We're excited to see the field of competitors who have already won their golden ticket and registered to compete at the 2024 World Food Championships. And we are always proud to announce our special guests and celebrity judges participating in our judging events across the nation - we're sure the championship food certainly helps! Best of luck to our 2024 competitors!
COMPETITOR
Small Batch BBQ
HEAD COOK: James Freaney
COMPETITION: World Barbecue Championship
I started in the restaurant business at the age of 12. Cutting French fries for a guy that would pay me $15 and I would buy baseball cards...Greatest job ever at 12. I went to high school in North Carolina and discovered pulled pork. I was always into cooking, baking etc thanks to my mom. She has been the culinary force for our family her whole life. That first restaurant job and love of cooking and serving has kept me in the restaurant business my whole life. I am now director of operations for Pitango Gelato in Baltimore and DC. We make authentic Italian gelato and sorbets from scratch with imported ingredients from Italy. My love of bbq and cooking for my family brought me to watching BBQ Pitmasters on TV and I was hooked. My wife bought me my first tiny smoker for Christmas ten years ago and the competitive juices started flowing. So basically, this obsession is all my wife's fault!
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