The Kosher BBQ Competition Story

The Atlanta Kosher BBQ Festival is not just a Jewish community gathering. Because we follow direction from the Atlanta Kashruth Commission to ensure we are fully compliant with their Kosher food handling requirements, all spectrums of the Jewish community can participate, plus, because it is BBQ, the entire Atlanta community joins us as well. This ultimately makes us the most diverse food event in Georgia.

To further demonstrate this point, our 2017 Atlanta Kosher BBQ Festival Grand Champion Trophy was prominently displayed at the Atlanta History Center’s BBQ Nation exhibition. Our trophy was selected to represent the cultural diversity of BBQ and the way the Jewish community has adapted BBQ to meet our traditions.

We welcome ALL to field teams and join us for a day of family fun and awesome Kosher BBQ. Approximately 3500 BBQ lovers and community supporters attend our Festivals. Most importantly, you do not have to be Jewish to field a team or enjoy our BBQ.

The Atlanta Kosher BBQ Festival is supervised by the Atlanta Kashruth Commission.

Kosher BBQ Festival Competitions are similar to the Kansas City Sanctioned BBQ Competitions you find on television with two variations.  Our teams cook and/smoke their meat all night long; however, all teams in Kosher competitions are on a level playing field. We provide 2 Weber Kettles, all of the Meat, Spices and Utensils. In the Kosher BBQ Circuit we are mostly Backyard BBQ Amateurs but we are open to the Pros trying their hand. If you want to compete, All you need to do is pay the fee and bring your skills and recipe. That’s it. We have everything else covered. Check out the Team Registration page and Team Packet for more info. 

 

Some people ask what is the difference between Backyard BBQ & the Pros:

Kosher BBQ Competitions: Backyard BBQ vs Pro:

  • Kosher Competitors compete on a level playing field. This means they all use the same smoker, meat, options of raw ingredients for sauces and spices, charcoal, thermometers and time.  Usually you see Whole Beef Briskets, Ribs, Chicken and Ground Beef and Beans (CHILI) used, however all meat is Kosher and regionally sourced.  All Kosher ingredients supplied by the event of competitors are checked and approved by the events Kosher supervision aka A Mashgiach(Hebrew: משגיח‎, pl. משגיחים, Mashgichim, lit. “Supervisor”) is a Jew who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment

  • Pro there is almost always Pork involved

  • The next key difference is that in Kosher BBQ you may not use any dairy or fish ingredients

  • Teams must pay special attention to ingredient listings on every single item used

  • Kosher BBQ Teams will prep their food on Thursday night then return Saturday night after the Sabbath and start their magic in an open area with all teams lined up for the long haul. The next morning (Sunday) the festival begins with volunteers, judges and fans arriving for food and fun

  • Pro they will start Friday night into Saturday for the competition

  • Kosher BBQ Winners receive medals and trophy’s because these events tend to be clear fundraisers for charity. It’s the thrill of the win.

  • Kosher BBQ Festivals are about bringing the local community together in one venue where we all are comfortable eating the same food and meeting new friends, showing people that Kosher food is easier to prepare than you might think and introducing Kosher Vendors of Atlanta to the community.  Finally, we are raising money for local charities or beneficiaries who support our community in one way or another.