Over 130 Texas high school teams are competing in High School BBQ Inc.'s regional competitions leading up to the state championship with a chance to win scholarship awards toward culinary school from Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts.
The intense world of competitive barbecuing is the subject of Magnolia Network's new six-part docuseries, "BBQ High." The series follows Texas teenagers during their senior year of high school as they compete in qualifying barbecue competitions starting in September, aiming for the state championship title and scholarship awards in May.
Texas HS BBQ Inc.'s competitions require student-led teams to prepare dishes in five categories: brisket, ribs, chicken, beans and dessert. In addition to the competitions, "BBQ High" follows students' journeys and captures some of the pivotal life decisions they face during their final year of high school.
Nonprofit HS BBQ Inc. competitions started six years ago with a handful of students and have grown into a popular competitive sport with more than 130 teams from across Texas. The organization supports project-based learning to engage and inspire high schoolers to learn about barbecue and compete in competitions.
"BBQ Inc. offers a different kind of extracurricular option for high school students interested in barbeque education and team competitions focused on problem-solving, the science behind cooking and smoking meats, time management, and leadership skills," said board member Marcus McMellon, president of Escoffier's Austin campus. Escoffier has been a sponsor since its inception.
"We serve as mentors, provide educational instruction, assist with competition set up, event sponsorship, and offer institutional scholarship awards. We've seen these kids take the competition to the next level from pre-dawn practices and creative recipe development to welding their smokers and managing wood-burning pits. The events continue to grow in popularity, to the level of 'Friday Night Lights' for BBQ competitions," said McMellon.
Adult team mentors are allowed to offer advice during the competitive rounds but cannot enter the roped-off areas where the teams prepare their food. Students are required to manage their time to plan and execute the many steps between choosing proteins, setup and turn-in deadlines. Judges assign points for each of the five categories to determine overall winners.
Escoffier serves as a sponsor for all of the HS BBQ Inc. competitions leading up to and including the state championships and provides institutional scholarship awards for regional and state winners.
