Competitive BBQ is surging in popularity in New Zealand and we already have a world champion on our shores. Mike Thorpe caught up with him on the eve of the biggest cook of his career.
If you’ve never heard of Troy Bilbrough, that would most
New Zealand ‘BBQ savant’ and champion to take on the world’s best in Kansas
New Zealand BBQ Association Grand Champion Troy Bilbrough ahead of his trip to Kansas. Photo / Mike Thorpe
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“You know, like he can rock up anywhere and cook out of a suitcase and do really well.”
He recently took his bag of tricks to Australia, competing in the Full Throttle Ranch World Open. Teaming up with Scott “Smokey Fish” Carnahan under Bilbrough’s “Rendered” team name – they finished second overall (Reserve Grand Champion) and took out the prestigious Grand Champion brisket award. Also in the field were a couple of world champions from the US.
“We showed the Americans that Kiwis can cook,” says Bilbrough.
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That’s about as brash as Bilbrough gets. Hughes is happy to add the superlatives.
“He’s the Burger King, like he really is. Goes over to Meatstocks in Australia and absolutely kicks a***. Hot dogs, wings, burgers. He’s on everything. The steak king – he’s currently on track for a three-peat for the Steak New Zealand title.”
The bearded Bilbrough was again the man to beat in Leeston over the weekend. The Ellesmere A&P Show event, dubbed Smoke at the Lake, is in its third year and this year grew to a new level, gaining recognition as a sanctioned event.
“Sanctioned by the NZBA means that we’ve got 20 teams and that you are eligible for championship points,” says Hughes.
Hunting those championship points are teams from across the country, both north and south. Morgan Brunswick and his wife Mandy travelled down from Taupō. Competing as “Out the Grate”, the pair are challenging Bilbrough in one particular category.
“At the moment I’m just chasing the brisket. We’ve got two wins, just need one more. Then we’ve signed it in for the whole year.”
Points are collected throughout the season to rank the country’s best teams.
“You have to have done at least three competitions to be in the running for that championship during the season, and that also means your GC [Grand Champion] is eligible to go to the American Royal in Kansas,” says Hughes.
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Bilbrough is that GC – and he’ll soon be jetting off to compete on barbecue’s biggest stage to take on 600 of the world’s best teams.
“It’s my first time. I’ve got nothing to lose. I’m just a Kiwi that only a few teams know,” says Bilbrough.
“It’s up to the judges. I’ve got to impress a room full of big Kansas City judges.”
The competition will be tough – and for the Bilbrough, the schedule will be gruelling.
“I land Wednesday at midnight and then I cook all day Thursday, all day Friday, all of Saturday, all day Sunday, fly out Monday - five o’clock in the morning. Thirty hours there, 30 hours back.”
Bilbrough is all-in on the grill. The man behind some of Christchurch’s best-known BBQ restaurants (BEERS, Bacon Bros and Shaka Bros) is seemingly around smoke 24/7.
“Restaurants and hobby time, cooking dinner for the kids as well,” says Bilbrough.
His passion for making his profession a competitive outlet comes from his competitors as well.
“It’s the BBQ community. We all look after each other and it’s worldwide,” says Bilbrough as he delicately slices his brisket into exact measurements.
“We compete against each other, but we also look after each other. So it’s probably the only sport in the world where you actually will help your competitors.”
Just as Bilbrough says that, Heather Davies – the ‘Mistress of Meat’ – proves his point as she enters his trailer on the hunt for some gloves.
“When you’re travelling down to these things like you can’t bring everything with you. We’re based in Waikato and the amount of administration these guys have done to supply pits, supply gear, supply accommodation is just, yeah, it’s a community,” says Davies.
Community is the word on every competitor’s sauce-smudged lips. Cooking comfort food and finding comfort with each other.
“A good way to put it is, it’s a mental health group, work and life is so stressful these days,” says Bilbrough.
There’s stress in ‘pit-lane’ too. Each team must hand their finished product in before the deadline. Using every last second is Bilbrough and his sometime grill partner, Carnahan – or ‘Smokey Fish’.
“They used to really give him a bit of stick because he used to be the last hand in, like, I mean he pushed it to the wire, and it used to do my head in. And now that’s me. Like I’m running, looking for the judges with 30 seconds or 10 seconds to go. I’ve picked up a few bad habits off him,” jokes Carnahan.
He’s picked up plenty of good ones, too. Relatively new to the scene, Carnahan has already won a cabinet-load of trophies. He collected more in Leeston, picking up first place for pork and ribs. But Bilbrough’s win in the brisket meant that the overall Grand Champion was anyone’s.
“I’ve got a funny feeling I know who’s going to win,” says Carnahan – referring to Bilbrough.
He was right. Bilbrough’s consistency across all proteins saw him take the Grand Champion award. Everybody’s happy for him – that’s how they do it in the BBQ community.
Organisers think it could be twice as hard to win in 2025.
“The general vibe from the competitors here, especially the ones that have come down from the North Island, is that this year is pretty awesome and next year is just going to be basically double the competitors,” says Tess Clark.
Bilbrough will no doubt be there to defend his title – but right now there’s only one destination on his mind.
Next stop, Kansas.
