Fall Festival BBQ Competition

This form is to be completed by the team representative. The team representative will sign off that they have read and agreed to the terms of the contest as detailed below.

 

Once we receive your completed application packet and the $150 fee, we will email confirmation that your application is processed and approved for festival. Online payments are available. There is a $4.50 convenience fee for paying with credit/debit card or you can make check payable to Commerce DDA (include your team name in memo) and mail to City of Commerce Att. DDA, 110 State Street, Commerce GA 30529.  Application and payment must be received to confirm team in contest. Email questions & digital payment requests to mainstreet@commercega.gov or call 706-335-2954.

MENU: Chicken Thighs, Ribs, & Pulled Pork

Judged for presentation, appearance & taste  (6 portions for Official Judging)

People’s Choice Judging (meat provided by festival)

Entries judged by Officials will need to be ready to present to judges at 11am on Saturday. Festival opens at noon.

People’s Choice winner will be announced at 3pm.

Friday, September 18, 5:00pm- Cooks meeting to go over rules and provide info on how the food box will need to be presented to judges. 

Rules & Regulations

 

1) The decision and interpretations of the BBB Rules and Regulations are at the discretion of the BBB Representatives at the contest and are final to the extent consistent with the rules.

2) Each team shall consist of a chief cook and as many assistants as the chief cook deems necessary. Chief cooks and / or assistant cooks may only cook for their designated team at the contests they are attending.

3) Each team will be assigned a cooking space. Pits, cookers, props, trailers, vehicles, tents or any other equipment (including generators) shall not exceed the boundaries of the team's assigned cooking space. All seasoning and cooking of product shall be done within the assigned cooking space. Teams shall not share an assigned cooking space cooking device.

4) Contestants shall provide all needed equipment, supplies and electricity, except as arranged for in advance. Contestants must adhere to all electrical, fire and other codes. A fire extinguisher shall be near all cooking devices.

5) It is the responsibility of the contestant to see that the team's assigned cooking space is clean and orderly following the contest. All fires must be put out, pits filled and all equipment removed from site. It is imperative that clean-up be thorough. Any team's assigned cooking space left in disarray or with loose trash, may disqualify the team from future participation.

6) Fires shall be of wood, wood pellets or charcoal. Gas and electric heat sources shall not be permitted for cooking or holding. Propane or electric is permitted as fire starters, provided that the competition meat is not in/on the cooking device. Electrical accessories such as spits, auger, or forced draft are permitted. No open pits or holds are permitted, except at the election of the contest organizer. Fires shall not be built on the ground.

7) All competition meats shall be inspected by the judges during the time established by the organizer. All competition meat shall start out raw. No pre-seasoned meat is allowed.

8) Barbeque for the purposes of the BBB Rules is cooking the two Meat Categories 10) below on a devised defined in 6) above. Parboiling, Sous-vide, and /or deep-frying competition meat is not allowed. If any of the banned processes are discovered before the team turns in, the team will receive zeroes. If discovered after turn-in, the team will receive a one (1) in all criteria for that entry.

9) Meat shall not be sculptured branded or presented in a way to make it identifiable Rosettes of meat slices are not allowed Violations of this rule will be scored a one 1 on all criterial by all judges

10) The Two Meat Categories:

A. Ribs & Chicken Thighs – Judges

B. Pulled Pork – Peoples Choice

11) Judging typically starts at 11am on Saturday. The two (2) categories will be judged in the following order: Ribs 11am, Chicken Thighs 11:45am. The allowable turn in times will be five (5) minutes before to five (5) minutes after the posted time with no tolerance. A late turn in will not be accepted.

12) No Garnishes.

13) Sauce is optional. If used, it shall be applied directly to the meat and no be pooled or puddled in the container. No side sauce containers will be permitted in the turn-in container. Chunky sauce will be allowed.

14) Entries will be submitted in a numbered container, provided by the contest organizer. The number must be on top of the container at turn-in.

15) The container shall not be marked in any way so as to make the container unique or identifiable. Aluminum foil, toothpicks, skewers, foreign material, and/or stuffing are prohibited in the container. Marked entries or containers with the above listed material will receive as one (1) in all criteria from all Judges and DISQUALIFIED.

16) Each contestant must submit at least six (6) portions of meat in an approved container. Chicken and ribs may be submitted chopped, pulled, sliced or diced as the cook sees fit, as long as there is enough for four (4) judges. Ribs shall be turned in bone-in. Judges may not cut, slice, or shake apart to separate pieces. If there is not enough meat for each judge to sample, the shorted judge(s) will score a one (1) on all criteria, and the judges having samples will change the Appearance score to one (1) AS A PENALTY.

17) There will be no refund of entry fees for any reason. CAUSES FOR DISQUALIFICATION & EVICTION OF A TEAM, its members and/or guests: A cook team is responsible jointly and severally for its head cook, its team members and its guests.

a. Excessive use of alcoholic beverages or public intoxication with a disturbance. 

b. Serving alcoholic beverages to the general public. 

C. Use of illegal controlled substances. 

d. Foul, abusive, or unacceptable language or any language causing a disturbance. 

e. Excessive noise, including but not limited to that generated from speakers, such as radios, CD players, TVs, public address systems or amplifying equipment, will no be allowed during quiet time, designated to start at 11p.m. on contest nights and will last until 7 a.m. unless otherwise determined by the event. 

f. Fighting and/or disorderly conduct. 

g. Theft, dishonesty, cheating, use of prohibited meats, or any act involving moral turpitude. 

h. Use of gas or other auxiliary heat sources inside the cooking device. 

i. Violation of any of the rules above.

Excessive or continued complaints from teams on any of the above rule infraction shall be considered grounds for immediate disqualification from the contest, by Contest Organizer or representative and or Security.

CLARIFICATION: If the team does not turn in a product or is disqualified and not allowed to turn in or is late for turn in, that team's category is not accepted and no judged and receives no score. If a product is turned in and then penalized or disqualified for any reason, such as no bone in ribs, etc., it will be judged and will receive a one (1) or ones(1s) in all criteria depending on the rule violation.

a. No use of any tobacco products while handling meat.

b. Cleanliness of the cook, assistant cooks, cooking devise (s) and the team's assigned cooking space is required.

C. Shirt and shoes are required to be worn.

d. Sanitizing of work area should be implemented with the use of a bleach/water rinse (one cap/gallon of water Each contestant will provide a separate container for washing, rinsing and sanitizing of utensils.

e. First Aid is not required to be provided by the contest, except at the election of the contest organizer.

f. Prior to cooking, meat must be maintained at 40 degrees F or less.

g. After cooking, all meat: must be held at 140 degrees F or above or cooked meat shall be cooled as follows: Within 2 hours from 140 degrees F to 70 degrees F and within 4 hours from 70 degrees F to 41 degrees F or less.

h. Meat that is cooked, properly cooled, and later reheated for not holding and serving shall be reheated so that all parts of the food reach a temperature of at least 165 degrees F for a minimum of 15 seconds.

 

1) Judges may not fraternize with teams on turn-in day until conclusion of judging.

2) Judging will be done by a team of 4 persons at each judging table, who are at least 16 years of age. Only judges, contest reps and necessary support staff are allowed in the judging during the judging process. No other activities are permitted in the judging area during the judging process.

3) Each judge will first score all the samples for appearance of the meat. The turn-in containers will then be passed around the tables and each judge will place a sample from each of the containers in the appropriate box on the judging plate. Judges shall no lick their fingers while taking these samples, paper towels, non-scented wipes or damp wash cloths are preferred. The judge will then score each entry for taste and tenders, before moving onto the next entry.

4) The scoring system is from 9 to 2, all whole numbers between two and nine may be used to score an entry. 9 excellent, 8 very good, 7 above average, 6 average, 5 below average, 4 poor, 3 bad, 2 inedible

5) A score of one (1) is a penalty or disqualification and requires approval by a Contest Rep. Grounds for penalty/disqualification: All judges will give a one (1) in Appearance for prohibited garnish, pooled sauce or less than 6 samples of meat. All judges will give a one (1) in all criteria for sculptured meat, a marked turn-in container, foreign object in the container, incorrect meat. All judges not receiving a sample will give a one (1) in all criteria.

6) The weighting factors for the point system are: Appearance - .5600, Taste - 2.2972, Tenderness - 1.1428.

7) The low score will be thrown out. Results will be tallied. If there is a tie in one of the categories, it will be broken by the computation as follows: The scores will be compared (counting all 4 judges for the highest cumulative scores in taste, then tenderness, then appearance. If still tied, the low score, which was thrown out will be compared and then higher of the low scores will break the tie. If still tied, then a coin toss will be used. 7a. In the event of lost, destroyed or missing score cards the remaining score cards will be averaged in each category and those averages shall be used as the missing scores on replacement score cards. After there are 4 total score cards the normal procedure will be followed for dropping the low score. These correct scores will be the official scores for any and all purposes.

8) Total points per entry will determine the champion within each meat category.

9) Cumulative points for only the two (2) categories will determine the Grand Champion, 2ⁿᵈ and 3ʳᵈ place.

 

The rules, regulations and judging procedures will be used for the 2026, Fall Fest held in downtown Commerce on September 19, 2026.