Lansdale 'BBQ Guru' is the world's top rib maker

Barbecue purists all over Carolina, Texas, Memphis and Kansas City are weeping right now.

The best pork ribs in the world - as judged Friday at the World Food Championships in Las Vegas - come out of a smoker tended by a man from Lansdale, Pa.

"There is no better feeling in the world," said Bob Trudnak, a fixture on the BBQ circuit who competes under the name BBQ Guru. That's the Warminster-based company where he is marketing manager; BBQ Guru manufactures the Onyx Oven that he uses.

Trudnak also finished overall in seventh place in the side-dish category for his barbecue black beans, topped with pico de gallo and crispy bacon lardons from the local Bespoke Bacon.

Trudnak, who turns 43 on Monday, started competing in 2007. He is on the road most weekends from late February to November, juggling the Montgomery County-based catering business he owns with his wife, Tammy.

Last month at the Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour Championship in Bentonville, Ark., Trudnak's ribs placed third and his brisket was seventh.