Submitted photo The award-winning Mad Hatter BBQ team includes, from left, Kevin Greathouse, Vanessa Taylor, Bucky Taylor, Gabby Taylor, Patty Currence and Jamie Collins. Not pictured are Larry (Craig) Warner and Linda Warner.

BARTOW — A group of local residents has formed an award-winning barbecue team, collecting trophies at BBQ competitions across the state and beyond.

After just one year of competing on the barbecue circuit, the Mad Hatter BBQ team has already made a name for itself.

The Mad Hatter squad, which consists of eight team members from Pocahontas and Randolph counties, is a member of the Kansas City BBQ Society and Mid-Atlantic BBQ Association. The unit capped off the 2024 season by being named the Prairie Fresh Backyard Team of the Year.

“We are just a competition team and we don’t do catering or anything like that,” Mad Hatter Pit Master Jamie Collins told The Inter-Mountain. “We are too busy competing, but we will do fundraisers for people if someone is sick or something like that and needs some help. We will cook and donate the meat and everything to them.”

In the KCBS Bayard Series in 2024, Mad Hatter BBQ finished first overall in chicken and eighth overall in ribs. The sixth-place overall finish in that competition was good enough to qualify the team for the World Championships in May of this year. Because of funding, however, the team won’t be making the trek to Lebanon, Tennessee.

“We want to win the whole shebang, the whole world,” Collins said. “The KCBS does a world championship and you have to be invited to it and we were this year, but unfortunately we are not going to be able to attend because we just don’t have the funds to do it.”

Overall, the team competed in 18 events in 2024, winning four grand championships, including the Almost Heaven BBQ Bash title in Buckhannon.

Other than Collins, the team consists of Patty Currence, Larry (Craig) Warner, Linda Warner, Kevin Greathouse, Vanessa Taylor, Bucky Taylor and Gabby Taylor.

The Mad Hatters currently compete in the Backyard Series, despite being asked to move on to the Master Series, Collins said.

In the Backyard Series, teams are asked to only cook two meats, ribs and chicken. Those competing in the Master Series cook four meats during an event, which include ribs, chicken, pork and brisket.

“We are going to stay where we are for another year or two,” Greathouse said. “It costs a little bit more money to move up. But overall for this being our first year of competition, I think we did a good job. Hopefully we can continue to be as successful in 2025.”

The team will depart for Urbanna, Virginia on March 20 to compete in a weekend competition on March 21, 22 and 23.

Gabby Taylor is a sophomore at Tygarts Valley High School. She was instrumental in helping put the team together. Because of this, the Mad Hatter team would like to put out a challenge to area high schools to create competitive BB! teams and have a competition. 

Mike Murphy, who owns Boyer Station Campground in Pocahontas County, has offered to host any competitive BBQ event the high schools can put together.