The Ghana Barbecue Association (GBQA) has been selected to participate in the 2020 edition of the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest in Memphis, USA.
The contest is part of a list of activities marking the Memphis In May International Festival which has announced Ghana as the “2020 Honoured Country.” Memphis in May is the official festival of the City of Memphis, the recipient of 211 prestigious Pinnacle Awards from the International Festival and Events Association and has been named as Travel+Leisure’s international list of Festivals worth Traveling For.
Each year, Memphis in May International Festival organizes a trip to explore the honoured country in advance of the May salute for the honoured country. In light of this, Board Chair Charles Ewing and President and CEO James L. Holt and other executives are currently in Ghana to meet with government agencies and institutions ahead of the event.
A barbecue reception yesterday was put together by the GBQA with the support from the National Theatre, Ghana Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to welcome the dignitaries.
Holt in an interview with the media said, “One of the elements of the festival is barbecue; Memphis is the home of barbecue and is recognised worldwide as having some of the best barbecue in anywhere on the planet. Our organization presents the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest each year and is the largest pot barbecue competition in the world.
“We have over 260 competition teams from about 30 to 40 in the United States and about 8 to 12 in foreign countries. One of the items that we are looking at is to select barbecue chef that will represent the Republic of Ghana in the world championship next year.”
President of GBQA, Livingstone Asikoye said, having being for existence a little over a year now, this is a huge achievement for them to be participating in a prestigious competition.
“This is an association that comprises many people from many fields, bankers, teachers, lawyers, students and so on. And if you love fire, fun and friendship, this is the association for you. I am really happy about this opportunity to showcase what we have in Ghana on a global scale and I know we will represent well to make Ghanaians proud,” he said.
The World Barbecue Association Ambassador for Africa and a member of GBQA, Doris Eyram Lumor presented the delegation with GBQA branded welcome scarves and shirts and declared them honorary members of the association. She was thankful that GBQA will be at the world championship
With an ever growing membership, the Ghana Barbecue Association is the local chapter of the World Barbecue Association (WBQA) which seeks to serve as a national platform to promote the Barbecue industry. Ghana serves on the executive council of WBQA.
The association uses the element of fire as an instrument to promote a positive way of life and show respect to all; with the ultimate aim of creating jobs for the youth and boost the local economy.
By: Samuel Obeng Appah
