Wiviott, Leonard Thinking Big With Windy City Rib Classic
By Chuck Sudo in Food on Aug 7, 2012 7:00PM
Rub BBQ Company's Jared Leonard (left) and Barn and Company's Gary Wiviott. (Chuck Sudo/Chicagoist)
Like Daniel Burnham, Gary Wiviott makes no small plans. The self-styled “barbeque life coach” perfected his five-step technique to perfect low and slow barbeque in his backyard and parlayed that into a book, recognition as one of Chicago’s leading experts on barbeque, a board member of the newly created Illinois BBQ alliance, and pitmaster at Barn and Company.
When Wiviott hit upon the idea for Sunday’s Windy City Rib Classic at Theater on the Lake, he knew he needed some help and motivation. “I had been talking about how I liked the camaraderie of other judged barbeque competitions and how people getting together to cook and promote barbeque—sitting up at four in the morning drinking bourbon and telling lies—is a wonderful thing,” Wiviott said.
He found a kindred soul in Rub BBQ Company owner Jared Leonard. The two began talking in December 2011 about what they liked and didn’t like about the showcases. “I don’t like the poodle show aspect of these events, worried about whether the sauce is thin or applying parsley with a set of tweezers,” Wiviott said. “The way Jared and I approach barbeque is more like being sled dogs. We’re concerned with the task: flavor, getting the best out of the meat, and less about the extraneous details.”
“I thought it was a good idea when I was planning to attend (the barbeque festival) Memphis in May,” added Leonard. “With my schedule—I’m so busy with the restaurant—it didn’t work out. I started looking for something more local and there really isn’t anything, especially in the city proper.”
Wiviott and Leonard found that their thoughts on a barbeque competition dovetailed nicely. The Windy City Rib Classic is what Wiviott calls a “level playing field:” no gas, no electricity. Local pitmasters like Honky Tonk BBQ’s Willie Wagner will be competing with people who grill regularly in their backyards and nationally recognized competitive pitmasters along one of the best views of the lake in the city, and one with a lot of foot traffic to attract the curiosity of people wanting to enjoy a day on the lake.
Theater on the Lake provided the perfect setting and Leonard already had an in; Rub BBQ serves their offerings at the Fullerton Beach grill. “We already had access to the site, which made setting this up much easier,” Leonard said. “If we tried to set this up in a parking lot, I don’t know if we could get the general public to be as excited about the event.” With the help of Leonard's wife Amanda, who provided much of the marketing advice for the two, the festival quickly began to take shape.
The Windy City Rib Classic will be an opportunity for low and slow enthusiasts to pick the brains of the pitmasters and interact with a judging panel that’s a who’s who of Chicago barbeque royalty. Smoque’s Barry Sorkin, Charlie McKenna of Lillie’s Q, Chicago Q’s Lee Ann Whippen and Phil Wingo of Tailgate Charters are all confirmed as judges. Wiviott and Leonard were also able to wrangle Famous Dave Anderson (that Famous Dave), noted barbeque expert Craig “Meathead”Goldwyn and Weber Grill R&D chef Matt Jost to join the panel.
Wiviott said his ultimate goal, if the classic is successful, is to place it in a sanctioned barbeque competition series like the Jack Daniels series. (Jack Daniels is a sponsor.) Because this is the first year, the competition will be focused only on ribs and chicken. There’s also a sauce competition where all the sauces being judged will be made from scratch.
The Windy City Rib Classic will take place Sunday, Aug. 12, at Theater on the Lake (2401 N. Lake Shore Drive)