Cook the books KS
Rating
1565
peak 1565
Contests
11
in the data
First seen
2022-08-13
latest 2026-06-06
Best ToY finish
#304
Master 2025
Grand champs
1
4 reserve
Category wins
4
14 podiums
Overall top-10s
5
of 11 contests
Avg finish
top 36%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
2 🔥
Current form
698.26 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 685.08 (+13.18)
Walk rate
55%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
3
best run (overall)
Consistency
±18.71
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 174.40 · weakest Brisket (169.82)
Road miles
6012
mi across 11 mapped stops · furthest 1659 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ has finished one call ahead of Cook the books 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
Rub Sweat and Beers has landed one call behind them 2 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
CHUNKY BBQ has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Back 40 Smoke Co in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Throttled Up BBQ Throwdown is their spot: an average finish in the top 15% across 2 visits.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 4.5828 points of the Grand Championship at Smoke in the Orchard, Powered by Sunpoke (2025-08-08).
🐣 Announced themselves early
Finished 1 of 11 at their very first tracked contest, Atlantic Canada Championship BBQ Festival (2022-08-13).
Teams like this (closest power rating, KS first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 180.0000 🔥 | 167.9656 | 174.40 | top 30% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 179.4400 | 157.6572 | 170.96 | top 36% |
| Pork | 9 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 179.4400 | 158.8112 | 170.85 | top 42% |
| Brisket | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 180.0000 🔥 | 162.2284 | 169.82 | top 45% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NS | 3 | 0 | top 16% |
| KS | 2 | 0 | top 77% |
| TN | 1 | 0 | top 28% |
| NB | 1 | 0 | top 13% |
| ME | 1 | 0 | top 69% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 5 | 1 | top 14% |
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 69% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 61% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2025 (4 contests)
- Cooks mostly in NS (3 of 11 contests)
- Most-entered category: Pork Ribs (10 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Atlantic Canada Championship BBQ Festival (2022-08-13)
- Wins it all in 9% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 685.08
- 2 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 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 705.1428 | 705.14 |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 707.4172 | 696.53 |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 657.0168 | 657.02 |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 665.6456 | 661.89 |
| 2022 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 693.6456 | 693.65 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-06 | Throttled Up BBQ Throwdown Upper Onslow, NS | 2 / 15 (705.1428) | 1 (180.0000) | 3 (176.0228) | 7 (169.1200) | 1 (180.0000) |
| 2025-10-10 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) Lynchburg, TN | 25 / 90 (691.4516) | 11 (177.1544) | 15 (176.5600) | 38 (172.5828) | 70 (165.1544) |
| 2025-08-08 | Smoke in the Orchard, Powered by Sunpoke Keswick, NB | 2 / 15 (707.4172) | 8 (174.2628) | 3 (176.5716) | 2 (179.4400) | 2 (177.1428) |
| 2025-07-19 | The Great Atlantic BBQ Competition Bible Hill, NS | 2 / 11 (686.7196) | 5 (169.6684) | 2 (171.9656) | 2 (176.5600) | 4 (168.5256) |
| 2025-06-08 | Throttled Up BBQ Throwdown Upper Onslow, NS | 2 / 12 (700.5488) | 5 (174.8456) | 2 (174.2860) | 2 (176.5600) | 4 (174.8572) |
| 2024-08-17 | Kora Kares for Kids Hiram, ME | 27 / 39 (657.0168) | 23 (167.9656) | 31 (160.5256) | 21 (166.2972) | 28 (162.2284) |
| 2024-08-17 | Kora Kares for Kids (ONE MEAT RIBS) Hiram, ME | — | — | 2 (179.4400) | — | — |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 296 / 487 (665.6456) | 106 (173.7144) | 217 (169.7028) | 400 (158.8112) | 315 (163.4172) |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest Kansas City, KS | 197 / 211 (658.1256) | 45 (175.4172) | 207 (157.6572) | 200 (161.1084) | 174 (163.9428) |
| 2022-08-13 | Atlantic Canada Championship BBQ Festival Nova Scotia, B0W 1M0 | 1 / 11 (693.6456) | 1 (176.5600) | 4 (166.8228) | 1 (177.1428) | 2 (173.1200) |
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 ↗ | Master | #416 (240 pts) | #461 (265 pts) | #554 (215 pts) | #596 (145 pts) | #405 (265 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #304 (713 pts) | #490 (458 pts) | #376 (688 pts) | #317 (713 pts) | #365 (613 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1182 (60 pts) | #1211 (70 pts) | #641 (320 pts) | #1145 (80 pts) | #1204 (60 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #938 (120 pts) | #1011 (120 pts) | #1118 (120 pts) | #989 (120 pts) | #989 (120 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #674 (261 pts) | #701 (261 pts) | #890 (186 pts) | #701 (261 pts) | #743 (236 pts) |