VINEMONT, Ala. – The sweet smell of sticky barbecue sauce rolled in the crisp air and called to hungry stomachs far and wide Saturday, Oct. 21 at Vinemont’s fourth annual Chillin-N-Grillin BBQ Fest. In all, around a dozen competitive and local grilling teams accepted the assignment and attempted to grill their way to the title of “The Best.”
Tucked into a corner, rows of vintage (and some not so vintage) and modified cars and trucks lined the outer edge of the parking lot. There were vintage Volkswagen Beetles, a handful of colorful corvettes and a Mustang from practically every decade.
The sidewalks of the Vinemont Sports Complex were lined with booth after booth full of vendors chomping at the bit to show off their goods. With over 40 vendors present, every member of the family had something that called to them. Vendor items included hair tinsel and feather extensions by Enchanted Hair, beautiful handmade domestic and exotic wood gifts by Kustom Wood Creations, freeze-dried sweets and sours by Three Moons Candy and video game-inspired scents by Side Quest Candles and Wax Melts.
The Raging Bones, a local garage band from West Point, rocked the crowd with head-banging renditions of popular songs; parents listened and sang along while keeping eyes on their children running from bounce house to bounce house.
Saturday’s main attraction was the BBQ Fest Grilling Competition, where grillmasters came together to decide who is the best of the best when it comes to throwing down. Two of BBQ Fest’s teams came from out of town; Wee Daddy’s drove from Athens and Bonnie Blues BBQ made the trek from Nashville. The other teams call Cullman home – Rise and Swine, Codeman’s BBQ, BrightFuture BBQ, Hanceville Fire & Rescue, Cullman County Sheriff’s Office, Cullman EMS, Cullman Fire Rescue, Cullman Army Recruitment and Retired REHAU Fire Team; with the latter six teams competing in a “Battle of the Heroes.”
Teams had the choice of two competitions, and were encouraged to enter both. One competition was People’s Choice – the first 200 guests were invited to purchase a set of tickets which then bought a grilled wing from each competing booth; guests were also given a voting ticket to drop into the basket of their favorite team.
The second competition was best Backyard BBQ. In this competition teams had strict guidelines and restrictions to follow and were judged based on their ability to grill two meats: a chicken thigh and bone-in pork ribs. A stipulation of the competition was that local business, Butcher Meat Co. provided the meat used, the cost of which was included in the teams’ entry fees, to ensure safe transportation to the event, and ensuring each team had the same quality and cut of raw product. The judges dutifully tasted and tested each team’s grilled items and ultimately, after many napkins, wet-wipes and deliberation, declared first through fifth place in each category.
Battle of the Heroes winners
- The Retired REHAU Fire Team
- Cullman County Sheriff’s Office
- Cullman Fire Rescue
- Cullman Army Recruitment
- Hanceville Fire & Rescue
People’s Choice winners
- Codeman’s BBQ
- Wee Daddy’s BBQ
- Rise and Swine
- BrightFuture BBQ
- Cullman Fire Rescue
Backyard BBQ winners
Chicken thighs
- Rise and Swine
- Codeman’s BBQ
- BrightFuture BBQ
- Bonnie Blues BBQ
- Wee Daddy’s
Bone-in pork ribs
- Wee Daddy’s BBQ
- Codeman’s BBQ
- Fire Hose Wings
- Rise and Swine
- Bonnie Blues BBQ
Grand Champion and Reserve Champion
Cody Vondrasek with Codeman’s BBQ swept the competition and wowed the judges’ tastebuds to the point of being declared the competition’s Grand Champion, and Rise and Swine took home the Reserve Champion title.
Copyright 2023 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
