BBQ Competition Coming to Hampton

 A Kansas City Barbeque Society Sanctioned Master Series BBQ contest is coming to Hampton.

This BBQ will be the first of its kind in the area since the Mason City Up In Smoke BBQ Bash, said event organizer Charlane Janssen. It will be held in the parking lot area of Access Inc. on Aug. 22 and Aug. 23 — the same weekend as the annual car show coordinated by Jeff and Tracy Spear.

The idea came to Charlane years ago, when she realized Hampton didn’t have its own barbeque competition. So last year, she began by going around to businesses to see if there’d be interest in sponsoring the event. And, much to her delight, there was. The very first sponsor for the event was First Bank Hampton, who donated $7,500 in January.

“First Bank Hampton is very happy and proud to be a sponsor of this event,” First Bank Hampton CEO Dave Heuberger told the Chronicle. “It’s a big deal to the bank to support big community events like this.”

The event will kick off on Friday, Aug. 22, with teams arriving that morning and a cook’s meeting that evening. These contests are serious business for those compete in them, said Charlane, as many of them travel from several states away.

“These are some of the top cooks in the midwest,” said Charlane. “The meat is judged on appearance, taste and tenderness, with the last two being the most important.”

Charlane has also planned a “kids que,” in which children ages 12 to 18 will get the chance to cook up a dish of their own. The children’s cooking competition, which is sponsored by the Franklin County Cattlemen, will take place on Friday, Aug. 22, at 5 p.m. The children are expected to arrive at 5 p.m. There will be required attendance for the safety guidelines overview from Iowa State University, followed by cooking, which will begin promptly at 5:30 p.m. Meat will need to be off the grill and plated by 6 p.m. or sooner and awards will take place at 6:45 p.m. Is your child interested in cooking? Contact Charlane at cprallejanssen@gmail.com or 515-689-9770.

The Kansas City Barbeque Society, a non-profit, is the world’s largest organization of barbecue and grilling enthusiasts with over 16,000 members worldwide. The KCBS sanctions over 400 barbecue contests worldwide.

Read more about the competition, the vendors and the cooks who will be giving it their all in our next edition of the Hampton Chronicle.