15
Jul

Memphis in May: Shirt Exchange with the Danish Barbecue Team

Posted by on . -- Cook-Off, On The Road

MemphisInMay_ShirtExchange_1Spending time with the Danish Barbecue Team was one of the highlights of Memphis in May. Early Saturday morning Ken Hess, of Big Bob Gibson, called to see if Mike would do a shirt exchange with the Danish team manager. I didn’t see the message until after the awards ceremony when Ken texted again. I responded with a “Yes!” and meant to tell Mike, but I got side-tracked by half a dozen conversations on my way back to the tent.

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Ken showed up very quickly with the Danish team in tow. We had spent time together at various points during the week and their photographer took some terrific pictures of Mike and Pat. Mike thought they were coming to say good-bye ….

“You two are going to exchange shirts,” Ken explained to a somewhat bewildered Mike. “Amy said it would be okay.”

MemphisInMay_ShirtExchange_3Mike gamely complied and they both stripped down.MemphisInMay_ShirtExchange_4
But wait … Mike needs his thermometer, Marlboro Reds, and fork!

MemphisInMay_ShirtExchange_5I made it back to the tent just in time to see the end of the ritual. “I told them you’d be happy to exchange shirts ….” I started to explain. But I I could see I was a little late for that. But not too late for the group photo!

More about Memphis in May coming soon … you can also read about experience filming The Chew. 

12
Jul

Memphis in May: Filming "The Chew"

Posted by on . -- Cook-Off, On The Road, Press

MIM_TheChew_FilmingGetting a call from The Chew producers in late April was an unexpected surprise. “We’re coming to film at Memphis in May and we want to feature Apple City Barbecue,” they told me. “Is that okay with you?” Ummm… hello! Of course!

The shoot took place over a two-day period and the first morning was pretty soggy. We completed all of the filming in our tent while the rain steadily fell. One of the plans was for us to take host Michael Symon on a walkabout and introduce him to some of our friends. That plan was about to get shelved because of the rain, but fortunately, the skies cleared later in the day.

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The Chew was already scheduled to film Big Bob Gibson, Yazoo’s Delta Q, and Jack’s Old South. So we introduced them to our friends at The Shed …
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Boar’s Night Out {last year’s winners of Praise the Lard Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-off} …

MIM_TheChew_Ribdiculous

And the Ribdiculous BBQ Krew, who fed us some delicious alligator ribs they had just cooked for the exotic category.

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Yes, Lauren Hirschberg, I am trampling your lawn!
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We’ve worked with Michael on several shows, most notably Food Feuds {where he named our ribs “best in St. Louis”} and Best Thing I Ever Ate where he chose our ribs as the best single bite of pork he’s ever eaten. Thank you, Michael. We remain incredibly grateful! Without fail I’ve watched him patiently pose for numerous fan photos and chat with people who approach him, with his trademark smile and genuine warmth shining through. The success of any show is the crew behind the scenes and the producers of The Chew are an incredibly personable and professional team. Huge shout out to Anthony, Maggie, Becky, and Katie – you’re the best!
MIM_TheChew_EveryoneThe Memphis in May story was part of a prime-time special about barbecue ranging from a clambake on the beach to a trail ride in Texas. We were thrilled to be part of the production along with so many of our barbecue friends.

More about our Memphis in May experience coming up next week!