Chatham Artillery repeats as Blue Ridge champions

Bill Anderson's 2010 competition cooking season hasn't been the smoothest of campaigns. A return trip to Tryon proved to be a perfect remedy for those ills.

Anderson's Chatham Artillery BBQ of Savannah, Ga., earned its second straight Blue Ridge BBQ & Music Festival grand championship on Saturday, topping the 89-team field to become just the second team in the Festival's 17-year history to win repeat championships.

Chatham Artillery also joined the only other repeat winner, three-time champion B.S. Pitmeisters, as the only cook team to win multiple Blue Ridge titles. The Pitmeisters, who placed sixth this year, won Festival grand championships in 1999, 2001 and 2002.

"I can't believe it. Two in a row," Anderson said.

Chatham Artillery placed in the top five in chicken, pork ribs and brisket in earning almost a 6-point win over Bub-Ba-Q of Jasper, Ga. Rounding out the top five were A Taste of Carolina of Alexis, N.C., Grog N Hogs of Richmond, Va. and Uncle Chet's BBQ of Atlanta.

After a solid 2009 season that included its Blue Ridge grand championship, Anderson and Chatham have struggled with equipment issues for much of 2010.

"We started out a little slow this year," Anderson said. "We had some smoker problems that we finally got fixed. . .It's taken us a while, but things finally worked out."

In the individual classes, Bill Milroy and his Texas Rib Rangers captured top honors in the Whole Hog category for the fourth time. Uncle Chet's BBQ of Atlanta won the Chicken category, while Crow Creek BBQ of Pickens, S.C. took the top spot in Pork Ribs. The Creekside Smokers of Swannanoa, N.C. earned the top spot in Pork, with Bub-Ba-Q wining Brisket, Mountain Magic Country BBQ of Shelby, N.C. taking the top spot in Anything But and the Double "F" Cookers claiming the Dessert category.

A Taste of Carolina of Alexis, N.C. earned the Governor's Trophy as the top North Carolina entry.

"This is a great contest," Anderson said. "I'm glad they're still having this. This one should never be canceled. It's one of the best ones out there."