Things were smokin’ at Bernard, Blues & BBQ: Puck Daddy’s Q runner-up in inaugural contest

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Even amid near-perfect weather, the campus of Cullman’s St. Bernard Abbey spent most of the weekend bathed in smoke and the scorching sear of flames — though for the hungry guests at this year’s annual St. Bernard Blues and BBQ Festival, that was a feature; not a bug.

Under blue skies and mild breezes, St. Bernard stayed awash in the festivals’ signature mix of music and perfectly char-grilled meat treats, packing in a full festival weekend of food, arts and crafts, live entertainment, and even a seriously competitive barbecue cook-off.

Partnering with the Kansas City Barbeque Society for a first-time-ever contest between professional pit masters, the festival handed out top honors to first-place finisher Smokey Bees BBQ, followed closely by runners-up Puck Daddy’s Q and Big D’s Q. The seventh annual Bernard Blues and BBQ Festival attracted nearly a dozen entrants for its inaugural Kansas City-judged competitive cook-off, though there was plenty more to go around thanks to a weekend-long binge of ribs, chicken, pulled pork and more from local caterer Freddie Day.

“The Kansas City Barbeque folks know exactly what they’re looking for in barbecue,” said event organizer Joyce Nix. “They were just phenomenal to work with. We had great participation from some wonderfully talented local folks too, and of course we could not have done any of it without our amazing sponsors. We’re really looking forward to having all of it back again next year.”

As always, proceeds raised from the two-day event will go to the St. Bernard Preparatory School, with the Blues and BBQ Festival serving as the early-autumn fundraising complement to St. Bernard’s springtime Bloomin’ Festival.