BBQ Therapy

 JANICE SMELLA: WHAT IS A CHAMPION STILL CHASING? | SMELLAQUE — Part 2VIDEO + AUDIO EPISODE — RECORDED AT THE AMERICAN ROYAL 2026Sometimes one conversation isn't enough.Janice Smella of SmellaQue returns to BBQ Therapy for Interview 2 of our conversation, recorded at the American Royal in Kansas City.This time, we're not going back through the résumé.We're talking about where Janice is right now.After more than a decade of competition barbecue, multiple Canadian BBQ Team of the Year championships, major American competitions, and years of experience behind the smoker, what does a veteran championship cook see differently today?What has experience changed?What has gotten easier?What has actually gotten harder?And perhaps the biggest question:What is a champion still chasing after they've already accomplished so much?In this conversation, Janice takes us inside the mind of an experienced competition cook.This conversation gets past the trophies.Because once you've reached the highest levels of competition, improvement isn't always about making dramatic changes.Sometimes it's about finding one more percent.One better decision.One better bite.One better cook.And sometimes it's about knowing when to leave something alone.Janice also shares a message for the person standing at their first competition, looking at teams like SmellaQue and wondering if they'll ever be good enough.This is a conversation about experience, evolution, pressure, perspective, and the hunger to keep getting better.Recorded from the American Royal.Janice Smella. SmellaQue. Interview 2.This is BBQ Therapy.🔥 LISTEN. LEARN. GET INSPIRED.Subscribe to BBQ Therapy for more conversations with the people behind the smoke.🌐 BBQ Therapy Podcast: www.bbqtherapypodcast.com#BBQTherapy #JaniceSmella #SmellaQue #AmericanRoyal #AmericanRoyal2026 #CompetitionBBQ #CanadianBBQ #BBQ #Barbecue #Pitmaster #BBQPodcast

🔥 JANICE SMELLA OF SMELLAQUE — THE MINDSET OF A CHAMPION | Interview 1This episode has some Video issues midway through due to internet connection issues during the recording.On this episode of BBQ Therapy, Tavis Bryant sits down with Janice Smella of SmellaQue, one of the most accomplished teams in Canadian competition barbecue.SmellaQue has been competing since 2014 and has been named Canadian BBQ Team of the Year five times. But behind those championships is a story about discipline, family, obsession with the details, international competition, and the constant pursuit of getting better.In Part 2, Janice takes us inside the journey that built SmellaQue.We talk about:🔥 Where Janice's passion for cooking began🔥 When cooking became competition🔥 Finding the identity of SmellaQue🔥 What it means to be the "obsessive-compulsive" cook🔥 Competing alongside family🔥 How SmellaQue evolved over more than a decade🔥 Staying hungry after winning championships🔥 Becoming Canadian BBQ Team of the Year for the fifth time🔥 Taking SmellaQue from Canada into major American competitions🔥 The American Royal🔥 Jack Daniel's World Championship🔥 Houston's World Championship Bar-B-Que Contest🔥 What Janice learned from Texas barbecue🔥 Canadian BBQ vs. American BBQ🔥 The mindset required to compete at the highest levelThis isn't just a conversation about trophies.It's about what happens after you've already proven you can win.How do you stay hungry?How do you continue evolving?And what does it take to balance competition barbecue with a career, a family, and everything else life demands?This is Interview 1 of the conversation with Janice Smella.This is BBQ Therapy.🔥 LISTEN. LEARN. GET INSPIRED.Subscribe to BBQ Therapy for more conversations with the people behind the smoke.🌐 BBQ Therapy Podcast: www.bbqtherapypodcast.com#BBQTherapy #JaniceSmella #SmellaQue #CompetitionBBQ #CanadianBBQ #BBQ #Barbecue #Pitmaster #BBQPodcast

What does it take to build championship barbecue—and keep getting better after you’ve already reached the top?On this episode of BBQ Therapy, Tavis Bryant sits down with Brandon and Toya Norman of Memphis Original BBQfor a conversation about competition barbecue, marriage, military service, business, championship sauce, catering, and the mindset behind consistent performance.Brandon spent 23 years in the United States Navy, eventually becoming a Chief Petty Officer. But his journey after the military led him deep into the world of competition barbecue alongside Toya.Together, Brandon and Toya have built Memphis Original BBQ into a respected competition team and BBQ business.Their résumé includes winning the 2017 Memphis in May World Championship Sauce Competition and finishing 3rd Overall in the 2025 KCBS Master Series Rib Team standings.But this conversation goes well beyond the trophies.Brandon and Toya talk about how barbecue became more than a hobby, how they built Memphis Original BBQ together, and what it's like being husband and wife, teammates, and business partners.We also go deep into their approach to competition ribs.What do they look for before the cook begins? How do they know when to make an adjustment? What happens mentally as turn-in approaches? And what separates a good competition rib from a great one?Then we go back to 2017 and the sauce that earned Memphis Original BBQ a world championship.Where did it come from? What were they trying to create? And what did winning that championship actually mean for the business?We also get into their catering operation, the differences between cooking for judges and cooking for customers, and one philosophy that says a lot about their approach to barbecue:“If you own the pit, you’re the pitmaster.”That leads to a bigger conversation about equipment, technique, experience, and why the person behind the cooker ultimately matters more than the cooker itself.This is a conversation about barbecue—but it’s also about partnership, discipline, consistency, and building something together.For anyone interested in competition BBQ, ribs, sauce, catering, or simply understanding what happens behind a successful BBQ team, there’s a lot to take away from this conversation.This is BBQ Therapy.Listen. Learn. Get Inspired.🎙️ Hosted by Tavis Bryant🔥 BBQ Therapy Podcast🌐 www.bbqtherapypodcast.com#BBQTherapy #MemphisOriginalBBQ #BrandonNorman #ToyaNorman #CompetitionBBQ #KCBS #MemphisInMay #BBQPodcast #BBQBusiness #BBQRibs

The Barbecue World Cup is planning to bring 100 teams to Las Vegas with a $1 million prize on the line. That's a big vision for competition barbecue, and it has the potential to make a major impact on the BBQ world.But there are questions that need to be asked.In this episode, Tavis Bryant of BBQ Therapy Podcast steps behind the microphone to talk openly about the upcoming Barbecue World Cup. No guest. No interview. Just an honest conversation about the questions surrounding an event of this size.How is the event being financed? What will the spectator experience look like? What are the competition rules and judging standards? How will teams qualify, and will competitors have a fair opportunity to participate?Most importantly, what could this mean for the future of competition barbecue?This isn't about hoping the event fails. Quite the opposite. I want to see it succeed. But when an event promises 100 teams and a $1 million prize, there are important questions worth discussing.Let's talk about it.BBQ Therapy PodcastListen. Learn. Get Inspired.Visit: https://www.bbqtherapypodcast.com

What do you learn when your first competition barbecue contest ends with you near the bottom of the results?For Aaron Huentelman, you come back and get better.On this episode of BBQ Therapy, Tavis Bryant sits down with Aaron Huentelman, a competition pitmaster, founder of Go Big or Go BBQ, Competition Meat Director for Mister Brisket, and Great Lakes BBQ Association board member.Aaron's barbecue journey has taken him through nearly every side of the competition BBQ world.He started with family influences, professional restaurant experience, and a Christmas pork shoulder cooked on a charcoal grill. Then came his first KCBS competition in 2014—and a finish that could have convinced him to walk away.Instead, he came back.That journey eventually led to major competition finishes, a Grand Championship at the Dayton BBQ Rodeo, the creation of Go Big or Go BBQ, and his current role helping competition teams find and select the meat they rely on before they ever fire up their smokers.In this conversation, Aaron takes us through the entire journey.We talk about his grandparents and the story behind “Go Big,” the lessons he learned from professional kitchens, what his first competition taught him, and what changed between finishing near the bottom and eventually finding success on the competition circuit.Then we go deep into the business side.How do you turn a sauce or rub idea into an actual product? What does it take to launch a food brand? And what happens when you launch a new business just before the world changes?Aaron also breaks down his work with Mister Brisket and what it means to serve as Competition Meat Director.What makes a competition brisket different? What are teams looking for in chicken? How important is consistency? And what should cooks understand about selecting their meat before the cook ever begins?This conversation is about more than meat.It’s about learning from failure, building something from the ground up, understanding the details that matter, and finding new ways to contribute to the barbecue community.From the smoker to the business side to the meat sitting on the cutting board, Aaron Huentelman has experienced competition barbecue from just about every angle.This is BBQ Therapy.Listen. Learn. Get Inspired.🎙️ Hosted by Tavis Bryant🔥 BBQ Therapy Podcast🌐 www.bbqtherapypodcast.com#BBQTherapy #AaronHuentelman #MisterBrisket #GoBigOrGoBBQ #BBQ #CompetitionBBQ #KCBS #BBQPodcast #BBQBusiness #BBQPitmasterAaron Huentelman,Mister Brisket,Go Big or Go BBQ,BBQ Therapy,competition BBQ,KCBS BBQ,BBQ pitmaster,BBQ podcast,competition brisket,competition meat,BBQ business,BBQ entrepreneur,Dayton BBQ Rodeo,Great Lakes BBQ Association,BBQ competition,BBQ brisket,competition chicken,BBQ rub,BBQ sauce,BBQ meat,KCBS competition,barbecue podcast