KCBS, a good thing to join?

[sparky]

my wife ask me is i was a member of the KCBS? nope. she said why not? your a bbqer who lives in the backyard all weekend cooking stuff. true. so, is it a good thing to join the KCBS? on more thing. do the judges get to hang w/ the teams? when i become a judge in april.

 

[squirtthecat]

I use my KCBS membership to get into Restaurant Depot, and the occasion Sam's Club renewal discount. That's about it so far..

 

[SmokinSteiny]

Squirt, do you get a discount on the Restaurant Depot Membership or does your KCBS Membership get you in for free? sorry might be a dumb question but gotta ask......

 

[squirtthecat]

It gets me in the door. They issue a day pass to KCBS members. Nor do they charge me sales tax, which probably isn't right..

 

[SmokinSteiny]

Sweet! Thanks buddy!

 

[Jarhead]

I've been a member for 2 years and took the CBJ class.
I am not renewing this year cause I see no benefit to it.
I have a resale license and a Sam's Business membership.

 

[scooter]

Sparky, as long as you wish to be a CBJ, you'll need to be a member of KCBS. If you've paid for your CBJ class in April, you've already paid for your first years membership fee so you're already a member of KCBS unofficially. I'm considering switching to the lifetime membership next year since I'm working toward Master CBJ and it's cheaper to just pay a one time fee for lifetime membership and be done with it. I personally don't care what the benefits are to me for being a KCBS member other than it's part and parcel to being a CBJ. It's a good organization that promotes BBQ and that's really all I care about at this point. I'm also a member of CBBQA because I'm in CA and the CBBQA does a lot of charity work so I want to support them also. If you let your KCBS membership lapse, your CBJ status within KCBS will also lapse.
As for seeing the teams, yes, you can talk to the teams on Friday but are not allowed to talk to the teams on Saturday until after turnins are completed. I usually say good morning to the teams on my way to the tent and wish them luck and that's about it. Afterwards, I hang out with them sometimes until after awards are done. Help them turn out peoples choice, help clean up etc.

 

[scooter]

STC, the KCBS membership doesn't get you tax free status at RD, at least not in CA. If RD didn't charge you sales tax that was a mistake on their part, or, you showed them a business license, or, the rules are different in IL than they are in CA. The only way you can get out of paying sales tax at RD in CA, that I know of, is if you have a business license. No business license, no tax free.

 

[sparky]

to be honest w/ ya i was only taking the judges class to see what judges are suppose to look for. i figured knowledge from the class would make my bbq better. maybe i need to take a bbq cooking class instead. i don't really want to judge. the comp cooks are making money on how they place. i have seen what it takes to be a comp cooks. its expensive and they loose their weekends w/out their families. its hard on them. i don't want to take money out of their pockets. the only benifet would being apply to eat some really good bbq. i like eating bbq. i was a little league umpire for 12 years. don't want to make anymore calls. thats why i'm married. my wife tells me what i'm suppose to think now. much easier.

 

[Big Poppa]

Take a class then. There are some really good ones

 

[HoDeDo]

It gets me in the door. They issue a day pass to KCBS members. Nor do they charge me sales tax, which probably isn't right..

RD is set up to sell wholesale to businesses... so there is no membership fee, they simply only sell to people that have a Tax ID &/or Biz License. So, Yes you are correct, it isnt right. BUT they are essentially treating you as if you are KCBS, vs. a standalone person, who is a member. That is probably why they didnt charge you sales tax.

Sweet! Thanks buddy!

It doesnt have to be a rest. or food related business to shop there... any Joe with a Tax ID can come in and buy coffee for the office, etc. So as long as you can show biz status, you are in.

to be honest w/ ya i was only taking the judges class to see what judges are suppose to look for. i figured knowledge from the class would make my bbq better. maybe i need to take a bbq cooking class instead. i don't really want to judge. the comp cooks are making money on how they place. i have seen what it takes to be a comp cooks. its expensive and they loose their weekends w/out their families. its hard on them. i don't want to take money out of their pockets. the only benifet would being apply to eat some really good bbq. i like eating bbq. i was a little league umpire for 12 years. don't want to make anymore calls. thats why i'm married. my wife tells me what i'm suppose to think now. much easier.

FYI, typically you are going to get "average" BBQ at a judging class... they want everything pretty plain to focus on what you are supposd to get in the box.... proper doneness, etc.... but flavor is subjective... so they many times will just use one rub on everything, and not put alot of effort into the food... it is for demo, not to give you killer BBQ .... so dont go to a judging class to eat killer food

 

[sparky]

i wish there were more cooking classes in northern california.

 

[TTNuge]

i wish there were more cooking classes in northern california.

If I can go to a Trigg class at BPS all the way from Minnesota you can bring your 3 MAK owning behind down there to a class!!!! Trust me, it's worth it.

 

[sparky]

If I can go to a Trigg class at BPS all the way from Minnesota you can bring your 3 MAK owning behind down there to a class!!!! Trust me, it's worth it.

when is the next trigg class? might have to start saving up for it. if i sleep in my truck do i have a get a hotel? what is the format of the class? starting on a friday ending on a sunday?

 

[scooter]

Sparky, in the CBJ class you will learn what KCBS standards are for BBQ in terms of meat texture, scoring, what types of garnish are allowed in the box and then ignoring the garnish when judging (it's a meat contest), removing your personal (and sometimes regional) preferences from the judging process, when not to talk, or make any sound at all, at the table and when it's OK to talk again and other KCBS rules.
Knowledge of how to judge competition BBQ won't necessarily make your BBQ taste better but tasting other peoples BBQ in competitions will introduce you to many different flavor profiles. That's the reason I got into judging. I wanted to see what other peoples BBQ tasted like and hopefully be able to raise my backyard game up. Not really to compete, but to just do better in my backyard. But somewhere along the way while judging I found myself really connecting with the competitors and judges, making friendships and just basically loving the BBQ community to where now I want to be a part of it all the time. If not on the comp trail then on Facebook in the off season. You know how you feel when hanging around with BP and the boys? That's what I'm talking about but there are many other teams out there to meet and get to know. Every single team that I've met so far has been a pleasure to know and see and chat with on and off the comp trail.
What I'm saying is, even though you're getting into judging for reasons other than judging, it just may lead you into the BBQ community and into friendships with the people within the community. They are what makes judging worth it. It's not totally about the BBQ, although it's amazing BBQ sometimes, it's really about the people and associations you make along the way that makes it so great!

 

[scooter]

Also, Vince Carrocci from the cooking team Rhythm & Que will be teaching a one day class in Santa Clara but it's on the same day as the CBJ class otherwise I'd be going to the cooking class. Vince is a top competitor and I use the same cookers he uses, WSMs. I would be mostly going to see his techniques with WSMs but would absolutely absorb anything else that he taught. He's a champion cook. $345 per person which is dirt cheap for comp classes from champions.

 

[ACW3]

I took the KCBS CBJ class and then decided that before I would start judging, I should take a KCBS BBQ cooking class. I learned a lot about competition cooking. I have been able to transfer this new knowledge to my home cooking. My wife attended both classes with me. This is both a good and bad thing. Good because we could do more things in retirement together. Bad because she is now "critiquing" everything I cook! My meals get pretty good scores, most of the time. Anything less than an "8" and I am not a happy camper.

Seriously, whether you intend to cook competitively or not, I think you develop a better appreciation for what the comp cooks go through. It also creates an awareness about scheduling and timing whatever you are cooking on your grill. As a KCBS CBJ you get some "meat" that ranges from underdone to way overdone. Lots of potential areas to improve. If you can swing the bucks, you will learn something that will make you a better cook in the long run. Off my soapbox now.

Art

 

[TTNuge]

when is the next trigg class? might have to start saving up for it. if i sleep in my truck do i have a get a hotel? what is the format of the class? starting on a friday ending on a sunday?

They start Friday afternoon and end on Saturday. I bet if you bought another grill that you might be able to talk BP into letting you pitch a tent behind the building somewhere! Besides you want to be there when JT fires up the smoker on Saturday morning so there's only about 4 to sleep anyways. Buy a big Meadow Creek, bring an air mattress and sleep inside it.


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[sparky]

Buy a big Meadow Creek, bring an air mattress and sleep inside it.

now, now. 3 maks and a hasty bake is a good start.

 

[Big Poppa]

Vince is a fine cook but he is teaching you techniques and not his recipes...read the fine print...Im working with CBBQA (hopefully) on sponsoring a Butchers BBQ class...David is one of the very very top cooks out there..I would do more than Trigg but they are just so much work that Im starting to sponsor them too instead of hosting.