JASON SETNYK
A new barbecue festival brought smoke, crowds, motorcycles, and competitive grilling to the Cornwall Civic Complex as “Smoke on the Seaway” exceeded expectations in its debut year while raising funds for Maison Baldwin House.
The two-day event featured a Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned competition, food vendors, live entertainment, a motorcycle show and shine, hot sauce tastings, and family activities. Professional pitmasters from across Canada and the United States competed for a chance to qualify for the prestigious Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue. Good Googly Goo BBQ from Baltimore earned Grand Champion honours, while Mean Moe’s BBQ from Innisfil, Ontario, finished as Reserve Grand Champion. Host Mat Drouin said the turnout surpassed organizers’ expectations.”Having this parking lot full of people and full of smokers and the smoke rolling in the air, you can smell the barbecue, you can hear the motorcycles. It’s a very cool event. I believe there will be a round two of Smoke on the Seaway,” he said.
Proceeds will help Maison Baldwin House and its new residential program for women exiting human trafficking. Executive director Debbie Fortier said, “I can’t tell you how overwhelmed I am at how many people have shown up. We’ve had nothing but amazing comments about how organized it’s been. The food has been fantastic and people are asking, ‘Are you going to do it again next year? People have come together. People have enjoyed everything.”
A highlight was the Kids BBQ “Meatball Challenge,” where youth competitors prepared original recipes. Darby captured first place with Pickle Ranch Meatballs featuring garlic aioli, honey mustard glaze, and macaroni salad. Among the competitors were Grade 11 students Addisyn Ladouceur and Emily Paquette from École secondaire catholique La Citadelle, who created sweet chili meatballs stuffed with mozzarella. “We got a lot of people surprised on how they taste because they had never tasted something like that before,” said Paquette. “We’re really happy to see that everyone really enjoyed them.” Ladouceur encouraged other students to participate in future competitions. “It’s a very positive environment,” she said. “It’s not a heavy competition where everyone’s fighting like you see on TV.”
Competitors also highlighted the sense of camaraderie throughout the barbecue community. Melanie Jodoin-Kent of SteelSmith’s SmokeHouse said teams were eager to share ideas despite competing against one another. “Everyone gets along, even though we’re competing against each other,” she said. “Everyone loves barbecue, everyone collaborates. It’s also for a good cause.”
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