2011 Kiwi Royal Smoke-off Challenge

A while ago when we began sorting through our belongings to decide what to sell and what to ship back to Kansas City, Jake was struck with a tough decision. What to do with his smoker? He couldn't just sell it to some stranger who wouldn't appreciate it, and I put my foot down and said we're not paying to ship it back. So he decided to organise the soon-to-be-famous 2011 Kiwi Royal Smoke-off Challenge on the last weekend in March, with the winner taking the smoker home.

In the spirit of the American Royal (world's largest barbecue competition hosted in Kansas City every year), the Kiwi Royal allowed Jake's buddies to compete in smoking the best meat. Thanks to Lesa and Jase for hosting the event and congrats to Mike and Kate Day for taking first place.

I'm afraid I've deleted my photos from the event, but you can be sure it was a fierce competition. It was pouring down rain that day, and the boys were outside much of the time monitoring the meat.

For my contribution, I shared the artery clogging American favourite that is Rotel dip made with Velveeta. This is the same Velveeta I smuggled into the country after my trip to the States last July. I have to admit it was quite amusing to define "pasturised cheese food" for the Kiwis in the room, and also try to explain why no refrigeration was necessary even though I'd bought the cheese more than eight months ago. Everyone tried it and offered a polite comment here and there, but I think it's safe to say Velveeta is probably a one-time experience for them.