Please read official KCBS Rules for Master Series Professional Teams below.
Please note the turn-in times for the Waxhaw Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cook-off are one half hour earlier than stated in KCBS rules.
2023 KCBS Rules and Regulations
Pro Team Contest Information
Waxhaw’s Grill’n and Chill’n is a part of our fall festival called Autumn Treasures. You will set up for the BBQ Competition on Friday with judging and the public tasting to take place on Saturday. The event is sanctioned and judged by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS.) Judging starts at 11:30am and ends at 1:30pm on Saturday. The contest consists of 4 categories for the professional teams (chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder or butt, and beef brisket.). All 4 categories are required for Grand Champion. Only one entry per team per category is allowed.
All cooking spaces will be numbered and pre-assigned by the contest organizers and trained volunteers.
Each team will consist of a chief cook and up to (4) assistants. Each team will provide cookers to be used exclusively by that team within the team’s assigned cooking space. You will provide your own meat for the KCBS judged portion of the contest. Containers for your KCBS judged entries will be provided by the event organizers.
It is extremely important that you read through the KCBS Rules and Regulations. It is your responsibility to closely follow/understand this information to avoid disqualification for the judged portion of the contest.
Electricity and water will be provided for all spaces (one 20 amp service included only). You must provide an extension cord for electricity and a hose for water. Quiet generators are permitted. Each team must have a fire extinguisher. All of your equipment-including vehicles–must fit in your assigned space. All other vehicles must be parked in a separate parking lot near the competition due to safety reasons.
The cook's meeting is mandatory and will be held at 4 pm on Friday at the contest site.
KCBS judging times will be as follows on Saturday as outlined below:
- 11:30am: Chicken
- 12:00pm: Pork ribs
- 12:30pm: Pork butt or shoulder
- 1:00pm: Beef brisket
PRO Team Public Tasting Information
The public tasting will take place on Saturday from 1:30 pm - 4:00 pm. Participation is optional but highly encouraged as it helps raise additional funds for local charities who provide the volunteers to help run the contest for you. We ask that you cook only the amount of Butts and Ribs that you can conveniently fit on your grill and not interfere with your KCBS entries. We will provide all volunteers and supplies for public sampling and supply the Boston Butts and St. Louis Style Ribs for the public tasting to all participating teams.
Public Tasting People's Choice Voting Procedures
We always strive to make the People's Choice Awards the fairest so they are not just a local popularity contest. We've tried several methods over the years and based on input from participating BBQ Teams have found that a combination Public Vote combined with a Celebrity Judge Vote is the fairest for all teams competing in this category. For the 2021 contest, we will combine the public electronic voting using BamText with a Celebrity Judge vote. A number will be given to all who have purchased a public tasting ticket. Voters will call into an 800 number to vote for their favorite team for butts and ribs. One call per cell number. A panel of 5 celebrity judges picked from the Town of Waxhaw will also judge each cooking team's Butts and Ribs entry separately on a scale of 1-15. The judges' scores will be added together to give each team two subtotals - one for Butts and one or Ribs. The public will also vote for their favorite taste of Butts and Ribs. The top 3 teams receiving the most public votes will receive additional points to be added to the celebrity judges subtotals. The team with the most public votes will be awarded 15 additional points; second most votes will receive 10 additional points, third most votes will receive 5 additional points. The combined total of the celebrity judges and the public vote will determine the Public Tasting Winners in Butts and Ribs (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place). The celebrity judges rankings will be the deciding factor in the event of a tie.