Fire up your smokers: BBQ contest to decide who will be featured in KCI’s new terminal
A barbecue competition to be held early this summer will get more than just bragging rights — the winner will be featured in a barbecue-themed restaurant inside the new terminal at Kansas City International Airport, the Kansas City Aviation Department announced.
The inaugural Made for KC BBQ Championship will be held June 10 and 11 at Worth Harley-Davidson near the airport. It has a total purse of $46,000 and “the opportunity for the champion to set up shop for a year at the restaurant.”
The Outstanding Hospitality Management Group is partnering with the Kansas City Barbeque Society and Old-World Spices & Seasonings to present this annual contest.
“When we think of Kansas City we think of barbeque and OHM is committed to delivering a uniquely Kansas City barbeque experience to visitors at the airport,” Milan Patel, president and chief executive officer of OHM, said a news release.
“This competition, the winning pitmaster or cook team, and the barbeque restaurant are the first of their kind anywhere in the world. Our commitment to ‘local means local’ is evident in our many partnerships to deliver the food and beverage offerings at the New Terminal at KCI and extending into this competition,” Patel said.
The plan is to make the contest an annual event with the winner receiving a one-year licensing opportunity in the 8,000-square-foot restaurant in Concourse B in the new terminal.
The restaurant, which will continued to be operated by Vantage Airport Group, will feature The Barbeque Hall of Fame with photos, memorabilia and information about the Kansas Barbeque Society, the American Royal World Series of Barbecue and Operation BBQ Relief.
A separate Meat Mitch BBQ restaurant will be in Concourse A with a backyard patio design.
To qualify to enter the championship, pitmasters must be based in Kansas or Missouri and be located within 60 miles of KCI. They also must be a KCBS-registered pitmaster for at least one year and have competed in a minimum of three KCBS-sanctioned barbecue competitions in the past three years.
To register online, go to the KCBS website at http://www.kcbs.us between 9 a.m. Feb. 14 and midnight Feb. 20. Qualified entries will be placed into a drawing for 36 available spots.
The drawing will be held at 5 p.m. Feb. 21 and shown on Facebook Live. The KCBS will notify those chosen in the drawing.
The new terminal is slated to open in early 2023 and will replace the aging three-terminal complex with a single terminal.
This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 2:49 PM.
