Will Be Que BBQ Back to Defend BBQ Blowout Titles
The annual City of Bolivar BBQ Blowout is underway and the Will Be Que Competition BBQ Team, the winningest team from the 2024 competition, is back at it ready to defend its titles. The team, based in Memphis, Tennessee, always looks forward to coming to Bolivar for the BBQ Blowout, which closes out its competition season each year.
Will Be Que BBQ, led by the families of Craig Wilkerson and Traci Adcock, is entering the BBQ Blowout just a few months after its Memphis in May first place win this summer in the Whole Hog Division. Although everyone loves to win, and the cash prizes are not too bad, it really is about a lot more. The bragging rights after a win are the best and the camaraderie of the team members as well as the friendships made with their competitors is what they truly enjoy.
“I have made friends with so many over the years. It’s kind of like NASCAR. It is a circuit. You want to win team of the year. It is just a great time, a great camaraderie. We all want to win! Really, that is the goal, to win, but say if we don’t win, we would like some of our close friends to win,” said Craig, who amusedly shared a confession. “It’s also about the bragging rights. And I’ve got a big ego sometimes.”
Although it is a new year and new competition, the team is strategic in not making changes in its seasoning process.
“We were blessed to win the whole thing last year, so we are trying to duplicate what we did. You know the old saying, ‘if it’s not broke don’t fix it’,” said Craig, who did share he is stepping back to allow the next generation to gain more experience in the competition process. “Suzanne [Rhea] and I were talking last night. This thing has been going on 26 years. And between different teams I’ve cooked on, I probably cooked in 15 or 16 of them. A lot of the young guys are taking over some of the items we used to have to do ourselves. I just kind of pitch in where I can.”
The team became official in 2009, but Craig has been on the circuit since 1991. He was a member of the first Memphis in May judges’ class ever held. With those many years of barbeque experience and a team that has grown together for more than 15 years, there is a rhythm to how each member works together.
“We have specific people who are overseeing each category. We are not trying to stretch ourselves thin. We’ve got two people that are working on ribs and two people working on shoulder/pulled pork, and several people working on the hog,” said Traci Adcock, who along with Craig joked, she oversees everything in the kitchen and Craig oversees everything on the grill. “We love it! This is our hobby. You know how some people play golf and some people play tennis. This is what we do.”
In 2024 BBQ Blowout, Will Be Que BBQ placed as follows:
Professional Division: Ribs – 1st Place
Professional Division: Pulled Pork – 3rd Place
Professional Division: Whole Hog – 1st Place
Professional Division Grand Champions
Read more local news by clicking here.
Stay informed on what’s happening in Hardeman County by subscribing to Hatchie Press e-mail updates.
Do you have community news you’d like to share? E-mail us at news@hatchiepress.com.
