Competition BBQ in Europe is indeed going strong, and it’s a pleasure to have this opportunity to share with you a conversation I had with Tomaso Castiglioni. Tomaso is head pitmaster for BBQ4All Defenders and owner of Smokin’ Qitchen-BBQ’n’Brews in Limbiate, Itlay.
At the time of this interview, Tomaso and BBQ4All Defenders had just won Grand Champion honors at the 2016 Bohemian BBQ Competition in Prague, CZ – organized by Clint and Eva Meyer. It was a huge win, as BBQ4All Defenders was the first Italian Competition BBQ team to finish as a Grand Champion outside of Italy!
As there’s a six-hour time difference between where I am here in Winter Haven, FL and Limbiate – I ended up catching Tomaso at the end of his work shift at Smokin’ Qitchen. It was a fun conversation, and it’s one I think you’ll really enjoy!
What You’ll Hear in This Session with Tomaso Castiglioni
First, you’ll recognize that BBQ is a real passion for Tomaso, so much so that it served as the inspiration for his restaurant and has become his life’s focus. Clearly, competition BBQ in Europe has many of the same driving forces behind its growing popularity that we enjoy about it here in the US.
Among these forces are camaraderie, family fun, the excitement of pitting yourself against the best of the best, and of course an obsession of perfecting the marriage of meat and smoke!
It was especially good to learn about how Tomaso and the other teams in Europe manage competing across such vast distances – routinely traveling by air and helping each other out with smokers, meat, etc.
If you’re ever in Northern Italy, check out his restaurant!
Resources Mentioned in This Session:
To get a better idea of what’s going on with competition BBQ in Europe, take a look at these links.
- Gianfranco Lo Cascio and BBQ4All Media, you can find more about both of them here.
- Oh My Rub! – BBQ rub products by BBQ4All Defenders Team and Salty Donkey
- Clint and Eva Meyer Bohemian BBQ Event
- Teams mentioned in this podcast include: Southern Dutch BBQ, BBQ Longhorn Ranch Hands, Miss Piggy’s UK, BBQ Wiesel, Smoking Bad BBQ, and Barktenders BBQ Team
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