We had no idea what to expect, all we knew was that the competition involved the Big Green Egg grills. You know, the big expensive ceramic grills that use wood instead of charcoal:
The contestants all made their own version of a gourmet hamburger, and they were assigned numbers for the judges. The dishes were put in styrofoam lunch containers, and presentation was a part of the judging.
Steve sat down with the other two judges, Rick and Whatshisname, and they sampled each dish.
The contestants stayed outside in the bar area. I had never been to Mike Love's house, so I had no idea the bar area was an elaborate, spread out structure with a patio, converted garage, and an actual bar with a huge bar window that opens up to the jacuzzi and pool area.
Robin and I walked around out there while Steve and Company performed their judging duties inside. It was raining off and on all day, which is weird, but with the canopy and the garages we had plenty of covered areas. The contestants were all people we knew, from Havasu. They had been there all day, cooking and hanging out.
Once the judging was done, Steve came out and oogled all the collectibles Mike has on his garage shelves. He thought I'd be shocked by the classic cooler collection, but really I already knew about it. Mike Love is the one who inspired ME to begin MY collection!
When the winner was announced, it was quite funny. This was a competitive crowd but they were all friends with one another.
I caught Steve and Rick in one of those spontaneous "Aaahahahahaaaa" moments:
Pretty funny.
The winner, Sharon, hugged each judge:
Then more food appeared, prime rib, brisket, and grilled shrimp. Oh, and deviled eggs made with horseradish. That was AWESOME!!
Many guests sat in the garage with all the comfy chairs, watching a NASCAR race. Steve texted, as usual.
I checked out some of Mike's more interesting collection items:
