‘Ribbers’ Compete for Top Spot at Toronto Ribfest

Canada Day long weekend celebrations kicked off to a smoking start on Thursday with the 12th annual Ribfest held at Centennial Park.
‘Ribbers’ Compete for Top Spot at Toronto Ribfest
Omid Ghoreishi
7/1/2011
Updated:
7/2/2011

ETOBICOKE—Canada Day long weekend celebrations kicked off to a smoking start on Thursday with the 12th annual Ribfest held at Centennial Park.

Organized by the Rotary Club of Etobicoke to help charity initiatives, Ribfest is one of the largest Canada Day celebration events in Toronto, with a crowd of 150,000 expected to attend over the weekend.

Barbecue specialists, or “ribbers,” from all over North America have made Toronto’s Ribfest part of their regular stop in their seasonal tour each year.

Ribber Antonios Kefalidis from London’s Crabby’s BBQ Shack is confident they’re going to come out on top this year, boasting 9 wins out of the 11 years they’ve competed in the festival.

The key is all about how the ribs are prepared, he says.

“We slow-cook them, then add flavour and sauce,” Kefalidis says, explaining that their sauce has a sweet taste with a kick of spice.

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But the race to be number one might be a tough one with last year’s defending champ, Camp 31, already drawing a full line-up of people only a couple of hours into the opening day.

Standing at the front of the line, Philippe Le Bian says he and his wife Dorothy come out every year, and they always go to the booth that won last year.

Seeing the long line at Camp31 was enough to get Matthew Lee and Sisi Lin to queue up too. “You always want to go to a full restaurant,” says Lin.

What helped them win last year, says Kazlin Smith from the Brewton, Alabama-based Camp31, was their special sauce, which she describes as a southern barbecue sauce with hickory and smoke flavours.

She says the Toronto Ribfest is one of their best shows.

“Nice to see family and kids come out and enjoy it on the Canada Day weekend,” she adds.

Standing in the middle of the park, Dean Caldwell invites the crowd to try the ribs at the New Mexico-based Uncle Sam’s BBQ, with chants like “there’s only one way—it’s Uncle Sam’s way.”

Caldwell says rib specialists go by other names besides ribbers, including “rib technicians” and “ribnicians.” Just be careful not to call them carnies though, or they might get offended.

“You wouldn’t let a carny handle your food now, would you? I wouldn’t.”

Ribfest will run daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. from June 30 to July 3. The theme for this year’s festival is “eradicate child hunger.”

The festival features rides, carnival games, family entertainment, and two stages with music and other performances.

Admission and parking are free but everyone is encouraged to donate at least $2 to the Toronto Food Initiative.