The House of Que competitive barbecue team is on the road, headed to the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue in Tennessee – a longtime dream of team members Ken MacInnis of New Ipswich and Brandon Saldoni of Nashua.

The two qualified for the honor after winning a state championship title at the Connecticut Barbecue Challenge, an automatic ticket to the world championship.

“It’s unreal,” said Saldoni of getting the opportunity to go to one of the biggest events in competitive barbecue.

“It’s the Super Bowl of barbecue,” said MacInnis.

Making it to the world championships was especially meaningful for the two, since despite individually competing in  barbecue for several years now, they are new as a team – the Connecticut Barbecue Challenge was only their third competition cooking together. MacInnis said he initially planned to enter the competition solo, and Saldoni hadn’t planned to enter. But when word came down that a win would mean a ticket to the world championship, MacInnis said he knew they stood a better chance together.

The two met through barbecue competitions about a year ago, and started competing together this year.

“We had a good chemistry,” Saldoni said. “We’re both the missing links on each other’s team.”

Saldoni, has owned Bentley’s Famous Barbecue – named for his son – for the past 17 years. MacInnis works as a category manager in the Whole Foods meat department, and said he became interested in barbecue when in 2007, Whole Foods opened a store in Portland, Maine, that included a barbecue hot bar with in-house smoked meats and bacon.

MacInnis said Saldoni brings the flavor profiles and recipes, while Saldoni said MacInnis brings structure, timing and butchering experience, making them a strong pairing.

“The collaboration just really worked,” MacInnis said.

And that chemistry is something the competition is really about, Saldoni said.

“To me, barbecue is more than just food. Barbecue brings people together,” Saldoni said. “It’s a giant society, a brotherhood, and that’s what I love about barbecue. It’s not just about food, it’s about community.”

MacInnis said even in the competition world, teams often have camaraderie with each other, and the New England teams who are headed to the world championship have been in contact with each other about their routes and stops along the way.

“I think that’s the draw of it, and why more and more people are getting into this sport – the community of people. Everyone’s there for each other. It’s such a fun atmosphere. We love it,” MacInnis said.

The world championship competition has a total of 85 teams competing, including champions from every state as well as international teams.

Teams will compete in four main categories: chicken, ribs, pork and brisket. The House of Que team is also participating in the “Chef’s Choice” and dessert categories.

MacInnis said they’ll be participating in all four main categories, but chicken is the team’s specialty. They use LaBelle Patrimoine chicken, which are heritage, pasture-raised and air-chilled, slowly grown. They source their ribs from Illinois and make their brisket from Wagyu beef. MacInnis said the quality of the meat can make or break a good competition cook.

The Jack Daniels 2024 World Championship Invitational Barbecue competition is Oct. 11 and 12 in Lynchburg, Tenn. It draws more than 40,000 visitors.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.