So the good folks at Kingsford asked me if I would represent them at this Florida BBQ Cookoff; I had to take the opportunity. I arrived at Daytona International Speedway Thursday around 7pm after sitting in an I-4 traffic jam for over an hour. I found out on the drive over that I would be without power, which was bad. I had to start cooking for Friday product demos Thursday night. Fortunately my good friend Dana was able to get in touch with our friend Rich who lives in the area, and had a generator that I was able to borrow. Problem solved, thank you so much guys.
They have me set up right next to a 40′ inflatable Kingsford grill, which acts as an arch to welcome people into the Kingsford compound. I’ve got the #47 Kingsford car parked behind me, the Kingsford main stage is in front of the car. This will be my “office” for the next 2 days and I’m loving it.
The Swamp Babes and Woody arrived Friday morning and we all got into our Kingsford gear. The crew was nicknamed the “Briquetes” which they liked.
We had fun with the public on Friday, talking about how we cooked the pork for the sliders we were serving. I reloaded the pits Friday night with plans of serving most all day long on Saturday. We were swamped all day serving food. The highlight for me was having the #47 driver Marcos Ambrose on stage with me, helping out with my pork demo. We had a lot of laughs and really enjoyed the time. Afterwards he gave autographs, the Briquetes served 1,000 samples, and a big time was had by all.
Around 7pm we made our way to the race, the Coke Zero 400. There was a rain delay, but it went by quickly. Unfortunately Marcos got caught up in the big wreck that took out nearly half of the field. We still had a blast and after the race everyone was ready for some much needed sleep.
The whole event was a fantastic experience for us, and one we will not soon forget. Everyone with Kingsford was great to work with and we look forward to working with them in the future.