Evil Genius

Details of all cooking events,please add details of any events you are aware of that may have been missed

Re: Evil Genius

Postby gazz_46 » 22 Jul 2014, 01:51

some bloke wrote:Good write up Gazz, I was there as a spectator and enjoyed talking to the cooks and sampling the goods.


Did you stop by and sample any of our wares, we fed so many people it was hard to remember who we had met apart from the obvious nutterz who shall forever make me smile and remember what a massive experience it was...

Thinks :? Chuckles :lol:
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Re: Evil Genius

Postby gazz_46 » 22 Jul 2014, 06:36

And so to Brighton..... (This time it's a small novel!)

Paddle Round The Pier was another big public affair and held right on the seafront, yep....literally on the promenade with nothing between us and the sea only metres away and that was to be a telling influence!

This was a big test for me personally as the team had reduced members, all the prep and loading was done solo with the exception of some last minute testing of sauces, rubs and desert on Thursday with guest minion and "BBQ Ninja" Stuart or Artust as he is known on the bbbqs forum he would be joining us for the weekend. Grumpy had commitments Baz was minus transport due to the theft of his pride and joy and Foxxy could only come down on the train after work Saturday..... Parrrrp, I was bricking it and just a little bit tired already from Grillstock the weekend previous. This was no holds barred sleep deprivation on a scale never previously encountered.

Tuesday was meat prep day, I hate trimming chicken but brisket, butt and ribs are getting easier Wednesday was spent prepping sauces and injections which is kinda getting easier too but always there's a tweak here or there. Thursday Stu arrived at secret bbq hq, we got to know each other and found we were pretty local thanks to the forum and had met briefly at Grillstock, knowing he is a massive fan of BBQ I asked if he'd like to join us for Brighton and stupidly he agreed.. Mwahahahaha

Anyhow last minute clean up & reorganisation of kit after Manchester on Friday meant that I was running behind massively and didn't even start loading the van until around midday and I was supposed to meeting Stuart in Brighton at 14:00 oops, he was making the trip down after a work meeting and was there hours before me. Once I had everything loaded I got a call from Baz who said if I picked him up on the way he had managed a weekend pass and could join us too, couldn't turn off the motorway fast enough to pick him up if I'm honest.

We arrived around 18:00 found Stuart and began to set up our pitch, we didn't bother setting up fully as we had learned in previous comps more could be done at home which meant we could relax a little and didn't need to prep anything on site so once the gazebo, tables and the big stuff was in place we had the night to ourselves.

We had Alan from Hammer and Tongs on one side and Smoking Salop the other with some teams not arriving until the Saturday, introductions were made and it was decided we were hungry, the thought of cooking was far from my mind even tho we brought food. Team Evil and The guys from Smoking Salop clubbed together to share a Taxi and head off to the renowned BBQ Shack run by John Hargate at The Worlds End Pub and feast on someone else's hard work.

Wow it was buzzin with a cracking atmosphere, the tables were bursting with happy punters digging in to some juicy looking fare we got a round of drinks and spotted McSlims BBQ team who had com-endeared a couple of tables outside for us all, bring on the meat! I shared a huge plate of brisket, PP and ribs with Baz which I thought was ok. The brisket was the stand out item and very moist but the PP was a little dry, the house bbq sauce made it much better. Overall I was happy but felt there was a lack of smoke flavour but then resigned myself to the fact that this was either coz I'm used to the bigger flavours of comp meats or maybe this was a deliberate ploy to appeal to the masses either way it was good and the service excellent with bellies full we headed back to base.

We were greeted with wind that had picked up and it was starting to rain so best to put on the canopy sides, oh how little did we know how things would take a turn for the worst!

By the time we were ready to grab some sleep the wind had really picked up and was bringing In spray from the now raging sea.... Bugger I was getting worried for the gazebo and was glad I had purchased some weights to tie it down. I resolved to stay awake a little longer and worry myself sleepless.....

WTF...... Wot the frick was that? Just at the point I was nodding off in the camp chair there was an almighty crash a scraping of metal and another big bang..... I thought my time had come! The wind was now gale force (a fact lost on the weather service who reported 20mph winds????) and the the gazebo was buckling under the pressure, a strong gust blew open the door and moved the whole thing 2 feet to the left taking the tables with it! I managed to get everything buttoned down but woke Baz to let him know it was getting a bit scary and might need some help, stu was out for the count. Little did I realise until I saw it with my own eyes Smoking Salop were out in their pyjamas and attempting to take down their gazebo, team BBQ Mates had sustained damage to the roof of theirs and poor old Jay & Rachael of Meatpocolypse had lost theirs completely..... It had been taken by a gust, crashed to the floor broken then been dragged 30 feet where it smashed into their hire van before finally getting airborne & leaping the crowd control fencing and wrapping itself around a lampost.... It looked like a war zone!

I helped take down salops wounded canopy and along with Alan, Ed from So Solid Q and McSlims made reparations and secured whatever was looking in danger, it was all in danger Ed and McSlims had taken down their kit which pretty much left hammer and tongs and team evil the last men standing.... Offers were made to help if needed but the wind was such that now it would be dangerous to attempt to take our canopy down, I had no choice but to sit it out, the weather services were reporting calmer winds in the next few hours.

It didn't happen and after spending the next 4 hrs taking it in turns with Baz literally hanging from the roof struts to keep the thing from being taken I'd had enough and gave in.... I decided it would be best to take it all down pack it away and head for home, I just couldn't afford to replace anything if it got damaged and want to be able to continue into the future in this mad hobby so called home and told Foxxy not to come down we were packed and on our way home more than likely.

This was an IBQN event organised by Toby who had arrived early morning and quickly assessed the situation and brought us up to speed, he instructed his guys to take down his ready steady q awnings and gathered the teams, I really felt for him he was into the event for thousands and had spent many more hours organising the competition but nothing fazes him and he remained calm and suggested we meet later to re asses.

I was ready to go home but couldn't or wouldn't make the decision and Baz was of the same opinion, Stuart was cool either way. Some teams had gone, Eddie from Invicta BBQ had lost his gazebo overnight suffering the same fate as Jay and more teams had sustained some pretty costly damage but still I couldn't decide, I so wanted to go home but didn't want to wimp out that's no reflection on the teams that went home..... We had survived with no damage and felt we should stay as the teams were gathering with a can do spirit and making plans to still cook.

The hours passed and I was feelin it, it had been a hard night and the weather hadn't improved that much but was "improving" and everything was safely stowed away, Toby called a meeting for 14:30 to make a definitive decision but as it was still early we headed off for a wander and a bacon buttie.

We got lost in time but headed back for the meeting to be told it had already been decided, it's game on!
What, how?
It was still blimmin windy!

Toby had agreed to build a makeshift barricade with his trucks and team vans and erect/sacrifice his awning to the gods for the greater good of BBQ and to house as many teams as needed shelter.... How the fook could I tell him I wanted out now? I still couldn't make a decision, yes / no.....oh I don't know but there was no way I was putting the canopy back up! I peed around like a girls blouse for a good while longer before I was convinced to stay.... I wanted to stay all along but I was weary of the conditions.

We set up a makeshift camp in the communal canopy and got down to it, the filing cabinet was resigned to the van "I just couldn't be arsed with it..." (It's another story) so we were cooking on a single 47wsm (Bert) and my trusty 57otp (Kelly) this was gonna be different. As an aid to morale Toby bet me £20 I would be better for the experience and probably beat our previous overall best of 3rd which made me chuckle so I took his bet opened a bottle of Jim Beam maple (you gotta try it, think Xmas cake) and set about loading the coals.

Light the coals shot of JB, inject then rub meats more JB and we were away, there was a great party atmosphere and camaraderie between us all and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it, Stuart is a joy to work with but doesn't drink so more for me and Baz, shot of JB sir? Don't mind if I do mate....... Mwahahaha

The postponed turn in for anything butt and desert rounds were 1st up and went very well, I decided to have another go at wings with a little added oomppph, these finished 4th at Grillstock but felt they should have done better and wanted another crack at them for anything butt, they came out great and looked a million dollars with a little more emphasis on the presentation.

Guest minion Artust took on the desert round with summer fruit clafoutis, the team had only tested this once before and stu had been coached by foxxy how to do it only once Thursday night, he did an outstanding job it came out perfect. The judges give nothing away but I swear I saw a spark in their eyes for both entries. These were unusually judged at the team table rather than blind as per the rules because of the lack of time and space to set up an area for judges but normal service would be resumed for the big 4 tomorrow, another shot sir? Why yes thank you lol

Baz and stu called it a night quite late on but as you know I can't sleep so stayed up and engaged in conversation and a few more drinks with the other teams until it dawned on me I was quite drunk and needed to rest my eyes... I fell asleep in the chair with a glass of sailor jerry rum lol..... I woke some minutes later and headed off for the comfort of the van. Oh poo Baz had the front seats and the back was full of kit! I spent the next 2 painful hours curled up with my head in a smoker doh!

It was futile and anyway I sobered up enough to remember i was in a competition and worry took over, the pork and brisket were on and needed checking.... Damn that guru, I had caught it mid fitt again the actual temp was anybody's guess it was reading around 3 hundred but the lid showed 200? Something is definitely not right here..... Flapped about like a seagull swooping for scraps for a little while before I had a look in the fire bowl to see the coals had almost gone out, why? Fooked if I know beginning to think I have too good a seal and the fan just ain't big enough, threw in a hastily lit half chimney of hot coals and all was good in the world again but meat temps were nowhere near where they needed to be and so it came to pass that we were running behind "Again!"

We had to delay putting the ribs and chicken on by an hour each waiting for big cuts to reach temp, finally I decided to move them round and put both on the top grate with the ribs on the lower deck. The chicken was gonna have to be cooked on the kettle, result.

Chicken was sent first, I thought they were an improvement and prepped as we did for Manchester but finished a best matching 6th, there was one odd thigh that was too small but don't think that was the deciding factor still some work to be done here.

Ribs were next and I wasn't entirely happy with the presentation as I had one odd bone that stood out like a hammered thumb in a cartoon, the rub was a modification and the sauce completely new, technique was shabby as always hahahaha but did us proud and smashed our previous best by finishing 3rd and earning another trophy for the cabinet, thats 3 out of the 4 comps we've done now. Amazing, ribs are my favourite but never seem to be able to cook them so absolutely shocked.

Pork had modified rub and sauce as per ribs but presentation was shocking, I had lost the money muscle during the extended cook and had nothing but large chunks and some hurriedly made pp balls to give the judges then rookie mistake piled on the sauce to compensate, 6th was the best it would do

Brisket another modified rub and sauce and again over applied the sauce due to poor presentation, cant seem to get the texture and colour right now after the 4th place we took at drum & baste need a rewind and rethink, finished 8th

Overall we finished 7th, happy but could do better, no idea yet where the wings and desert finished but didn't top the charts.

If only we could produce our best results consistently and all in one comp we would give the big boys a run for their money....lol

Cannot possibly be upset with our 1st year tho, to take the walks we have and improved and learnt so much as we have we can be proud and look forward hopefully to some more success in the future....

It only remains to say we have seen both the highs and lows of competing, the good the bad and and the ugly coming through the other side enriched by the experience...... "spoons..." and now wind will still hold fear for some time tho!

It's been emotional

I love my team xXx
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Re: Evil Genius

Postby derekmiller » 22 Jul 2014, 07:38

Nice writeup again Gazz. Keep them coming.
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Re: Evil Genius

Postby keith157 » 22 Jul 2014, 09:06

A good write-up of Brighton Gaz, makes one almost feel one was there ;)
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Re: Evil Genius

Postby Artust » 22 Jul 2014, 09:11

Don't know I have much else to add apart from my remaining memory and photo evidence of you literally chocking the chicken.

As a relative newbie I can say thanks to the Dr enough for letting me join in with his team for the weekend. It was a great experience even giving how tough the conditions were at times. And I did it all with more sleep than most. zzZZ.

Was massively proud that Gary's hard work paid off and got him another trophy with his 3rd place in ribs. Congrats.

Just wish there were more competitions like this for the balance of the year but I will be back to garden cooks again.

Great to meet all the teams and thanks to Toby for running this event even when he was up against it.
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Re: Evil Genius

Postby gazz_46 » 22 Jul 2014, 10:12

Luv U2 honey bunny and well done for smashing £1300 for charity, you can cook with us anytime.... Positive vibes :twisted:
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Re: Evil Genius

Postby gazz_46 » 04 Nov 2014, 22:44

The next instalment will be our experiences from Las Vegas baby, leaving Monday for The World Food Championship s where we compete in the World Burger Championship...... Gulp!
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Re: Evil Genius

Postby derekmiller » 06 Nov 2014, 11:34

Go and knock them for 6 Gary. Good luck.
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Re: Evil Genius

Postby gazz_46 » 06 Nov 2014, 14:12

derekmiller wrote:Go and knock them for 6 Gary. Good luck.

Thanks Derek, Team Evil on tour Mwahahahahahaha
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Re: Evil Genius

Postby Tiny » 06 Nov 2014, 19:20

Esteemed Dr Evil,
I want to wish you well on your marvellous endeavour, teaching our colonial cousins how to do it right. Now I know they will make all sorts of claims about beef and "ham" burgers. It strikes me as reprehensible foolishness that they believed them to be of porcine origin. The great british know about the roast beef of old England, and naturally this makes us more adept to make an beefburger.

If I can draw your attention to history, and its foretelling of your success, Wimpy the American hamburger concept, but delivered as a proper beefburger on a china plate and nothing so gaudy as a dill pickle or mustard, just tomato related sauce and something that I believe a modern chef would refer to as "tasting of onions"

So we did it best then and I am confident that you Sir as an proud Englishman will gather the team to do it again, just go and out beef them use words like nourishing and repast, comedically make up words to unnerve them like ensealment for the first land on the grill, wrong foot them with references to quality baps and nice buns, and as the PC fear grips them don't bat an eyelid.

A London broil is simply the inside temperature of my shirt in the capital on an August day, it is just simply not a cut of beef, and you would be thicker than a whale omelette if you thought it so.

So go, go with our blessings, on for Harry, king George, the Sir Loin of beef and bring back the pot British beefburgers is best!

Hoorah!
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