Meet the pitmasters competing at Fayetteville's Black BBQ Cook Off this weekend

Fayetteville’s Black BBQ Cook Off, now in its second year, is returning to Murchison Marketplace on Saturday.

Organizer Bruce Yeomans said that 18 teams will cook pork ribs, chicken thighs and brisket for a chance to win trophies and cash in each meat category and overall. Attendees will sample pulled pork to determine a people’s choice winner.

The grand champion will be awarded $1,000, a trophy belt and serious bragging rights.

Located at 3421 Murchison Road, the festivities begin at 11 a.m. Tickets are $16 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

While competitors are coming from all over the Carolinas, many of them are from the Cumberland County area.

Here’s a look at some of the local pitmasters who are vying for the top spot.

Charles Baldwin, B&B BBQ & Catering

Charles Baldwin, 60, is the team captain for B&B BBQ & Catering — he has a Bladen County-based food truck by the same name.

Baldwin is a Portersville native and former lineman who started catering and setting up a barbecue tent at rodeos and other area events a few years ago. About a year ago, he started his food truck.

On Saturday, with the help of his wife, Vernida Baldwin, and friend Edward “Dooley” Thomas, Charles Baldwin will defend a second-place title in chicken from last year, but he said he hopes to win it all.

“I really want that belt,” he said.

Michael “Shotgun” Collins, Shotgun BBQ

Michael “Shotgun” Collins, 49, is the captain and sole member of the Shotgun BBQ team. He’s a South Georgia native and Marine Corps veteran who’s lived in the Fayetteville area for about 20 years.

Collins said he has made several television and podcast appearances stateside and around the world for his barbecue. Among them was a stint on the Netflix show “The American Barbecue Showdown.”

He’s competed in barbecue competitions for decades, and last year, he won No. 1 overall at the Black BBQ Cook Off. Chicken is his specialty.

“I am the chicken man,” Collins said.

The returning champion said he’s entering Saturday’s competition with the same mindset that he always brings to barbecue.

“My motto is to stay humble and stay grounded,” he said. “No matter how good you are, there’s always somebody that’s better.”

JaJa Hagan, BigBellies Barbecue

JaJa Hagan, 51, is the team captain for BigBellies Barbecue. Born in Georgia, Hagen moved to Fayetteville as a young boy and is an E.E. Smith High School graduate. By day, he’s a car dealership finance manager, but he’s best known around town for his barbecue, which he said he’s been doing “since Captain Crunch was a private.”

Last year, his chicken won No. 3, but Hagen said that ribs are his specialty. His wife, Kishia Hagan, and his longtime friend Daryl Johnson will join him at the grill Saturday.

JaJa Hagan said he’s looking forward to exposing attendees to different styles of barbecue and paying homage to its roots.

“The slaves took useless parts of meats and smoking it was also a way of curing the meat,” he said. “It’s just a lot of history behind it.”

Carlos Jones, Slow Burn BBQ

Carlos Jones, 57, is the team captain for Slow Burn BBQ. He’s a Fayetteville native with 20 years of barbecue experience, which includes co-owning and operating the former Hopkins Barbecue food truck. Now, he participates in barbecue competitions throughout the Carolinas and offers catering services in the Fayetteville area.

Jones said his specialty is ribs, but he’s “good at all of them.” He placed No. 2 overall in last year’s cook-off.

Alongside his three teammates, Jones said his goal is to work his way up to larger, barbecue association-sanctioned competitions such as the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest at the Memphis in May festival.

He said he hopes for the Black BBQ Cook Off to be as large as Fayetteville’s Greek and Dogwood festivals.

“I want the people of Fayetteville to see that this event is getting bigger and bigger every year,” he said.

Jerrold Malloy, It Takes Two BBQ

Jerrold Malloy, 51, is the team captain for It Takes Two BBQ. The Fayetteville native said that he started his culinary journey as a cook in the Army — where he went from nearly ruining $400 worth of meat to winning a military culinary arts competition — and when he retires from the Army next year, he plans to start his own food truck and catering business.

Last year’s Black BBQ Cook Off was his foray into the world of competitive barbecue, and since then, he’s won first place in ribs and chicken in competitions in South Carolina alongside his barbecue teammate Bruce Yeomans, who won’t be joining him at the grill on Saturday. Malloy said he will be accompanied by his 10-year-old daughter, Isabella, and his wife, Angela Tatum Malloy.

He said that it’s an honor to share his hobby with his community.

“Cooking is like art, you can take something and turn it into something beautiful,” he said.

Sterling McGhee, Mac's Slow Smoke BBQ

Sterling McGhee, 56, is the team captain for Mac’s Slow Smoke BBQ, which includes his wife, Victoria McGhee, and longtime friend Curtis Lewis. Sterling McGhee is a Johnstown, Pennsylvania native and Army veteran who first lived in Fayetteville when he was stationed at Fort Liberty, then named Fort Bragg, from 1986 to 1995. He said he returned in 2014 and has been here since.

McGhee and his wife, who is also an Army veteran, own and operate Mac’s Grill Aroma food truck. Typically found at Fort Liberty shooting ranges on weekdays, the food truck serves an “all-American menu” of pulled pork sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, steak sandwiches, quesadillas, baked beans and macaroni and cheese, McGhee said.

On Saturday, McGhee is looking forward to trash-talking his fellow pitmasters, as well as learning from them, he said.

“It’s about having that camaraderie around other African Americans that have the same interests,” he said.

Carl Pringle, Flip Flop Barbecue

Carl Pringle, 57, is the team captain for Flip Flop Barbecue, which is also the name of his Fayetteville-founded sauce brand. He’s a Washington, D.C., native and Fayetteville resident who hosts weekly free community cookouts through his nonprofit, 1 Big Family.

On Saturday, he and his teammate Cedric Harris will defend last year’s No. 1 win in ribs. Pringle said he might also debut his forthcoming Flip Flop mustard on the pulled pork.

“I’m not giving up my belt for the ribs,” Pringle said. “I’m actually going for a clean sweep.”

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He said the cook-off honors a shared food history and culture.

“We get to share our stories,” he said. “Why should there be a problem with us celebrating our heritage?”

John Ryan Brooks and Karee Brooks, Brooks Backyard BBQ

John Ryan Brooks, 46, is the team captain for Brooks Backyard BBQ. He’s a Shellman, Georgia, native who’s lived in Fayetteville for about 15 years. His work in the healthcare industry brought him to the area.

Brooks said that several years ago he honed his barbecue skills to host fundraisers to cover medical expenses for his father’s kidney transplant. His Georgia-style barbecue, which uses a tomato-based sauce, was new to some North Carolinians but a hit nonetheless, he said.

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Brooks is bringing his small-town Georgia flair to Saturday’s competition with the help of his wife, Karee Brooks, he said.

“Our chicken and ribs will hold their own against anybody,” he said.

John Ryan Brooks said that the meaning of the event goes beyond competition and camaraderie.

“Being African American and being the descendant of slaves,” he said, “this really means a lot.”

Tece Townsend and Mann McNeill, Manatees BBQ

Tece Townsend, 35, is the team captain for Manatees BBQ, which is also the name for his and his cousin Mann McNeill's catering business in Raeford. This is the duo’s first major competition.

The pair specialize in chicken and ribs, Townsend said, and they’ve been barbecuing for about a decade.

Townsend said the competition on Saturday holds respect for the pitmasters of the past.

“It’s a great honor to be a part of it because if it wasn’t for them that paved the way, I never would be able to compete now,” he said.

William Wright of SLFATBOYZBBQ

William Wright, 44, is the team captain for SLFATBOYZBBQ. He’s a Maryland native who’s lived in Spring Lake since 1983. He said he’s been barbecuing for most of his life — he learned how to cook chicken and ribs from his uncle. Brisket, however, is Wright’s specialty.

“I got the best barbecue in the city, and I have proved it time and time again with my brisket,” he said.

Wright is a former truck driver who now works as a chef in Pinehurst, but he said he hopes to get his food truck up and running by the end of the year.

At last year’s competition, his pulled pork received third place. On Saturday, he’s joined by two teammates.

“Barbecue just ran in my blood,” he said. “To see friends and family cheer me on and show the world what I can do is special to me.”

Food, dining and business reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter, or Facebook. Want weekly food news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the Fayetteville Foodies newsletter. 

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: These are the pitmasters competing at Fayetteville's Black BBQ Cook Off