Not only do I love good BBQ (I’m planning my next road trip to the South based around the Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook) … I’m a V.I.P Judge for the State Competition this Saturday!!

So, if you love BBQ, and want a fun afternoon, come visit me at the BBQ tent on Saturday, August 8th, to see the Iron Chef BBQ competition in action! I’ve posted all the details below…

Maine State BBQ Competition

VIPs Judge Iron Chef at BBQ Competition

Five food experts judge at the Celebrate MAINE Festival’s (www.celebrateMAINEfestival.com) inaugural event, “Mainely Grillin’ and Chillin’ Country BBQ State Competition” in Eliot, Maine.  They will be judging Iron Chef Competition on Saturday, August 8th.

The event’s sponsor, J.P.’s Shellfish (www.jpshellfish.com), will reveal the “Secret Ingredient” at 10:30 a.m.  The teams will then have just over four hours to prepare their signature dishes for turn-in to the VIP judges at 2:00 p.m., at the Main Tent.  A total of twenty competition-level BBQ teams have signed up for a chance to win the bragging rights of “Mainely Grillin’ and Chiilin’s Iron Chef.”

The esteemed panel of judges includes:

James King, Director of Marketing, J.P.’s Shellfish. James has worked with shellfish throughout his entire life.  He expanded this experience to a professional level through 20 years of work at premium restaurants and distributors.  Raised in the coastal community of Kittery, Maine, James took the ocean like a fish takes to…He really liked it.  At a very early age, James came to appreciate the Earth’s oceans as an invaluable, yet terrifically fragile, resource. He champions environmentally sustainable fisheries and the premium product distributed by J.P.’s Shellfish.

Chef Paul Kirk, Baron of BBQ. Chef Paul has a huge reputation within the BBQ community.  He has won over four hundred and seventy-five cooking and barbecue awards, including seven world championships.  He is the author of several notable BBQ cookbooks, including his latest work, co-authored with Ardie Davis, “America’s Best BBQ.”

Jean Kerr, Editor, Taste of the Seacoast Magazine. Jean Kerr has been writing and publishing books for more than twenty years. She is Editor of Taste of the Seacoast, the Boston-Portland, Maine food and wine magazine. She is author of Mystic Seafood, Union Oyster House Cookbook, and the forthcoming Windjammer Cooking: Recipes from Maine’s Windjammer Fleet.

Ali Goodwin, blogger, www.galfoodie.com. Ali Goodwin, a.k.a Gal Foodie shares her passion for great food through stories and recipes surrounding her day-to-day culinary adventures @GalFoodie.com. An award-winning specialty food designer and former restaurant owner, Gal Foodie shows you what she’s cooking, where she’s dining, her “foodie” favorites, and more. Life is short. Eat well!

Kathy Gunst, World Renowned Food Entrepreneur. Kathy Gust, former Culinary Editor for Food & Wine, is the author of 13 cookbooks. Her most recent books, Stonewall Kitchen Breakfast and Stonewall Kitchen Winter Celebrations will be out this fall, Chronicle Books. She is the “Resident Chef” for WBUR’s award-winning show, Here and Now, heard on over 150 public radio stations. She writes a blog for Down East called “Notes from a Maine Kitchen” found on www.downeast.com.

Rachel Forrest, Food and Dining Editor & Content Manager, Dow Jones Media Group & The Portsmouth Herald. Rachel Forrest is the restaurant critic, food writer and food editor for the Portsmouth Herald and Dow Jones Local Media Group. She has written about food and drink for Taste of the Seacoast, Accent, Yankee and NH Magazines and is co-authoring a new cookbook all about Maine cuisine with Arrows Restaurant chefs Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier due out  next year. Her radio show, Wine Me Dine Me can be heard on alternate Wednesdays at noon on Portsmouth Community Radio.

Celebrate MAINE Festival (www.celebrateMAINEfestival.com) is an authentic family event that honors the people, places and products that make Maine so attractive to visitors from around the world.  It is held August 8-9 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Raitt Homestead Farm Museum, 2077 State Road, Eliot, Maine.  Admission is $5.00 per person, children 12 and under are free.  Plenty of free on-site parking.  FMI: (207) 748-3303.

Premium sponsors of the event are Prime Motor Group, J.P.’s Shellfish and Piscataqua Landscaping. Supporting sponsors are Shipyard Brew Pub, Jasper Wyman & Son, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, The Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce, Sturgeon Creek Enterprises, LLC, DennyMike’s ‘Cue Stuff, Maine Veterinary Referral Center and Raitt Signs. The media sponsor is Taste of the Seacoast. The festival will also highlight Maine BBQ products from Maine Grilling Woods, Wicked Good Charcoal, Raye’s Mustard and Vic Firth Gourmet.

The Raitt Homestead Farm Musuem (www.eliotantiquetractorandengine.org) is dedicated to the preserving farm history and promoting valuable farming heritage.  The 33-acre farm on Route 103 in Eliot is only five miles north of the Kittery Outlets.

Don’t miss it!

~ Gal Foodie