Turlock caterer wins one category in Famous Dave’s competition. What’s next?
If you were in the area of the Vintage Faire Mall in Modesto on Saturday, there was no escaping the smell of barbecue coming from the parking lot of Famous Dave’s.
That’s because six barbecue teams spent the majority of the day there cooking chicken, ribs and whatever else they wanted in the last competition of the national All-Star BBQ Series.
The People’s Choice round went to a Turlock caterer and his now award-winning chicken wings.
“I’m trying to take it all in,” said Kevin Ortega, owner of KO.BBQ. “I always enjoy these regardless of whether I win or don’t win anything.”
Since he did win People’s Choice, Ortega received a “golden ticket” to go to the World Food Championships in Indianapolis. The competition, in October, is a multi-day, live event showcasing “some of the world’s best cooks competing for food, fame and fortune,” the WFC website says.
The WFC has 10 categories: bacon, barbecue, burger, chef, dessert, live fire, rice, sandwich, seafood and vegetarian. Ortega’s win qualified him for the barbecue category, with a $150,000 grand prize on the line if he wins in his category and wins again at “The Final Table” round against the winners of the nine other categories.
“I’ve been trying to investigate and figure out (what to expect),” Ortega said. “Honestly, I’m excited.”
For the People’s Choice round at the qualifying contest Saturday, competitors had to make 200 chicken wings for the public to try, using Famous Dave’s products and five other ingredients of their choice.
Ortega said he prepared by purchasing “every single one” of Famous Dave’s rubs and sauces to play with flavor profiles and see which ones worked well together.
“I think (winning) definitely helps us out as a barbecue business, being local,” he said. “Since we don’t have a restaurant, it was definitely an advantage to put our name out there ... I think we must have passed out all of the (business) cards that we took.”
For KO.BBQ catering information, visit instagram.com/ko.bbq.
Where KO.BBQ landed in the rest of the competition
The other categories of the competition at Famous Dave’s were chicken, ribs and wild card.
In the overall results, Ortega got fourth place out of six teams, with a score of 90.46 out of 100. The other local team, B&E BBQ out of Turlock, got sixth place, scoring 85.17.
Porktera BBQ out of Morgan Hill was the grand champion, with a score of 98.0417, and Los Mexi”Q”tioners out of Hollister was the reserve grand champion, with a score of 97.1667. Both won “golden tickets” to the WFC.
Here are the results in each category:
Chicken
- First place — Porktera BBQ, 97.88
- Second place — KO.BBQ, 96.63
- Third place — Los Mexi”Q”tioners, 96.63
- Fourth place — B&E BBQ, 89.5
- Fifth place — El Mero Mero Taquero (out of Gilroy), 87.75
- Sixth place — Cowabunga BBQ & Catering (out of Citrus Heights), 77.63
Ribs
- First place —El Mero Mero Taquero, 100
- Second place — Porktera BBQ, 100
- Third place — Los Mexi”Q”tioners, 97
- Fourth place — Cowabunga BBQ & Catering, 87.5
- Fifth place — KO.BBQ, 82.75
- Sixth place — B&E BBQ, 81.5
Wild card
- First place — El Mero Mero Taquero, 97.88
- Second place — Los Mexi”Q”tioners, 97.88
- Third place — Porktera BBQ, 96.25
- Fourth place — KO.BBQ, 92
- Fifth place — Cowabunga BBQ & Catering, 90.88
- Sixth place —B&E BBQ, 84.5
Bee reporter Maria Figueroa contributed to this story.
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