Mauldin’s 2016 SOOIE BBQ Cook-off was a HUGE success. First of all I would like to apologize for the tardiness of this recap of last week. We had a death in our family that we found out about just hours after the completion of the cook-off. Thank you to each of our Cookers, Judges, table captains, novice table teachers, and event coordinators for making this happen. Congratulations to each of the cooking teams who made the competition just that a “close competition”. When all was said and done, the point spread between 20 teams from beginning to end was about 2 points. AMAZING BBQ FROM ALL!

Top 5 award winners in BUTTS:
1. Bold Branch BBQ Boys - Joe Hilliard
2. Piggy Fins Barbecue - Jeremy Smith
3. Boar’s Nest BBQ - Doug Mills
4. Blind Swine BBQ - Mike Sanders
5. Carolina Squires BBQ - Brian Pearson

The top 3 placements in RIBS: (TOP Winner only took all)
1. Bold Branch BBQ Boys - Joe Hilliard
2. Blind Swine BBQ - Mike Sanders
3. Boar’s Nest BBQ - Doug Mills

We cannot forget the Friday night Anything Butt Competition. We had 2 categories this year: Sweet and Savory. The winner receives free registration for next years’ competition. The winner of the ANYTHING BUTT were:
Sweet category was: HIGH ON THE HOG BBQ - MATT TALBOT (Banana Pudding)
Savory category was: SWINE HOUSE BBQ - STEPHEN NEWMAN (Spring Roll)

CONGRATULATIONS to TIM GARRETT who advanced to Senior Judge and received his hat.

Thank you to City of Mauldin who along with Waffle House provided breakfast: Waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, orange juice and hot coffee on Saturday AM. This was a wonderful treat for both cookers and judges.

I count it a privilege to be the Marshal for this event. David McLaurin served as Asst. Marshal & was attentive to so many details and a great asset. Don Adkins was there to help facilitate as well. It was wonderful to see the “seasoned” cookers assisting the new cookers with equipment and necessities. We feel so blessed to a part of this group. A successful event like this does not just “happen”. It takes a dedicated team working diligently together to make it successful. From the City of Mauldin this annual opportunity for the residents, the cookers providing their expert cooking skills, and the judges providing savory taste buds, and HUNDREDS of volunteers, it all came together as planned. Hope to see you again next year at the 7th Annual Mauldin SOOIE BBQ Cook-Off!

THANK YOU ALL of doing what you do so well. There is no doubt about it… SOUTH CAROLINA IS THE BBQ STATE!
Tony Lindsey, Marshal ¬- and David McLaurin, Asst. Marshal