Read Tom's interview on "Meet the
BBQ Competition Pro Team" -
Grilling with Rich
Check out Philly Blind Pig BBQ
profiled in the Team Spotlight of the Bargeque Mag
Online March/April issue.
Summer’s in the rearview…
2010 competition season is in the books. Competing on the
KCBS circuit has its ups and downs… this year was on the
down side as far as awards go for Blind Pig BBQ. We only
captured 3 calls, 2nd place brisket in Mount Holly, NJ, 6th
ribs in Harrisburg, PA and 4th place ribs at Blue Mountain
Rock’n Rib Fest, PA. The up side of this year was being
recorded and interviewed in Green Lane, PA during the Smoke
in the Valley competition for a segment shown on 6 ABC’s FYI
Philly, followed by a live appearance on their special 4th
of July show on the parkway in front of the Philadelphia Art
Museum. I definitely enjoyed my 15 minutes of fame!
Thanks to my cousin Steve, my brother Jeff and to newest
team member Marie Moody for all their help this season. Big
thanks also go out to those who supported us especially Ken
Nowicki and his boys, Zach and Jayden - you guys are
awesome.
I am set to get my food safety certification in November,
hopefully some bigger things on the horizon for Blind Pig
BBQ. Keep an eye on the team site and the
blog site
for updates!
See ya in 2011.
Cheers.
July 23 - 24, 2010 2nd Place Brisket!
BBQ & Blues in the Park - Mount Holly, NJ
Check out footage/photos from
the
channel 6 ABC FYI Philly July 4th Special
Live on the parkway with Tom Bera -
July 4th, 2010
Citizen Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
Overall winner of the Garry
Maddox Ribfest!
August 8th, 2009 1st
Place Ribs in the Pit
Masters Division,
1st Place Ribs in Garry’s Rib Challenge! --
(Overall winner of the combined Pit Master and
Restaurant division.)
Garry
Maddox Ribfest - Citizen Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
See
the Pictures Here
July 10 - 12, 2009 2nd Place
Pork/3rd Place Brisket/3rd Place Overall!
NJ State BBQ Championship - Wildwood, NJ
See
the Pictures Here
About Blind Pig BBQ
It all started for me
in August 2005 with a phone call from my friend
Steve from the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. He
asked me to help cook ribs at a competition charity
event run by Garry Maddox at Citizen’s Bank Park - I
agreed. This was the first time I ever cooked “real”
BBQ. We used two $30 brinkman smokers and finished
in the top 5!
We are now the greatest BBQ’ers in the world ...
in our own minds. We upgraded our equipment to a
couple of Weber Smoky Mountains and a Big Green Egg
smoker, then planned our KCBS debut in 2006.
Our first competition was at “BBQ on the Farm” in
Bristol, PA. We finished 8th in ribs and dead last
in brisket and had a great time. We also gained a
new member to the team, Jack
Rhubright, who I still cook with today. Mid-way through our
2006 season Jack and I officially changed our team name to
Blind Pig BBQ. -Tom Bera
The origin of the name "Blind
Pig" stems from the prohibition days in Chicago. A "Blind
Pig" was an establishments that illegally provided alcoholic beverages.
The saloonkeeper would charge customers to see an attraction
(such as an animal), and provide a "complimentary" alcoholic
beverage, thus circumventing the law.
August 8th, 2009 1st
Place Ribs in the Pit
Masters Division
Garry
Maddox Ribfest - Citizen Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
See the
Pictures Here
Pig BBQ Barbeque - NJ State BBQ
Champi
August 8th, 2009
1st Place Ribs in Garry’s Rib Challenge
Garry
Maddox Ribfest - Citizen Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
See the
Pictures Here
J 2008
July 15th, 2007
1st Place Ribs
New Jersey State Barbeque Championship
See the Pictures Here
