Dave Elliott is no stranger to the grill.
He first tried his hand at barbecue more than a decade ago, quickly picking it up as a hobby after purchasing his first smoker and grilling meats at home.
The steaks — er, we mean stakes — got a bit higher when he entered his first Kansas City barbecue competition in the spring of 2010, becoming intrigued by competing after watching teams of barbecue enthusiasts show their stuff on culinary competition show BBQ Pitmasters.
And yet, if you told him where that hobby has gotten him today, he said, his past self would be blown away.
“I wouldn’t believe it for a second,” he said. “I’ve been very fortunate, and I had a lot of luck and a lot of great help with friends and family along the way.”
After roughly 15 years of competing, the Olathe-based culinary enthusiast has now racked up a number of victories from the annual international World Food Championships — including, most recently, the winner of the World Burger Championship this past fall.
Elliott won with a “surf and turf” burger
The burger that earned Elliott his champion title was a “surf and turf” burger; wagyu beef with arugula, prosciutto, tarragon aioli, gruyere cheese and cold water lobster tail on a brioche bun.
The three-day competition took place at the Indiana State Fairgrounds & Event Center in Indianapolis in October.
Elliott had full creative liberty of his burger in the first round, but in the second round, he had to get experimental with multiple new ingredients as part of the competition — including a “mystery ingredient” (which ended up being brown sugar) and beef from Indiana-based Legacy Maker Meat.
The secret to a good burger? Elliott said that’s simple — not cutting corners on the quality of ingredients, but keeping the quantity of those extra ingredients minimal.
“Everything needs to be fresh,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be complicated. There’s nothing wrong with just a simple, plain burger. As long as you cook it right, it’ll be great.”
This was not Elliott’s first victory
Elliott snagged his first winning burger title in the World Food Championships in 2022. That burger is now on the menu at District Pour House in Shawnee, dubbed the “World Food Championship Burger”.
But his history of high-scoring cuisine goes back farther than that. His initial nomination for the competition back in 2013 was in the dessert category — the nomination for which he remembers being “floored”.
In that competition, he made it into the second round after his frozen peanut butter pie wowed judges. In the second round, his mother’s carrot cake recipe (which she helped him prepare during the competition) took second place.
“It’s gotten so much more competitive since we started,” he said. “The competition level is through the roof.”
Elliott competes for the ultimate title in the spring
Elliott’s fall victory will qualify him for the “Final Table” competition in Arkansas next spring, when the WFC winners from each individual category will compete against each other for the ultimate title.
During that competition, contenders have to cook their way through three rounds, none of which they’re given the details of in advance. So ultimately, Elliott said, you have to be ready for anything.
Though winning is nice, though, Elliott said, there’s another big perk to being a culinary competitor. That’s the camaraderie he’s had the chance to experience throughout the past decade when he gets together with fellow culinary enthusiasts all over the country.
In those moments, he said, it’s almost easy to forget you’re rivals when you’re all brought together by the same thing.
“It’s been a blast,” he said. “The best part is the people. If you would ask about anybody, I think they would probably tell you the same thing. We compete against each other, but we’re still friends.”
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