AMERICAN CULINARY FEDERATION
PRESS RELEASE

Richard McPeake places at the American Royal BBQ Contest

American Royal BBQ Contest is largest BBQ Santioned Event in World

St. Augustine, Fla., November 28, 2007 - The "Sultan of Smoke" Richard McPeake showed off his skills and barbecue knowledge to place in the top 20 overall at the prestigious American Royal BBQ contest held in Kansas City, Mo.

McPeake, a member of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) and the ACF Greater Kansas City Chefs Association, led the Rib Stars team against 500 other teams to place third in the Open Brisket Competition and sixth in Open Pork Ribs.

Higher honors could have been earned, McPeake said, admitting that his chicken did him in. "The chicken killed us this time. I went against my 'Golden Rule' and changed things the last minute. I tried to make it sweeter."

While the chicken changes hurt the team, McPeake read the judges and prepared ribs to their liking. "I try to be consistent and stay with that, but judges change. Some years they like it spicy and other years they like sweet."

Instead of preparing his usual spicy baby back ribs, he impressed the judges with sweet St. Louis-style spare ribs. However, he stayed true to his 20-year method of smoking brisket to place third overall.

A consistent top finisher, McPeake said barbecue competitions are all about the cooking for him. "Some people like to call it a sport. For me, it's therapeutic."

cPeake teaches barbecue classes and is the author of barbecue books including Backyard BBQ: The Art of Smokology (McPeake, 2005) and Backyard Grilling: Grill Like a Professional (McPeake, 2003). He also has his own brand of dry rubs called Rib Stars "Rub Me Tender" Rubs that are available at www.ribstarsbbq.com.

McPeake, of Kansas City, Mo., and his team are no strangers to competition. They've won several honors at past Great American BBQ Contest and the American Royal. He is also a certified barbecue judge.

The American Culinary Federation, Inc., established in 1929, is the premier professional organization for culinarians in North America. With nearly 20,000 members spanning more than 230 chapters nationwide, ACF is the culinary leader in offering educational resources, training, apprenticeship and accreditation. In addition, ACF operates the most comprehensive certification program for chefs in the United States. ACF is home to ACF Culinary Team USA, the official representative for the United States in major international culinary competitions, and also holds the presidium for the World Association of Chefs Societies, the largest international network of chef associations with more than eight million members globally. For more information, please visit www.acfchefs.org.

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