KCBC - Worth the membership?

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Alsta

Smoke Blower
Original poster
★ Lifetime Premier ★
Apr 20, 2021
145
180
Perth Amboy, NJ
Morning all,

Like the title says, I've been looking into the KCBC and am contemplating joining.
I am by far in no place to be competing yet - but hopefully one day.

Is it more for those competing, or is it still a good value for the average backyard BBQ enthusiast?
 
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It's been a while since I was a member, but having a membership used to give you access to Restaurant Depot.
I'd join again if I had any Restaurant Depot's in my area.
 
It's been a while since I was a member, but having a membership used to give you access to Restaurant Depot.
I'd join again if I had any Restaurant Depot's in my area.
These are my thoughts as well. Closest RD to me is 280 miles away.
 
Morning all,

Like the title says, I've been looking into the KCBC and am contemplating joining.
I am by far in no place to be competing yet - but hopefully one day.

Is it more for those competing, or is it still a good value for the average backyard BBQ enthusiast?
That would be KCBS. And unless they changed the rules in the last year or so, cooks don't have to be a member to compete, although the majority are. The reasoning is simple, local Organizers handle a lot of the groundwork at sanctioned contests and it's common for some local teams to compete because there is a minimum number of teams needed in order for the contest to be recognized, and allow teams to accumulate points. I do believe that the World Championship events require cooks to be current members.

Judges on the other hand do have to maintain a current membership. Judging is a great place to start because it takes about 4 hours on a Saturday, and it allows you to experience competition BBQ in person. About 15 years ago, when I judged my first competition, I was familiar with the cook's rules (and they are pretty straight forward), but I was blown out at how the cooks interpreted those rules in order to produce high quality 'one-bite' entries.

There are some KCBS perks, one of the best is the Restaurant Depot daily passes.
 
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Hmmm. There's an RD like 5 miles from my house. Hmmmmm....
When I go to Denver, I make sure to print the KCBS daily pass info, have member card and usually call ahead to make sure they are familiar with this offer. The passes are good for one day only, but the next day RD writes a new pass.
 
That would be KCBS. And unless they changed the rules in the last year or so, cooks don't have to be a member to compete, although the majority are. The reasoning is simple, local Organizers handle a lot of the groundwork at sanctioned contests and it's common for some local teams to compete because there is a minimum number of teams needed in order for the contest to be recognized, and allow teams to accumulate points. I do believe that the World Championship events require cooks to be current members.

Judges on the other hand do have to maintain a current membership. Judging is a great place to start because it takes about 4 hours on a Saturday, and it allows you to experience competition BBQ in person. About 15 years ago, when I judged my first competition, I was familiar with the cook's rules (and they are pretty straight forward), but I was blown out at how the cooks interpreted those rules in order to produce high quality 'one-bite' entries.

There are some KCBS perks, one of the best is the Restaurant Depot daily passes.
Thanks thirdeye thirdeye , This is pretty much what I was looking for. Had the only perk really been the pass to RD, I was going to skip.
 
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