The BBQ Guru

ShotGun Fred Pirkle

Shotgun Fred had a stroke last Friday morning at the Pork in the Park BBQ Cook-off on Friday. Shotgun Fred is doing well considering what happened. The Stroke on Friday Morning was caused by blood pressure and he had two blood vessels break in his brain. Thank God they were not bad enough to where the Doctors had to perform surgery. They are currently trying to stabilize his blood pressure and then they can move him from Salisbury to Abington Hospital, back here in PA. The good news is that he is showing progress of movement and feeling on his left side. Shotgun is and has always been a fighter and we need your prayers to help him along. Thank you to everyone showing support, It has been nothing less than amazing how great all of you BBQ folks have been since Friday. If you called me on my cell phone and I did not respond, please call me again. I have been a little overwhelmed with the situation.
Thank you,
BBQ Bob Trudnak

 

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The BBQ Guru will be at the Mid Atlantic BBQ Association Expo

This year the MABA is planning another exciting Expo on Friday and Saturday, April 11^th and 12^th, 2008, at the Host Resort in Lancaster, PA.  This expo should be of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about all types of barbecuing and outdoor cooking themes.  Whether you’re a backyard novice, a seasoned competitor, a campfire cooker, or an outdoor kitchen upscale griller, you’ll find something of interest with these vendors, their demonstrations, and the variety of seminars.  

Both days will feature indoor seminars and vendors as well as outdoor vendors and demonstrations.  Vendors will be very willing to discuss with you their latest products and wares.  Learn new techniques from the product developers.  Share techniques with fellow cookers.  The seminars on Friday are themed more for the experienced cook, while Saturdays seminars are geared more for the back yard fanatic.  Both days will feature outdoor demonstrations of vendors grills and cookers.  Saturday will feature outdoor demonstrations on upscale grilling, campfire cooking, barbecuing and other forms of grilling from manufacturers, vendors and restaurant professionals.

On Friday, the Expo will open at 11:00 a.m.  Indoor and outdoor vendors and demonstrators will be available all day with the indoor seminars scheduled throughout the afternoon. Topics for Fridays indoor seminars will include:

- How to run a successful contest

- Basic knife selection, care and sharpening techniques

- Taking it from Recipe to Labeling

- Catering and Vending

- Food quantity estimation

- Meat Curing

Please stay for the social hour on Friday evening to continue discussions and meet fellow enthusiasts. Friday night will be our banquet with a keynote guest speaker for our entertainment.  A charity auction is scheduled on Friday night after the banquet benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network.

On Saturday there will be a full day of indoor vendors and seminars and outdoor demonstrations and samples. Topics for Saturday’s indoor seminars will include:

- How to select a grill

- Brining and Marinades

- Spice and sauces

- Everything you wanted to know about Charcoal

Saturday outdoor demonstrations of the latest vendors equipment for grills, smokers and outdoor kitchens. Food samples will be available via charity ticket donations to taste the products cooked on the various vendor equipment.   Regional restaurant professionals will be demonstrating upscale grilling techniques for all types of meats and side dishes.

 

Sidenote: The BBQ Guru made it into the Inquirer food chat today.

 

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Some Pictures from the Fiery Foods Show

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Fiery Foods and BBQ show in Albuquerque

This is my first Fiery Foods and BBQ Show in Albuquerque, NM. It is being held at the beautiful Sandia Resort and Casino. There are over two hundred exhibitors here with all types of hot sauces, salsas, and other non-food products. It is a great place to be for someone that loves fiery foods and bbq! The show runs through Sunday, so stop by and say hello!

Steve Kennedy

301-332-5939

steve@ecommacademy.com

 

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The BBQ Guru in Albuquerque for the Fiery Foods show!

Hi, it's Steve Kennedy again for The BBQ Guru. It's a beautiful day here and I am really looking forward to the Fiery Foods show here at the Sandia Resort. I won't have an exhibit booth, but I will be circulating, making contacts and working hard to establish some new BBQ Guru dealers. I will be available all weekend on my cell phone if you are interested in our DigiQ II controller...I have several here in a variety of colors. I'd also be interested in meeting any BBQ Guru customers in town for the show...the first beer is on me!

Steve Kennedy

301-332-5939

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Bye Bye Vegas, Hello Albuquerque!

We had a great show at CaterSource in Vegas. There was a lot of interest in all The BBQ Guru products, but the hit of the show was the Three Bay Caterer. Catering businesses that do a lot of off-site catering really liked the option of Sterno or charcoal. Other big plusses on this system are the wash station feature and the ability to knockdown the whole unit in about three minutes! We also sold and took orders for DigiQ's and TallBoy Cookers. All in all, a great show!

Well, now it's on to the Fiery Foods show in Albuquerque. I will be in town till Monday morning March 3. The BBQ Guru doesn't have an exhibit booth this year, but if you are coming to the show and are interested in seeing a DigiQ controller, please call me at 301-332-5939 so I can show you one. I will have several colors on hand, and we will do some special pricing and add a large accessory bag ($15 value) for your controller for FREE!

I might even buy you a beer if you say that you saw this post.

Thanks,

Steve Kennedy

301-332-5939

 

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In Las Vegas for the CaterSource Trade Show

This is Steve Kennedy in Las Vegas with BBQ Bob Trudnak and Kenny Baker. We are in Booth #1506 with many BBQ Guru products. The Three Bay Caterer is the most popular item so far. We also have a Tall Boy and DigiQ II's in each color. There are a lot of people here that have added BBQ to their menu. The neat part is the large number of caterers that are considering adding BBQ because of customer demand. Those are some smart customers! We will be set up tall day Wednesday, so stop by and see us here in Vegas...BBQ City!

 

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Time to get to Vegas for the CaterSource show!

Well..the public day went well at the NBBQA convention. I was ready to try something a little different for dinner, so I went to Pappadueax's last night. They had excellent seafood, and I was lucky enough to have some fine company in Shelly from DESPERADOS BBQ and Catering Co. in Buffalo, NY, and Harry from Great American BBQ in Alameda, CA. 

I left Austin today, and now it's on to Las Vegas for the CaterSource show.

 

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Tied for First Place in the NBBQA Idea Fair

This is Steve Kennedy with my daily update from the NBBQA Convention. Each year the Association has an Idea Fair where members share different ideas on how to help everyone improve their BBQ business. Well, There were about twenty 3 minute presentations from members on a variety of BBQ and business subjects. I presented a marketing idea about using blogs and social networking to encourage customers to participate in the business. Well, I haven't won anywhere near the amount of trophies that Fred and Bob have for their BBQ, but I did get to walk to the stage with a first place tie. I hope that I represented The BBQ Guru well! I may have to ask Fred if I can put my trophy next to some of his in the retail store. I wish my BBQ was as good as my ideas!

Another Bus Trip Today!

Today we went to visit some of the local Austin BBQ joints. First up was Smokey Mo's Bar-B-Q. Mo Melchor and his wife Lisa were about as gracious as hosts can be. They shared the things that have made them successful in one of the toughest city's to start a BBQ business. They have four restaurants in the Austin area and we visited their largest. Their smoked turkey was some of the best that several people have ever had. Great family, great BBQ!

Second up was Rudy's Country Store. This was a much bigger restaurant with the best and cleanest kitchen that I have ever seen. A true chef's dream with miles and miles of stainless steel. The meats were all good, but their creamed corn was absolutely awesome and well worth the trip.

Last, but certainly not least was Stubb's Legendary Kitchen. Ladies and gentlemen, he was a cook! This place was a treat to visit and they treated us to something even better than BBQ...Beer! I had a Shiner Bock while we toured the kitchens and even the music stage. Surely worth a visit on your next trip to Austin.

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