A team of high schoolers from the Shawnee Mission School District recently took home the top prize in a national barbecue competition.
Broadmoor Bistro’s “Caught Smokin” squad earned the top trophy at the National High School BBQ Championship, which was hosted June 5 in Gardner, the first time the contest has taken place in Kansas in its five-year history.
“We were a little surprised, but also pretty elated,” said Steve Venne, Shawnee Mission School District Caught Smokin’ team coach.
The grills were fired up, and the tantalizing smells of barbecue wafted through the Gardner Edgerton High School parking lot under the blazing hot sun that Thursday.
This was the first time since the competition started five years ago that Kansas has hosted the tournament and a Johnson County team would take home the grand championship trophy.
The Shawnee Mission team was up against dozens of teams: A total of 87 high school and 15 middle school teams from seven states competed in the 2025 Scheels National High School BBQ Championship.
“We felt good about our chances and were hoping to make the Top 10,” Venne said. “We thought we had a strong grilled cheese, but winning in the chili category shocked us, because it was salty, and we had to borrow brown sugar.”
The Caught Smokin’ team comprised of five students from the Shawnee Mission District’s Broadmoor Bistro at the Center for Academic Achievement culinary program.
Venne, the team’s coach, has over 20 years of professional cooking experience working in kitchens throughout the country and the Caribbean. He has been a Shawnee Mission educator for the past 13 years.
Venne said this was the second time Kansas has been a part of the National High School BBQ competition, and it was only the third time their team had entered a barbecue competition.
“I enjoy the competition aspect of cooking,” Venne said. “This was more of a learning curve for me (as a coach), because I mostly cook ribs.”
Venne said that because of the school district’s esteemed culinary school reputation, it was easy for him to put together a competition team. For example, one of his students, Lucy Hutton, will attend the Culinary Institute of America in New York City on a full ride scholarship this fall.
“The competition gives a true education”
Competition founder Mike Erickson said the competition helps students learn new and different cooking skills, along with knife skills.
“The competition gives a true education teachers can use in their classrooms,” Erickson said. “And kids gain life skills.”
Erickson said the competition was also another way for students to become involved with their school and community.
“It makes you smile, it makes them smile, and everyone is having fun,” Erickson said.
Erickson said next year’s competition will take place in Dallas, but he hopes that with help of the Kansas City Barbeque Society, the competition can return to Kansas at the American Royal in 2028.
“Everyone knows there is something special with these kids and the competition, especially small towns,” Erickson said. “This disrupts the local food community, and it is cool how Gardner has wrapped their arms around them.”
How Gardner Edgerton’s Blaze Legion Team fared
Although Gardner Edgerton High School did not place in the Top 10 this year while on their home turf, Erickson said the team was one of the first involved in this year’s competition outside of hosting, and this was their first year competing on the national level.
Recent Gardner Edgerton High School graduate Troy Branch said he was a big fan of cooking, especially chili.
“I like that you can just throw a bunch of things in a pot, and it tastes good,” Branch said.
Teammate and Sophomore Leland Brown joked he was the reason Fire District #1 became their team’s sponsor.
“I burned my finger at last year’s Meat Inferno competition (in Edgerton),” Brown said.
Keep reading more barbecue news: Paul Kirk, Johnson County’s ‘Baron of Barbecue’ and hall of famer, dies at 84
