Tailgate Guys BBQ Show, Episode 133: Travis Duffy, Nick Davis, Kevin Hesse
Release Date: 09/28/2021
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
We enjoy talking to the biggest names in BBQ - and also shine some light on the up-and-comers. This week we go “Under the Radar” on Episode 372 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast to visit with a fast learner from Ohio, Chris Reed of Team Cookie BBQ. Along with having a unique team name, Chris knows his stuff on the smoker. In just 16 career KCBS Masters Series attempts, he’s had seven overall top 10s, including his first Grand Championship last month at the Saxonburg BBQ Smokeout in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. Chris fills us in on how it’s come together so quickly. Richard Fergola...
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On Episode 371 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, hear the story of Charles Winslow-Bey and Smokey Bey’s Barbecue. It’s been a rocket ride for a team that was introduced to competition cooking just 3 1/2 years ago, going from a free class offered by Josh and Ashton of OG Bandits to multiple 700s and top-10 KCBS finishes in a short time. The biggest of all came a couple of weeks ago when Smokey Bey’s earned Grand Championship honors at the Made for KC BBQ Championship, earning $10,000 and naming rights in the BBQ Experience restaurant inside Terminal B of Kansas City International Airport....
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Dirk Mullins and Jody Harris had been involved in competition cooking in various organizations for more than 20 years, walking the stage at The American Royal World Series of BBQ and Memphis in May among other big events. But looking to fill a void in December of 2023, they announced plans to launch the Rib Cookoff Association via social media. Just a couple of hours later, Dirk had received so many calls he had to turn his phone off. On Episode 370 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Dirk and Jody take the story from there to now, as the RCOA continues to make its mark among cooks of all skill...
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Tina Cannon is one of the most-respected names in open-fire cooking, with numerous competition awards to her credit along with an array of television shows on various outlets. The classically trained chef joins us on Episode 369 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast to discuss her career, a website full of helpful cooking info and a preview of her appearance at The Grill Guys of Missouri on Aug. 29. Tina’s first appearance on how our show is a fun conversation that we hope you enjoy. Our second guest this week has been on the show multiple times and always brings the heat - just as his...
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We dive into the world of steak cooking on Episode 368 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast with a couple of big winner at last weekend’s Hornersville Watermelon Festival in southeast Missouri. First up is Dan Wright of Take it Easy BBQ from St. Louis. While he’s won big in KCBS and the Rib Cookoff Association, Dan came up big in SCA entry by earning a rare triple golden ticket (steak, ribs and beans) into next spring’s SCA Worlds in Pensacola, Fla. John Lindsey is one of the top SCA cooks in the organization’s history, with dozens of grand championships and his outstanding All-Qued Up...
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The current KCBS Team of the Year leader is not as well known as those giving close chase. On Episode 367 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Brian Kennish of B’s Que Crew from Richmond, Va., via Philadelphia, tells us about his family team’s long-time love of cooking and competition and why it’s picked up the pace the last couple of years to become a national contender. We also take a trip to Republic, Mo., for our August check-in with Charlie Wallace and Skyler Spartan of The Grill Guys of Missouri. Lots of great specials can be found as The Grill Guys marches toward its 5-year-...
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One of our favorite BBQ people returns to the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast to make Episode 366 a dandy. It’s Bill Purvis from Chicken Fried BBQ out of Magnolia, Texas. Bill highlights his exciting weekend in Rhode Island where he pulled off BBQ’s version of a buzzer-beater by winning the Grand Championship along with Rhode Island’s auto bid into the Jack Daniel World BBQ Invitational. Along with becoming a competition force, Chicken Fried also has become one of the powerhouse lineup of products on the market and we discuss how to use some of those products and when does one know it’s the...
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On Episode 365 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we visit with two of last weekend’s big winners on the competition circuit. First up is Brad Bess of Rowdy Pig BBQ, who enjoyed a spectacular doubleheader at Smokin’ on the Osage in Osceola, Missouri. He scored 707.3944 both days - a remarkable feat that earned him Grand Championship honors on Day 1 and RGC on Day 2 to Bad Dog BBQ. Brad, from Bonne Terre, Mo., tells us a bit about his start in competition cooking and who’s helped him along the way. Then we head to central Iowa to learn more about Jeff Wilkerson, postmaster of Smokey D’s...
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We’ve seen countless top-notch competition BBQ teams leave the sport over the last several years, but on Episode 364 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast we tell you about one who’s coming back after an extended break. Sanj Kirubakaran of Thump and Strum BBQ blazed to four Grand Championships and five RGCs from 2013-19 and, after feeling burned out, Sanj took time away. Now he is back with a renewed enthusiasm. We get the details from Sanj with his thoughts on the state of today’s comp world. We also welcome the new owners of long-time show supporter The Butcher Shoppe in Pensacola, Stelio...
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Episode 363 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ podcast takes us to Las Vegas where we go “Under the Radar” with the up-and-coming competition team Big Juicy BBQ. Thomas and Michelle Bolling have found a passion for open-fire cooking and, less than two years after their first contest, they’ve been hitting their marks and taking consistent top-10 walks. With a scheduling conflict leaving an open segment, we have an encore presentation of one of our top guests of 2025. Steven Raichlen, a BBQ Hall of Famer who’s a renowned award-winning author and television host, was one Episode 303 as his...
info_outlineOur American Royal World Series of Barbecue champions tour continues on Episode 133 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Show Podcast as we’re joined by Grand Champion of The Open, Travis Duffy of Last Call Heroes out of Pierre, S.D. Travis tells us about his biggest career win and how he got it done at Kansas Speedway.
Nick Davis of Oklahoma’s Double Barrel BBQ also joins us to preview a contest he’s hosting this weekend, aimed at backyard cooks in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Kevin Hesse from Kansas City’s Weekend Bum BBQ also joins Nick to discuss a tell-all class aimed at competition newcomers, set for Nov. 6 at American Fire BBQ. It’s also a chance to ask Kevin about his first-place Pork at the American Royal Open.
Meanwhile, co-hosts Lyndal and Steve discuss the great cooking weather that October offers and blast through a sports 2-minute drill with a focus on the red-hot baseball Cardinals.
Thanks to our sponsor/marketing partners who make our show possible: Blues Hog BBQ Sauce, Royal Oak Charcoal, The Butcher Shoppe, Iowa BBQ Store, Affordable Income Tax & Payroll, Arkassippi Smoke Live and The Arkassippi Combo, Vietti Marketing, In the Garden of Eden and The BBQ League. Special thanks to Marty “Sign Man” Prather and Domino’s Pizza, an “Official American Royal World Series of BBQ” sponsor of our team.
Have a great BBQ Week!
#SmokeEmIfYouGotEm