a big presence, along with the likes of Chefs from Dinosaur, Hill Country, Hometown, Salt & Bone, Kimchi Smoke & Butcher Bar. All of whom were looking to be top dog in this prestigious fight for the Crown of ‘Brisket King of New York’.
We had little to do by comparison; sauce was made, briskets were resting, so despite having very little space to move we didn’t need a lot compared to some folks. It
did make me realise though, that our dish was going to have to really stand out in it’s simplicity given all the ‘extras’ that were being prepared around me. We literally just had meat and sauce.
At the allotted time I handed in to the judges in what was a maelstrom of bodies by then, the venue was literally packed. Smoke and steam filling the air to compliment all the excited voices and glasses being raised. As soon as that was over, the full realisation that we now had to sling 500 portions out to the ticket buying guests and all of the VIP’s hit me and I just got my head down, kept slicing - “bit of fat, bit of lean” for everybody. I repeated my description of the main themes of the dish, it’s flavours, as well as an explanation of what an English bloke was doing amongst all of this, so many times that I actually got quite good at it by the time the last few portions went out.
In fact, there was even a mini celebration when a group of VIP’s who’d been queueing and queueing to try our food thought they’d been left high and dry when we ran out, only for me to remember that I still had what was left of the judge’s turn in brisket in the cambro. Cheers went up, more potions were passed out and then with a big hug of thanks to John Patterson and Johnathan Forgash who had helped get me through this storm, we hit the bar. I was satisfied that ,against all of the logistical odds, I had actually made it to the States and had turned in and served a dish that I was both happy with and pretty much reflected my approach to BBQ. Not standard, classic fare, but honest and with a twist. Quiet Waters BBQ.
We were several drinks in when the prize giving announcement started and we were happily cheering somewhere near the back of the crowd when, in a slightly surreal moment, Jimmy announced I had come in second place. There is a chaotic video somewhere that captured the genuine shock on my face and my disbelieving acceptance speech. Clearly the UK must know something about good BBQ and it seemed fitting that a city built on welcoming immigrants from all
over the world and valuing what they bring to the mix should have appreciated me and my offering to the BBQ Gods.
So, what have I learnt of New York BBQ? I know that for some people it will never be authentic and that those are the same people who would probably feel similarly about UK BBQ.
That what they would call authentic is only a merging of many foreign influences and cultures, says quite a bit
about the concept of authenticity itself but also it misses the point that New York, like the UK, is all about taking influences from all over the place and mixing those with traditional methods and styles to form any number of variations, too numerous to nail down with any single set definition. It’s just excited and inspired folks doing their own thing with smoke and fire, just like it is here.
© John Gower May 2018
Twitter: @QuietWatersFarm
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