Unfortunately our trip must come to a premature end. Rae Elster, Patrice’s mother, died last night at her home. Followers of this blog who knew Rae, are aware of what a special woman she was. Those of you who did not know her missed a very special person. She will be sorely missed by everyone. She was 91.
Patrice and I are ending our trip today and returning home.
Today was the final day of judging. This was the big day. This was the day when all the champions would be crowned. Judging categories are Ribs, Shoulder and Whole Hog. On arrival to the judge’s tent Patrice and I were assigned to judge Shoulder. I don’t really care about the category. What I like is going onsite (where you go to meet the competitors) rather than blind judging (when you just receive boxes of product). It is when you really get to taste the flavor of the competition. You cannot begin to imagine how important this is for the people who participate unless you are an onsite judge.
As you pass the various tents on your way to your assigned tent, all competitors are on the lookout because they don’t know which passerby might be their judge. When you arrive at the tent to which you are assigned you are typically greeted by the captain of the team (not necessarily the head cook). The first team I met was an experienced team but still seemed very nervous when talking to me. For example their greeter introduced himself and forgot my name 3 times (not a problem for me). He introduced me to his team, Billy Bob, Billy Ray, Billy Joe and Daisy (yes, they are from the South) and then escorted me over to their cooker and explained their cooking method. Then Billy Ray (or was it Billy Bob?) brought the pork over to a small table which was set with a table cloth, napkin (with a napkin ring), plate, but no silverware (any judge who uses any cutlery is immediately labeled as an “Idiot”. Also on the table was a glass of water and a sorbet to, in Daisy’s words, help cleanse the palate before trying the meat. Billy Ray then started to pull pork off the bone hoping to satiate my appetite so I would not even bother going to the other booths. When I was done tasting they handed me a moist hot towel to clean my hands. Then as I left I received, the always embarrassing, round of applause accompanied by the chant, “Thank you Judge Robert! Thank you Judge Robert!.
Then it was on to my second team. They too tried to kill me with kindness. Again they seemed like they were nervous. I am the one who should be nervous. They are just in a silly barbecue contest. I am the Jew who will burn in hell for eating all this pork plus I have to face my vegetarian niece and try to explain my actions. Team #2 was a much larger team and I can’t remember all their names. They did have a nice touch by serving me (in additional to some amazing pork) some of “Aunt Phoebe’s” lemon tart as a little dessert. I didn’t have the heart to tell them I am a chocolate lover and lemon is just not my thing.
I then visited my third and final team. Here I met Sam, David and his wife Sarah. This had my worried. Had my rabbi sent this trio to kill me? I have never seen a team with less than a small army (rather than a team of only 3) and these names definitely had me freaked out (these were not southern BBQ type names). I was offered some pork but before I tasted any I insisted they eat some first. Much to my amazement the pork was spectacular. This team was also unique in that instead of giving me a moist towel to wash off they gave me a dipping bowl. I said, “Wow feels just like Passover”. My joke was followed by complete silence. I realized this was the wrong crowd for that joke but at least I knew it wasn’t an Israeli death squad sent to eliminate an infidel.
The festival is now over and it is time to move on. It has been a rough few days in Memphis due to all the heat. But I will be up and ready to go in the morning.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 