Plot Synopsis

Six barbecue masters vie for a $50,000 grand prize as they compete in a series of culinary challenges and avoid being eliminated by a panel of judges. In each 60-minute episode, the competitors complete two or three rounds of BBQ contests, including: making their single best bit of barbecue; creating cocktail party fare for an art gallery in Chelsea; grilling or smoking a salad and dessert; cooking up kid-friendly barbecue for a child's birthday party without using old stand-bys like hamburgers and hot dogs; creating vending cart food in Battery Park; BBQing pre-game ballpark snack for season ticket holders at Yankee Stadium; cooking a healthy barbecue for the cast of the musical "Mama Mia"; and delivering late night bar food for a crowd of Brooklyn bar-hopping hipsters. The contestants are: "Famous Dave" Anderson, founder of Famous Dave's America; Chris Hart, winner of the 2009 Jack Daniel's Invitational; Sara Horowitz, runner-up at the Versus National BBQ Championship series; Matt Lang, former head chef at New York's Fette Sau; Chris Lilly, vice president at Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q Restaurant; and Brad Orrison, founder of The Shed BBQ. The judges are: celebrity chef Tim Love; cookbook author Amy Mills Tunnicliffe; and James Beard Foundation executive Mitchell Davis.