Since Barbecue is more of an “old man sport”, it is harder for someone my age to get into cooking and judging, as it takes lots of money and time to cook, and sometimes you need connections to get into certain competitions.
I luckily have had many great mentors growing up who have helped introduce me to the world of barbecue. The most prominent of which is my grandfather and barbecue pal, Ardie Davis, a.k.a. Remus Powers, PhB.
Because I became very close to him because of barbecue, he helped me get certified as a barbecue judge at age 16. It would take around six months until I could judge at a competition, but I was able to come with him to multiple events in the area. He attends judges meetings at nearby competitions and gives the judging oath, which he created. He has numerous other achievements like founding the Diddy-Wa-Diddy National Barbecue Sauce Contest, being a member of the Kansas City Barbecue Society Hall of Fame, a successful barbecue writer with 11 books published, one of the few people to have a Ph.B. and being an upstanding member of the community.
It is great having him as an asset, as when I meet new people or talk with teams, I can introduce myself as Ardie Davis’s grandson, and by having that connection people are much friendlier than they probably would be to your average 18-year-old. He is quite the character and everyone who meets him likes him as he is a genuinely nice human being, and the deserved fame does him well, as he is usually quiet and composed, and is a smaller person stature-wise, so people listen to him when he speaks. Most of the things he says are either important life lessons or jokes, with little in between, so it is definitely worth listening to him as many have learned.
He has also crafted a barbecue persona for himself as Remus Powers, PhB. I asked it where it came from and he told me that he loves Uncle Remus’s stories, which are a collection of animal stories, songs, and oral folklore, collected from southern African-Americans. The stories main characters are Brother Rabbit, Brother Fox, and Brother Bear. From these stories, Ardie adopted Remus as his BBQ forename.
The second part of his name comes from a lesser known source. When Davis was young, his father was a mechanic and worked with a man with the last name Powers. As Davis grew up, he learned many things from Mr. Powers and to this day remembers him and has honored him by making Powers his BBQ surname. His costume consists of his round wireframe glasses, bowler hat, apron with three ribs and the words “Remus Powers PH.B.”
Some of the other mentors I have been lucky enough to have are Gary Bronkema, Megan and Jason Day of Burnt Finger BBQ, Ryan Cooper, Emily Park (and other American Royal Staff), and Sammye Phelps (and other Kansas City Barbecue Society Staff). Gary is a family friend who I have judged with and has written me letters of recommendation for barbecue related events. I have spent time with Megan and Jason’s team Burnt Finger BBQ and have gotten quite close and I would love to have the opportunity in the future to spend more time with their team. Ryan and I spent lots of time together during the 2018 American Royal World Series of Barbecue competition and he is a fellow judge. And I volunteered for both the American Royal and the Kansas City Barbecue Society and met and got to know many amazing people who do so much work behind the scenes.
