ϲ competitive BBQ team competes in championship
Spoiler alert! We’re giving weekly updates on the sizzling reality TV series “BBQ High,” featuring ϲ’s competitive BBQ team.
It’s all been leading up to this – the season finale of ’s TV series “BBQ High,” showcasing ϲ’s competitive BBQ team at the High School BBQ State Championship this past Sunday.
After months of preparation and intense competition, championship day was finally here and the Dan Dipert Career + Technical Center’s Smokin’ Ferrets were ready to bring all the smoke to Round Rock.
With over 100 high school barbecue teams competing for the title of the top dessert, beans, chicken, brisket or ribs in the state, the stakeswerehigh–literally.
For Martin High School senior Marc Fadel, the goal for state was clear – to place high in the ribs category.
That’s why he’d been perfecting the flavor and tenderness of his ribs since the beginning of the 2023-24 school year. Last episode, a week before state, Fadel made the decision to use a new technique for the final showdown.
“It’s real risky to be changing stuff last minute,” Fadel said. “I really want this win for the team. You don’t want to be the one that messes up.”
But it wouldn’t be the ribs almost costing the competition for the team. It was the cloudy smoke Fadel noticed coming from the smoker.
“Whenever you’re getting a real cloudy smoke, either something is in your smoker that isn’t supposed to be or your fire’s dead,” Fadel said. “According to the rules, you can’t have your fire die. Once you start the fire, you’re not allowed to restart the fire. If it dies, then we’re out of the competition.”
Although the drop in temperature affects thecooking of the meat, Fadel was able to maintain the fire and get the smoker back to 275 degrees.
After facing the challenges and feeling the pressure of a strict turn in time, Fadel headed back to Arlington for his senior prom.
“Coincidentally state is the same day as prom,” he said. “I want to stay for awards but it’s one of those things where it’s like you can’t miss prom, you know what I mean? I do feel some guilt about leaving early. I worked a lot with these guys. It was a little sad to not be there with them. But I did my job, turned in my ribs. It’s time for prom.”
Fadel’s teammates Facetimed him for the awards ceremony. Although the team did not place in any of the five categories, the Smokin’ Ferrets were proud of how far they’d come in Texas barbecue.
“In life you’re not always going to come out on top,” said Smokin’ Ferrets coach Greg Almendarez. “Even though we didn’t come home with a trophy, you’ve just got to find that win that’s not in the shape of a trophy. The kids had fun and they’re going to remember this for the rest of their lives. Marc and the Smokin’ Ferrets have really set the bar high for next year’s team.”
For Fadel, it wasn’t just about the competition, it was about the journey and the friendships he made along the way.
“Barbecue has taught me a lot,” he said. “It taught me how to put a lot of love, put a lot of effort into something. I made all these friends and had a great time.”
Marc is currently majoring in construction management at the University of Texas at Arlington and continues to grow his side business with his very own food truck.
“I truly think barbecue changed who I am,” Fadel said. “It was a good journey.”
Watch the final episode of “BBQ High” onor stream the series on Max and Discovery+.