ABA Board

President

40 + years working in the meat industry.
Queensland Sales Rep for Que Wholesale
General Manager of Red Meat at John Dee, Warwick Qld.
Represented the ABA and Australia at the 2017, 2018 & 2019 Houston World Champions BBQ in Texas, USA.
Placed 2nd in Brisket and 16th overall in a field of 380 teams, using Australian-produced brisket.
SCA rep and ABA promoter of many successful events in NSW & QLD.
Competed in ABA, SCA, KCBS & IBCA-sanctioned events in Australia and the USA.
Committed to helping Barbecue grow across Australia and supporting a successful sanctioning body, and alliance for all to enjoy competition BBQ.

Vice President & Head Judge

Bachelor of Applied Science in Animal Production. Has worked across the meat industry for 20 + years, having been with Meat & Livestock Australia, and its subsidiary company, Integrity Systems, since 2010.
Demi has a particular interest in beef processing and meat science, is a qualified carcase grader, and holds multiple red-meat accreditations and qualifications.
Has competed with the all-female team, The Meat Mistresses and Manning Valley Natural Smokers when they competed at the World’s BBQ Competition in Houston.
Certified ABA head judge & SCA representative – the first person approved to run both ABA and SCA-sanctioned competitions in Australia.
Immediate past Vice President of the Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging Association (ICMJ) and past coach of its national team.
Committed to continually evolving and improving practices and processes for the betterment of competition barbecue, and to support and build long-term growth of the community into the future.

Treasurer

Commenced in the banking & finance industry in 1993 undertaking many roles over 28 years. Holds a degree in marketing and e-commerce.
Previous board member and treasurer of Bribie RSL, one of the biggest community clubs in QLD from 2005 to 2017. Board member of Clubs QLD, for 8 years.
Owned and run an accommodation complex on Bribie Island since 2017.
BBQ journey started in 2015 competing at the second BBQ & Blues Fest at Port Macquaire.
Original member of the ‘peoples champions’ The Flamin’ Mongrels, currently still competing with Wookie from Grilla’s in The Mist.
Competed in international competitions including The American Royal Invitational & Open World Contest, and the Houston Rodeo World Championship BBQ cookoff.
Says ‘the amazing people you meet on the journey who have the same passion, is what makes this such a great community. That’s why it keeps growing and the standards continue to be raised across all parts, because of the love of BBQ.”

Secretary

15+ years of experience in business administration and human resource management
Heavily involved in local community events. Has participated on a number of committees including Oakey Rugby League Club where she has served as both Secretary and more recently, President
Jess is a successful BBQ comp promoter running the well-known “Smokin’ the Downs” competition in SE Qld. since 2021
Started an interest in barbecue in 2021 as a team member and chief parsley packer with the Smooth & SmOakey Salad Dodgers
Has two young sons, Brayden and Fletcher, who love attending BBQ comps. The boys have even competed in a number of kids’ contests
Jess loves to spread the good word that is barbecue with the local community, where she often runs fundraisers for local community events, so everyone can experience the joy of smoked food

Sponsorship

Opened The Que Club in 2017 which is a retail store, restaurant, bar, and cooking school, all under one roof, creating an Australian and potentially world-first barbecue experience.
Andrew is part of the “Natural Born Grillers” BBQ team and are regulars on the Australian competition circuit, competing since 2015, picking up many trophies, and have represented Australia in the USA.
Over 15 years of experience as a Managing Director, leading multiple American-based businesses, first in Belgium and then in Australia.
A personal passion for all things cooking with smoke and fire.
Committed to growing an inclusive and transparent association that celebrates everything smoke and fire. Growing and nurturing the sport of competitive BBQ to all walks of life, all across Australia.

Social Media & Promotions

Co-founder of the Australasian Barbecue Alliance.
Co-founder of Meatstock, Australia, and New Zealand’s largest barbecue festivals with events in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Toowoomba and São Paulo.
Art Director of the ‘Beyond the Flame’ winning a gold medal at the NBBQA 2019 awards.
Award-winning competitive barbecuer winning 3rd place in Lamb at his first and last event.
Committed to helping the ABA with communications and marketing to not only grow the sport of Barbecue, but also the live-fire cooking movement in Australia, and fostering a welcoming barbecue brotherhood for everyone.