Southern Thunder BBQ Named Grand Champion at Pigs & Peaches BBQ Fest

The Southern Thunder BBQ team claimed the title of Grand Champion at the city’s Pigs & Peaches BBQ Festival, a Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) sanctioned competition held on Aug. 23-24. 

The team won $2,000 in cash and a one-of-a-kind ceramic trophy, as well as bragging rights as State Champions in the Georgia State Championship KCBS Cook-off. 

They took home additional cash and prizes in other judging categories, including 2nd place in the beef brisket category and 3rd place in ribs.

Uncultured Swine was Reserve Champion, winning $1,500 in cash and a trophy. The Grand Champion in the Backyard (amateur) division was Squealz on Wheelz; best in the Anything Butt contest was Flaming Butts; Porkstars won the Peach Dessert competition. This year’s competition also included a Bacon Domination contest with a $500 first prize and a free trip to Las Vegas and a chance to cook at the World Food Championships; WEQ4U was the winner.

The category winners for each of the four professional categories are as follows:

Chicken: Way 2 Que

Ribs: Curly Tails BBQ

Pork: South Pork

Beef: Uncultured Swine

Over 75 cooking teams competed. 

Contest results can be found at www.pigsandpeaches.com.

Over 90 certified KCBS judges rated the award winning entries. Kennesaw’s Mayor Mark Mathews announced the contest winners in an awards presentation on Saturday afternoon.