Competing at the Royal Oak Invitational 2024 in Roswell, GA

There are BBQ weekends, and then there are BBQ weekends you’ll never forget. October 18–20, 2024 was one of those for me. I had the chance to cook with the Great White Smoke team at the Royal Oak Invitational down at Royal Oak’s headquarters in Roswell, Georgia, and it was every bit the whirlwind you’d expect when you pack two days full of steak, KCBS turn-ins, and some of the best pitmasters in the country.

If you’re curious about Royal Oak, check out my post about the company and their amazing products!

Day 1: Steak Bites and Catering Style Fun

The first day wasn’t about traditional competition—it was more of a catering-style event where the focus was on creativity and flavor in a single bite. The protein? Steak.

We went with something simple but bold: a single bite of steak laid over a slice of French baguette, sandwiched with a slice of cheese. To finish it off, a slight drizzle of au jus. It sounds straightforward, but man, when you nail that steak cook and pair it with the crunch of fresh bread and just enough cheese, it hits like magic. It was the perfect little bite to hand out to folks walking through, and it gave us a chance to showcase flavor without overthinking it.

We finished with a solid 10th out of 30 teams via the fan voting, from all the Royal Oak employees and their families coming through to sample our steaks!

Day 2: Full-On KCBS Competition Mode

If day one was the warm-up, day two was the real deal—straight-up KCBS competition barbecue. We rolled into the early morning with four meats on the docket:

• Chicken
• Ribs
• Pork
• Brisket

Cooking under the Great White Smoke banner with Dave White at the helm was an experience in itself. Dave runs a tight ship, but he also knows how to keep things fun in the middle of all the chaos that comes with turn-in times. We also had James Grubbs as part of the team, which made the weekend even better. Having guys with that much experience and passion around you elevates your own game—you can’t help but push harder and try to make every box the best one yet.

The cook itself? It was the usual mix of high stress and high reward. The smell of ribs glazing up just right, the tenderness check on brisket, the clock ticking down until you’ve got to box it up and hope the judges catch all the little details you worked so hard on. That’s competition BBQ in a nutshell—hours of prep and stress for a few bites that you hope are perfect when it matters most.

The Royal Oak Experience

One of the coolest parts of the whole weekend was just being at Royal Oak HQ. Everywhere you looked, there was the fuel that keeps so many of us cooking—lump, briquettes, pellets—and seeing it all on their turf just added to the atmosphere. The Invitational itself pulled in some incredible teams, and walking around, swapping stories, and trading tips reminded me why I love this community so much.

Royal Oak put on a top-notch event, and you could tell they cared about making it something special for both cooks and visitors.

Wrapping It Up

The Royal Oak Invitational 2024 was one for the books. From handing out steak bites on baguettes to sweating over brisket turn-ins the next day, it was BBQ at its best—community, competition, and a whole lot of smoke.

Cooking with Dave White and the Great White Smoke crew, along with James Grubbs, was an experience I won’t forget anytime soon. It pushed me, it inspired me, and it reminded me why competition BBQ has a hold on all of us.

Already looking forward to the next one.