Melissa Cookston, the reigning queen of barbecue, called last
year's stellar showings by her Yazoos Delta Q team a dream come
true: "It really was a Cinderella year."

Not only did she and her husband, Pete, win the top title at
last year's Memphis in May's World Championship Barbecue
Cooking Contest with their whole hog entry, they then repeated the
spectacular showing at the National Championship in Washington
D.C.

"I think we had something like nine grand championships last
year," said Cookston.

She was also a finalist on the popular BBQ Pitmasters show on
TLC. "We actually went to California to film that right after being
in Washington D.C. We went from East Coast to West Coast."
And, yes, they hauled their rig all that way.

The filming lasted about two weeks. "It's interesting to see how TV
shows are put together," she said. "When you see the final product,
you don't really realize all that goes into it."

While she didn't win, the experience led to another project, which
Cookston is hush-hush about for the time being. "I'm not at liberty
to say," she said with a chuckle.

Yazoos Delta Q has already competed in two contests this year,
coming out on top at both. "We won the grand championship
with ribs at Southaven," said Cookston, who has been on the
competition circuit for 15 years, and doing it full time since
2007. "It's what we eat, sleep and breathe," she said.

In between competitions, the Cookstons teach barbecue, filling in
potential competitors on their winning ways. That seems incredibly
gracious, doesn't it?

"Most of the students are already competing against us," she
said. "We're essentially showing them how to beat us. We give

away everything. I don't feel good about taking somebody's money
unless I show them everything."

The classes fill up quickly and have become popular far beyond
the Memphis barbecue world.

"I've also got a private class with restaurateurs from Chicago
coming down. We bring them into our home and treat them like
family," Cookston said.

So, what's the champ planning for this year's competition? Will she
stick with the winning formula?

"You know, barbecue evolves," she said. "You need to be able to
grow and change. If you don't, you get left behind."

Over the winter, they worked on a few things, tweaking recipes
here and there. "I try to forecast where it's going. I don't feel
comfortable forecasting because I haven't really gotten my feet wet
yet this year. And I don't want to give anybody a head's up."

Her path to evolving Yazoo Delta Q's style, is methodical. There
are no happy accidents, she said.

"I'm a firm believer in making your own luck," she said.

Two areas she's constantly looking at improving are taste and
texture, sometimes working with various breeds of pig. "When we
cook whole hog, we treat each one as an individual. That's why I
name each one of them."

Last year's Memphis in May Grand Champ was named Fred!

Yazoo Delta Q no longer competes in any of the ancillary
competitions, choosing to focus on the meat. But this year,
barbecue teams from Canada are coming to represent Yazoo in
the sauce and slaw competitions. "Barbecue is such a wonderful
community," she said. "We meet at the National Barbecue
Convention every year. We get together and share ideas and talk.
No matter what circuit you compete on, at the end of the day we
have a passion for barbecue."

Melissa Cookston Interview by Aranhia