Cooks ready to show off skills at Downtown Jonesboro BBQ Festival

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - With the Downtown Jonesboro BBQ Festival kicking off on Friday, Sept. 23, the two-year hiatus has made the contestants hungrier than ever to bring home that first-place prize.

Cooks of different experience levels are ready to test their luck, such as Mike Foster, who is an engineer by day, but a pit boss by night.

“I do a whole lot of barbequing at home, but you know the competition is a little different,” he said. “I’m still excited though, a little nervous about the turn-in boxes, but we will see how we do.”

For every Mike Foster, there is a Ralo Brown, someone who has been cooking in competitions with his friends for years and is excited to compete right at home.

“This is exciting to be at home and be able to grab your stuff and come right out here. This is exciting,” he said. “We are right here in town, we live here, this is the one in our backyard, so we are really excited for this one.”

In the two years where the event was not held, it made cooks from around the area like Katelyn Crain ready to show what they can do.

“We are so excited, we have been looking forward to this since Jan. 1, so when we heard about its going to happen this year, we were pumped,” she said. “We are from Jonesboro, so hopefully we can make our town proud.”

No matter who comes out on top, all of the cooks are excited for everyone to get a taste of what they have to offer.

You can read more about the festival here.

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