PETA sympathizers rejoice!  One quick Google search will tell you food ‘free’ of anything is the way to go!  Gluten free, fat free, dairy free are all very popular right now.  What you might not know, is that the hottest trend right now is Meat free!

No coincidence folks, it is directly related to the launch of the Kansas City Barbecue Societies sister competition circuit, the Kansas City Vegan Society!  That’s right, BBQ for the vegan and it makes perfect sense!

Our world is evolving and the leaders from the ‘City of Fountains’ have taken notice.  This innovative way to be all-inclusive of everyone’s personal feelings and needs should lead to big things for the overall Kansas City area and cooking enthusiasts alike.

We had a chance to speak with Jonah Phillips, the director of the newly found KCVS.  He’s as enthusiastic as the competitors are to get started.

“Our market research told us there was a very big gap in this space, a very big need for this sister organization.  We found that an entire group of interested competitors not only had zero interest in the KCBS, due to their vegan needs, but also felt quite hurt and left out of the fun because the competitions didn’t mesh well with their lifestyle.  We’ve solved this by ensuring the world of competition BBQ is now all-inclusive, no competitor left behind, if you will”

Phillips continued, “We spoke with people all over the country before moving on this, just to be sure we were on to something here.  We traveled out to San Francisco, Portland, Austin, TX, all the way up to Seattle and found an amazing amount of interest in those cities.  While we expected to find some interest, the level of interest was quite impressive and so, we moved quickly to launch the KCVS”

We asked Phillips how the contests would differ from a typical KCBS event and, while the details were still be finalized, he was able to share some of the vision.

“We see these events as fun, light hearted events.  The cooks will focus on their competition using soy and whey products mashed, boiled then shaped and baked to look like normal KCBS turn ins, Chicken, Ribs, Pork and Brisket.  Tofu is also an acceptable ingredient.  The evening before the contest we plan to have a bon fire where we will all share stories and sing Kumbaya.  We see it as a real nice way to gather around and love.”

It remains to be seen how well the newly formed KCVS will take off, but if things go as well as Mr. Phillips sees them going, it could be an ex’soy’lent addition to the world of competition BBQ!