This week we learned that a few of our 2018 members will not be able to return due to travel or schedule conflicts. Guess what – that means we have a few spots open, and we’re looking for a few good men and women!
BBQ teams are private parties – they have to be, by state health regulations. If you’re not on a team, you’re on the outside looking in. Being an invited guest to a team’s booth for an hour or two is all right, but by joining a team, you get four days of an otherworldly experience – a trip to Planet BBQ! The elaborate booths… that smell… the competition… the music and dancing… there’s nothing like it!
Why the Moody Ques?
We have a proven track record of success. Our main competition category is Pork Shoulder, and last year we finished 7th out of 57 teams, earning a trip on stage to pick up a trophy.
In addition to BBQ Fest, our cook team has won trophies in many regional competitions, beating some of the top names in BBQ in the process.
Of course, a big reason to join a BBQ team is the food, and in the Moody Ques booth you are going to eat well. In addition to competition pork shoulder, we serve traditional BBQ favorites like ribs, wings, and smoked sausage. For variety, we have some non-BBQ dishes too. Here’s a look at some of the food we served in 2018.
Make valuable connections that extend long past BBQ Fest. Lifelong friendships have been formed in the Moody Ques booth. One team member was offered a job as a result of connections who were in the Moody Ques’ area. We even had two team members who met in the booth, got engaged a year later, and got married.
The Moody Ques experience: The good thing about our team demographic is that we skew somewhat younger than many veteran teams, with average age in the 30s, although we have a range of ages from 20s to 60s. Although our primary focus has become competition cooking, we have not forgotten how to party.
The team member who selects our music for peak party hours (7-midnight Thursday and Friday) is the same person who selects the music for a popular Downtown Memphis cocktail lounge on the weekends. After dinner, the dancing begins.
Of course, there are libations to be had, with a full bar, kegs of beer, and treats like Jello shots and spiked gummy worms.
Impress your friends. Although it is a private party, team members can bring guests. Each team member gets a few wristbands to get guests in during peak hours (7 PM-midnight Thursday and Friday; wristbands aren’t required during non-peak hours).
In addition to our trophy-winning food, we offer river views. Although we are not on the river walk, we have a large two-story booth the size of a house, with views of the river on the second story.
You’ll want to make sure to show your friends the facade of our booth. We compete in Best Booth every year. Since the Moody Ques’ founding as a team in 2012, we have placed in the top 3 in Best Booth 5 times, and have outright won it twice.
Unlike some teams, we don’t let sponsors kick us out of our own booth during prime time. Many teams have a “sponsor happy hour” or “sponsor night” on Thursday or Friday, when team members are asked not to bring guests and are expected to act as waiters/waitresses for the sponsors. We don’t do that. We have a sponsor lunch on Friday but that will be done well before the park gets busy.
Other stuff you might want to know:
- Booth is completely safe and we use off-duty MPD for security
- We have restrooms in the booth so you don’t have to go find the public ones
- Convenient access: Our booth is only a short walk from the Georgia Avenue park entrance
- Membership includes a T-shirt and a rubber wristband identifying you as a team member (2 of each for couples memberships)
- Membership includes admission to the park during public hours Wednesday through Saturday of BBQ Fest
- Membership includes a “Meat” & Greet in Downtown Memphis Saturday afternoon, April 13, so you can get to know your teammates before BBQ Fest
- Membership includes an invite to hang out at our booth at the Southaven Springfest regional competition Saturday, April 27 (you have to pay to get in the festival)
What if you can’t cook? No problem at all. We have our cook team in place already. There are plenty of other ways to help out, including
- Providing muscle during load-in and load-out
- Helping with build and painting Sunday-Wednesday of BBQ Fest week
- Bartending
- Assisting during BBQ Fest – going on keg runs, getting ice, etc.
- Bringing side dishes or non-BBQ dishes
- Volunteering to help clean the booth Saturday morning for our 11 AM judging
Membership fees are $410 individual/$610 couple plus a $50 initiation fee. If you pay dues online there will be a nominal credit card fee added. To join at the couple rate you must be an established real-life couple.
Ready to sign up? Email us at moodyques@gmail.com, let us know of your interest, and tell us how you can help out from the list above. If you seem like a good fit, we’ll send you a link to sign up and pay.
Thanks for reading! We’d love to have you on the team!
