Locally Sculpted Trophies & Locally Based Champions Dominated This Year’s Event
(L-R) Bloomie the Pig, Voncile Amore, Joe Amore, Vickie Ownby, Steve Ownby
Sevierville (TENN) – Sevierville’s 7th Annual Bloomin’ BBQ & Bluegrass event brought in visitors from around the country and around the region. But the Bush’s Best Tennessee State Championship Cook Off had a decidedly local flair. From the locally sculpted trophies, created by Pigeon River Pottery at the Old Mill, to the cook off’s grand champion, local was the order of the day.
In fact, 2011 Grand Champion cook team Smoky Mountain Smokers, led by head cook Joe Amore’, got its start at the first Bloomin’ BBQ & Bluegrass cook off in 2005. Amore remembers his first cook-off well. “Bloomin’ BBQ was our very first contest and we’ve competed in every one since then except for the 2008 event,” says Amore’. Joe and his wife, Voncile, who make up the team, compete actively on the Kansas City Barbecue Society circuit and travel around the nation. “While we’ve won 22 Grand Championships and 15 Reserve Grand Championships since we started competing, we had never claimed Grand Champion at our hometown contest.” Now the Amore’s can say they have won at home – and earned a trophy representative of our local craftsman heritage.
Potters at Pigeon River Pottery at the Old Mill created all the trophies for this year’s event, including large thrown and altered BBQ smokers for the Grand and Reserve Grand Champions.
“We were super excited to be asked to make the trophies for the Bloomin’ Barbeque and Bluegrass here at Pigeon River Pottery again,” says production potter Jason Gore. “It’s always a plus when you get to be involved in such a fun project and show everyone a different side, creatively.” Altogether, the production team created 26 one-of-a-kind hand crafted trophies for the cook off winners.
