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NBBQA Conference - Orlando!  See You This Week, Feb. 15-18, 2023!!

NBBQA Conference - Orlando! See You This Week, Feb. 15-18, 2023!!

2023 NBBQA Annual Conference info from registration to accommodations.

Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 8:00 AM (EST) to Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 7:00 PM (EST)

Wyndham Orlando Resort and Conference Center = Celebration Area

3011 Maingate Lane
Kissimmee, FL 34747
United States

Event Details

The NBBQA Annual Conference gathers members and people from the industry to network, learn and participate in various topics and activities around the Business of BBQ. Whether you are a product owner, run a restaurant, or are involved in media or any other sector of BBQ, there are boundless opportunities to network, learn, and grow at this popular event. Join us at the Wyndham Orlando Resort & Conference Center in Kissimmee, Florida.

2023 Conference Agenda
Wednesday, February 15, 2023

10:00 a.m.:  Cooks Church presented by Faith & Fire Ministries

10:30 a.m.:  NBBQA Restaurant Tour Leaves Orlando Wyndham Resort & Conference Center – Celebration Area (Conference Area entrance) (Separate Ticket)

4:30 p.m.:  NBBQA Restaurant Tour Arrives Back at Orlando Wyndham Resort & Conference Center - Celebration Area (Conference Area Entrance) (Separate Ticket)

6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.  Welcome Reception/Fire Fight (Outside Tent) Presented by Prairie Fresh

Thursday, February 16, 2023

7:30 a.m. Cooks Church presented by Faith & Fire Ministries (Outside at Tent)

8:00 a.m.:  Breakfast (Tent) presented by Faith & Fire Ministries (Outside at Tent)

9:00 a.m.   Welcome and Keynote Address (Salon A & B)

10:15 a.m.:  BBQ Business 101 presented by Jeff Shapiro from BBQ Holdings, INC. (Salon D)

10:15 a.m.:  Producing a Successful Steak Cookoff presented by SCA (Salon E)

12:00 – 1:15 p.m.:  Lunch presented by SuckleBusters (Salon A & B)

1:30 - 2:50 p.m.:  Meet the Masters One-on-One Open Sessions (Salon A & B)

3:00 p.m.:  Expanding Product Distribution presented by Panel (Salon E)

3:00 p.m.:  Beef Cuts presented by National Cattlemen's Beef Association Steve Wald (Outside Tent)

5:00 p.m.:  Happy Hour (Salon A & B)

6:00 p.m.:  Awards of Excellence Dinner and Awards presented by The BBQ Spot (Salon A & B) 

Friday, February 17, 2023:

7:30 a.m. Cooks Church presented by Faith & Fire Ministries (Outside at Tent)

8:00 a.m - 8:50 a.m.:  Breakfast presented by Faith & Fire Ministries (Outside at Tent)

9:00 a.m.:  Turning Flavor Makers into Money (Salon E)

9:00 a.m.:  US Foods:  Social Media Success  (Salon D)

10:15 a.m.:  SIG Groups Five Minute Idea Exchange (Salon E)

10:15 a.m.:  US Foods:  The Modern Kitchen – Adapt & Survive (Salon D)

12:00 p.m. – 1:25 p.m.:  Meet the Masters Luncheon presented by Sonny's (Salon A & B)

1:30 p.m.:  Knife Care Session presented by David Malek (Salon D)

1:30 p.m.:  Bulk Orders versus Catering presented by Panel (Salon E)

2:00 – 4:00 p.m.:  NBBQA Master Class Whole Hog Class presented by Boars Night Out (Outside Tent). (Separate Ticket)

4:30 p.m.:  SCA Cooks Meeting (Register at steakcookoffs.com)

5:00 p.m.:  Night of Fire Dinner (Outside Tent)

6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.  Rhinestone Cowboy Steak Showdown (Outside/Awards at Tent) (Register at steakcookoffs.com)

7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.  SCA Steak Turn-In (Front of Conference Center)

8:30 p.m.  SCA Awards (Outside Tent)

Saturday, February 18, 2023

7:30 a.m. Cooks Church presented by Faith & Fire Ministries

8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.:  NBBQA Master Class Boston Butt Class presented by Mark Lambert (Outside Tent)  (Separate Ticket)

9:00 a.m.:  SCA Double-Down (Register at steakcookoffs.com)

11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.  NBBQA Master Class Ribs Class presented by Tuffy Stone (OutsideTent) (Separate Ticket)

2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.  NBBQA Master Class Brisket Class presented by Moe Cason & Bob Trudnak (Outside Tent) (Separate Ticket)

5:00 p.m.  SCA Cookoff Awards – Outside Tent

Full Conference Registration Open Until February 1, 2023!

Member Package - $599.00  - This ticket includes entry to the Wednesday evening Smoke Fight Welcome Reception, Thursday Morning Breakfast and Keynote Address, Choice of Eight Educational Sessions, Lunch, and the Awards of Excellence Dinner and Presentation. On Friday, you will have access to breakfast, six educational sessions, Meet the Masters Luncheon, and Night of Fire Dinner (Only available to NBBQA members; Please sign into your account to receive this rate).

Non-Member Package$759.00 -This ticket includes entry to the Wednesday evening Smoke Fight Welcome Reception, Thursday Morning Breakfast and Keynote Address, Choice of Eight Educational Sessions, Lunch, and the Awards of Excellence Dinner and Presentation. On Friday, you will have access to breakfast, six educational sessions, Meet the Masters Luncheon, and Night of Fire Dinner.

Vendor Package - $950.00 - This ticket includes entry to the Wednesday evening Smoke Fight Welcome Reception, Thursday Morning Breakfast and Keynote Address, Choice of Eight Educational Sessions, Lunch, and the Awards of Excellence Dinner and Presentation. On Friday, you will have access to breakfast, six educational sessions, Meet the Masters Luncheon, and Night of Fire Dinner plus 10x10 space (inside or outdoors).

Master Classes (Separate Ticket) - $200 Members/$300 Non-Members All Four Classes (Whole Hog  presented by Boars Night Out Championship BBQ & Catering, Boston Butt presented by Mark Lambert, Ribs presented by Tuffy Stone, and Brisket & Beef Ribs presented by Moe Cason and Bob Trudnak and sponsored by the National Cattelemen's Beef Association/Beef.org).

NBBQA Annual Restaurant Tour (Separate Ticket)
This annual conference extra event will kick off the 2023 NBBQA National Conference. This tour is limited to the first 100 sign ups and set up for NBBQA conference attendees to get a first-hand look at different BBQ joints. The tour is set for Wednesday February 15th and will start at 10:30am and slated to end around 4pm.  This tour will start and leave from Wyndham Orlando Resort & Conference Center 3011 Maingate Lane Kissimmee, FL 34747.  This tour will be making stops at three Orlando BBQ destinations with samples and back of the house tours at each stop: 
Pig Floyds - https://www.pigfloyds.com/
Sonny’s BBQ - https://www.sonnysbbq.com/
4Rivers Smokehouse - https://www.4rsmokehouse.com/

Rhinestone Cowboy Steak Cookoff This event will showcase the best BBQ and Grilling cooks in the World for a chance to win $1000 and the NBBQA Rhinestone Cowboy Hat. Event is set to start Friday afternoon. Event details and registration is located at https://steakcookoffs.com/event-4964943?CalendarViewType=1&SelectedDate=2/26/2023

SCA Double Down Showdown This double SCA steak cookoff will award over $5,000 in cash to winners in the different events slated for Saturday. https://steakcookoffs.com/event-4964970?CalendarViewType=1&SelectedDate=2/26/2023

What are the educational sessions for the 2023 Conference?

Steve Wald – Beef Cuts: How to Prep and Prepare This session is presented by National Cattlemen's Beef Association to showcase different beef cuts and how to prepare them.

BBQ Business 101 presented by Jeff Shapiro.  This session is set to show hands on successful practices/methods to managing and running any type of BBQ related business.

Social Media: The Simple How and Why This session is set to demonstrate how and why we all should be using Social Media platforms to grow our businesses. Basic tactics and language that will help independent business owners.

Delivering Vs. Catering Panel: (Craig Kimball, Barbara Latimer of Sonny's/ACG BBQ LLC, and Bobbie Deverall of 4 Rivers Smokehouse) This session is set to discuss how successful businesses work around added delivery costs, use catering to add revenue, and offer different options to keep customers coming back.

Stephen Afflixio (US Foods) – Modern Day Kitchen: Adapt and Survive This session will feature professionals from US Foods to demonstrate how food service has changed and how you need to change with it as well.

David Malek – Knives: Use, Care, and Maintenance This session is set to show hands on to cor-rectly keep knives in great shape so they last longer and work better.

SCA – Producing a successful Steak Cookoff This session will show proven tactics to help anyone produce a successful steak cookoff event.

5 Min. Idea Exchange – Special Interest Groups This session is set to break attendees into Special Interest Groups where they share ideas and grow their networks.

Turning Flavor Makers Into Money Makers Panel This panel session is set to let successful Co-Packers lead Q&A sessions on all things Rubs and Sauces.

Expanding Product Distribution – Panel (Dan Arnold, Others) Session that will give details on how to get a product inside more retail locations. Panel with vendors already using big house retailers. 

NBBQA Master Classes (Separate Ticket)

Come learn proven techniques to up your BBQ game during this once in a life time event. While meeting these World Champion Pitmasters you will also get to sample the recipes they are sharing!

The National Barbecue & Grilling Association (NBBQA) will be hosting a series of BBQ Master Classes on February 17-18th taught by some of the world's best pitmasters including Tuffy Stone, Mark Lambert, Boars Night Out, Moe Cason and Bob Trudnak.

These tell-all pitmaster cooking classes will show you detailed, step-by-step instructions on smoking brisket, pork ribs, Boston butt, beef ribs & even whole hog!

Friday February 17th
2:00-4:00 Master Class #1 (Whole Hog)
Boars Night Out: https://www.boarsnightout.com/

Saturday, February 18th
8:00-10:00 Master Class #2 (Boston Butt)
Mark Lambert: https://ssomd.com/pages/bbq-know-how

 11:00-1:00 Master Class #3 (Ribs)
Tuffy Stone: https://tuffystone.com/

2:00-4:00 Master Class #4 (Brisket & Beef Ribs)
Moe Cason & Bob Trudnak https://www.thebobandmoebbqshow.com/

For More Information:

National Barbecue & Grilling Association Logo 336 Phelps Road
Douglas, Georgia 31533
United States
18003850002

Hotel Registration 
Accommodations can be booked in the following ways:.

  1. Online at Wyndham Orlando Resort and Conference Center - Celebration Area using the group code for the National Barbecue & Grilling Association 021423NAT.
  2. Call (407) 396-1400 and Choose Option 0 which will take you to the front desk of the hotel and advise them you are with the National Barbecue & Grilling Association.  If they cannot help you, please ask for Laura Cerny, The Group Booking Coordinator.
  3. And, if Laura can’t resolve your issues, please give us a call at the office.  

We have negotiated a guaranteed lowest room rate for the dates of event as well as a reduced resort fee of $15 (resort fee original $30).  The hotel is unable to remove the disclaimer about the full resort fee.  However, it will automatically be applied when sent to the hotel's PMS system.  The resort fee includes 24-hour self parking, daily scheduled round trip shuttle service to the Disney Theme Parks, Universal Studios, Sea World, Lake Buena Visit Premium Outlets, Free Local and Long-Distance Calls, Unlimited in-room high speed internet access in all public areas of the hotel, Kids Zone for children free play, 2 free bottles of water per stay, 2nd drink free at the bar (arrival welcome drinks for 2), $2.00 discount per person on resort hot breakfast bar, 10% discount to Starbuck's (beverages), and $25 off one hour play with Top Golf Purchase.

Room Block Discount Ends February 5, 2023!  After February 5, 2023, Rates go up from $110 a night plus $15 resort fee & taxes to $150 a night plus $30 resort fee & taxes.

OUR 2023 SPONSORS

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