | 11 | 3 | top 13% |
| GA | 6 | 1 | top 26% |
| AL | 5 | 2 | top 23% |
| IL | 1 | 0 | top 19% |
| MO | 1 | 0 | top 17% |
| OH | 1 | 0 | top 30% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 10 | 5 | top 15% |
| Large (40+) | 15 | 1 | top 22% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2025 (14 contests)
- Cooks mostly in TN (13 of 28 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (25 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) (2024-04-19)
- Wins it all in 21% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 458.56
- 4 perfect 180s on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 535.4288 | 398.70 |
| 2025 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 692.4800 | 420.00 |
| 2024 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 695.3600 | 519.37 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 674.1372 | 674.14 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-12 | Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITOR SERIES) Springfield, TN | 1 / 32 (535.4288) | 3 (180.0000) | 2 (178.8572) | 3 (176.5716) | — |
| 2026-05-24 | 8th Annual KCBS World Invitational: Master Series Invitational and the Backyard Series Invitational (Sunday, May 24, 2026) Lebanon, TN | 20 / 82 (346.2284) | 14 (175.4056) | 31 (170.8228) | — | — |
| 2026-03-20 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship Lebanon, TN | 2 / 125 (358.8572) | 2 (180.0000) | 3 (178.8572) | 12 (172.5716) | — |
| 2026-03-06 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival Lawrenceville, GA | 1 / 44 (354.2744) | 5 (175.4172) | 1 (178.8572) | 7 (176.0116) | — |
| 2025-11-14 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic Cumming, GA | 3 / 56 (354.2744) | 5 (176.5716) | 3 (177.7028) | 5 (169.6800) | — |
| 2025-09-12 | Smoke on the Water Guntersville (BACKYARD ONLY) Guntersville, AL | 1 / 28 (357.7144) | 6 (177.7144) | 3 (180.0000) | — | — |
| 2025-09-12 | The Great Alabama BBQ Cook-off Qualifier "Lakeside Pork Fest" (ONE MEAT PORK) Guntersville, AL | — | — | — | 1 (176.5716) | — |
| 2025-08-22 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 6 / 31 (348.5256) | 7 (175.4056) | 10 (173.1200) | — | — |
| 2025-08-01 | Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Florence, AL | 2 / 23 (351.9656) | 2 (176.5600) | 6 (175.4056) | 13 (169.1200) | — |
| 2025-06-20 | Poosa Q Montgomery, AL | 26 / 42 (334.2056) | 21 (169.6800) | 27 (164.5256) | — | — |
| 2025-06-13 | Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITOR SERIES) Springfield, TN | 1 / 36 (535.4172) | 2 (178.8572) | 3 (178.8572) | 2 (177.7028) | — |
| 2025-05-30 | Honeybee BBQ Competition Lafayette, GA | 18 / 26 (673.0056) | 8 (175.4056) | 25 (157.0628) | 3 (175.4172) | 17 (165.1200) |
| 2025-05-25 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Sunday, May 25, 2025) Lebanon, TN | 5 / 70 (352.5716) | 7 (176.0000) | 6 (176.5716) | — | — |
| 2025-05-24 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Saturday, May 24, 2025) Lebanon, TN | 29 / 106 (692.4800) | 14 (177.7028) | 61 (170.8344) | 27 (175.4056) | 67 (168.5372) |
| 2025-05-23 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Anything Molasses (Friday, May 23, 2025) Lebanon, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025-03-21 | Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) Athens, AL | 16 / 43 (342.8116) | 22 (169.6800) | 8 (173.1316) | — | — |
| 2025-03-14 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship Lebanon, TN | 22 / 100 (342.8000) | 18 (173.1200) | 25 (169.6800) | 5 (176.5600) | — |
| 2025-03-07 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival Lawrenceville, GA | 2 / 45 (354.2744) | 2 (177.7028) | 2 (176.5716) | 2 (177.7144) | — |
| 2024-11-15 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic Cuming, GA | 7 / 58 (345.0856) | 7 (175.4056) | 13 (169.6800) | 5 (175.4172) | — |
| 2024-09-13 | Smoke on the Water Guntersville (BACKYARD ONLY) Guntersville, AL | 1 / 33 (354.2628) | 6 (175.4056) | 1 (178.8572) | — | — |
| 2024-08-16 | BBQ & Fly-In on the River Excelsior Springs, MO | 11 / 65 (695.3600) | 14 (175.4172) | 29 (170.2628) | 12 (176.5600) | 23 (173.1200) |
| 2024-07-19 | The Buckeye BBQ Classic Hillsboro, OH | 10 / 33 (682.2056) | 7 (173.7028) | 17 (165.6800) | 16 (169.1200) | 10 (173.7028) |
| 2024-06-07 | Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITOR SERIES) Springfield, TN | 2 / 33 (521.6572) | 4 (176.5600) | 8 (173.1200) | 6 (171.9772) | — |
| 2024-05-24 | 6th Annual KCBS World Invitational - OPEN Lebanon, TN | 39 / 118 (689.0284) | 29 (175.4172) | 88 (167.3828) | 18 (176.5600) | 64 (169.6684) |
| 2024-04-19 | Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) Murfreesboro, TN | 1 / 37 (529.1428) | 1 (180.0000) | 7 (173.1200) | — | — |
| 2024-03-15 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship Lebanon, TN | 13 / 93 (338.2284) | 10 (171.4056) | 19 (166.8228) | 10 (170.8228) | — |
| 2024-03-15 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Lebanon, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023-11-17 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic Cumming, GA | 38 / 60 (674.1372) | 29 (171.9656) | 31 (170.8344) | 28 (170.8228) | 54 (160.5144) |
Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #49 (628 pts) | #60 (558 pts) | #60 (578 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #26 (1135 pts) | #46 (999 pts) | #45 (974 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #799 (146 pts) | #670 (261 pts) | #1116 (111 pts) | #403 (549 pts) | #845 (151 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #142 (403 pts) | #176 (308 pts) | #148 (373 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #489 (383 pts) | #513 (398 pts) | #680 (278 pts) | #521 (383 pts) | #581 (323 pts) |