If the name ‘#Ribstock’ didn’t already give the game away, then rib lovers, brace yourselves to hear how the ultimate rib festival celebrating all that is finger-licking, tooth-picking and rib-stickingly good went down. 10 participants, including Chef Ben Spalding (formerly of Roganic) teamed up with Inka Grills, Cabana Brasil, Redhook London, The Rib Man, The Lucky Chip and Opera Tavern, all competing to see who would be crowned winner of Ribstock and be the proud title holder of the #Ribstock 2012 ‘Best ribs’ and ‘Best hot sauce’.
The brainchild of two people, ‘The Rib Man’ & creator of ‘Holy F*ck’ sauce - Mark Geveaux and JD Downey - owner of Milk & Honey and Redhook London, the event caused quite a stir on Twitter with all 600 tickets released on sale being snapped up in under 5 minutes by rib-hungry masses.
The event was hosted by TV presenter Richard Bacon (no pork jokes, please) with the support of ‘Tweat_Up’ (run by JD Downey) – organisers of foodie events via Twitter and despite the wet weather, crowds of loyal supporters showed up in their droves to eat, drink and cast their votes to determine the winner of the event. Nearly 1,000 racks of ribs and 10 different varieties were on offer, to ensure no one would be left hungry. The drinks tent offered shelter from the rain and a steady stream of cold beers, Jack Daniels and Bourbon cocktails alongside the novel idea of cardboard boxes filled with tortilla chips which were also well received by those who were yet to eat their first portion of ribs.
With 476 votes casted, the winners of #Ribstock 2012 in the rib category were Redhook London and the winner of the best hot sauce was none other than food writer, TV presenter and well-known chilli-addict, Tom Parker-Bowles.
For more information on future Tweat Up events, follow them on Twitter: @Tweat_Up
You can also find The Rib Man on Twitter: @TheRibMan and also at Brick Lane every Sunday with his pulled pork rolls with ‘Holy F*ck’ hot sauce.
