Previewing the MoCo Smoke Show

This is pretty awesome coming up in D.C. tomorrow, the first ever BBQ carpet competition, celebration competition at the MoCo Smoke Show, which is kicking off in downtown Wheaton. And our producer, Chris Smith, is going to be there to announce the winners. But Chris is not with us right now because we swapped Chris out for Jamie and Luke, who are going to be telling us about the event. Luke's the champion pitmaster. Jamie's putting on the event. So first of all, most importantly, what can people expect? Because this is a pretty cool event to bring to Montgomery County. It's an incredible event, not just because I'm the founder of it. It's going to be, you're going to have music, you're going to have food. It's fellowship. It's a time to have fun, bring your family, bring your friends. October 17th, 11 to 6 p.m., I'll let Lucas talk about the People's Choice. I'll explain that a little bit. But if you like barbecue and you just want to have a good time, this is the place to come. All right, before we get Luke's story, why barbecue? Why did you decide that this is what we want to showcase and get people to come to Wheaton too tomorrow? So the whole spirit behind this, we just want to bring people together, right? And, you know, there's a lot of division in the world. So what better way to do it than just have good food around good music? We have DJ Flex from WPGC is going to be hosting us. We have the Nighthawks, a local favorite that's been around for a while. And we're going to have a headline group, the Chuck Brown Band. So we've got incredible music and entertainment. You're going to have a good time as well. Have good food and good drinks, by the way. Fantastic. All right. So Luke is a champion pitmaster. You're going to be making the trek in. You're going to be showing off. You said Luke's the star of the show. I think the people who show up are going to be the star of the show, right? And they actually have a say. Their taste is a say in how this all works, right? Absolutely. The competition is going to have a people's choice. So this will be a pork dish prepared by all of the pitmasters that they can come in and get to sample and try, and then they get to pick the winner. So being from the D.C. metro area, this is a prestigious thing for me and would be awesome to win it. I'm sure it's like a hometown competition for you, which is great. And I say that because Luke competes all over the world for these big events. Congratulations. When did you start getting into being a pit master? Right around 2013, we started our competition journey. And it started with seven competitions a year. And now we cook upwards of 30 as we try and win awards and win accolades and qualify for bigger events. Which you do. And that's what I wanted to talk about. Because the biggest of the big events when it comes to barbecue is coming up next year in, of all places, Las Vegas. And you're going. You qualified. Congratulations. I did. Thank you very much. It's the Barbecue World Cup, and it's going to take place April 8th through 11th at Caesars Palace. It's 100 of the best barbecue teams in the world going head-to-head for three days. That's awesome. Yeah. Well, listen, we wish you the best. Let's connect before you head out there. Absolutely. And we'll have the whole DMV behind you supporting you when it comes to that. But we want to focus right now on what's coming up this weekend. Do you need tickets to come in? What's the deal as far as getting the most people out there, and where should they go? It's free, 24-24 Reedy Drive. I think the websites are up on the scan now. Please make sure, if you want to do the People's Choice, it's from 11:30 to 2:30. And like Lucas said, you get to be the judge. Good food. Tickets are limited, though, for that. It's $15. So make sure you come fast and come early. But everything else, you can buy from vendors and so forth. But to attend the event, completely free. So enjoy yourself. Yeah, so the $15 is if you want to be part of the tasting part of the competition. Correct, correct. Otherwise, you can just show up and have a good time. And those smells are free, too, right? Yes, they are. How do you keep yourself from not eating the whole time? Don't you want to run around and see what your competition is cooking up? Well, when you do it every weekend like we do, you kind of get acclimated to it, and it doesn't affect you as much. And you have to focus on what your flavors are and what your tastes are. That is very true. And having a great event like this with great music like that, I didn't know we were having Chuck Brown band, man. There you go. There, see? Even Luke's getting into it. It's going to be a party. Go out and take advantage of it. You've got great music, great food, and trust me, you're going to smell that barbecue all over Montgomery County. Guys, thanks for coming in. Luke, good luck in Las Vegas. Thank you. Hopefully we'll catch up before next spring. Jamie, good luck with the event. Thanks for coming in today. Appreciate it.