Team members who took part in the competition Nov. 7-9 were Ken and Culleen — CC — Hein, Don and Kelly Marinoff, Mike and Julie Hoppe, and Lynn and Dick Stymiest, all of Dunbar.

The Heins, who own Thermal Chaos restaurant in Dunbar, said the team had a great time competing and they were really happy with some of their results.

They took 21st in the sides category for vegetable, a sweet corn salad; 44th for sausage; 73rd for pork; and 92nd for dessert, a creme brulee made by Julie Hoppe.

“We did nail our pork for the first time,” Ken said. “They call it ‘money meat’ — pork shoulder. Of all our practices, and we did six, this was one turned out to be the best, we hit it perfect.”

From left, Don Marinoff, Dick Stymiest and Kenny Hein work in the food truck during the American Royal World Series Barbecue Competition in Kansas City. (Contributed photo)

They gained some valuable takeaways. One team had a smoker for each meat and they plan to adopt that strategy. Through research they also changed the wood they used. Some of the items, the chicken and ribs, were not quite the right temperature because they put too much meat on the smoker, and the brisket was too tender.

“The flavor was really good, but what you find out a lot is it can taste really good, but if it’s not cooked properly, you’re still going to get hit on the scores. They’re very picky on tenderness,” Ken said.

This is the second time the couple has competed in the American Royal but for the other team members this was their first trip. Being a team that hasn’t had a lot of experience, they were proud of how well they did. Many of the other teams compete professionally. “This is their job, this is their living, and for us to come out and do this well,” CC said.

“I think they (new team members) were astonished by the size of it,” CC said. “The people there are so welcoming, so nice. Just the camaraderie, looking at the different smokers and how they set up.”

They arrived Thursday morning and Friday had meetings and sponsor events. The sides competition started Saturday morning and he and Don stayed Saturday night to begin cooking the brisket.

Female team members, from left, were Lynn Stymiest, CC Hein, Kelly Marinoff and Julie Hoppe. (Contributed photo)

At 8 p.m. they got a weather alert on their phones as a wind storm moved in with winds at 40 mph and gusts of 60 mph.

“A lot of damage to peoples’ tents, side panels that ripped off. I saw some umbrellas flying by. The weather was rough that night and early in the morning, so everyone had to deal with some weather adversity. It got really cold — 13 with the wind chill. They kinda teased us, ‘What did you bring the Wisconsin weather for?'” Ken said.

Most of the food items are brought to the judges in containers and each member of the team turned in a food item, CC said.

‘Bringing up the boxes, the adrenaline rush you feel, and you see everyone doing that. And everyone had it, because they all got turn in a box, so they could all be part of it. It was amazing,” she said.

The dessert was brought up for judging on a plate. Because of the weather, the team surrounded Julie like wedge of geese to block the wind.

Thermal Chaos' male team member, from left, are Mike Hoppe, Dick Stymiest, Kenny Hein and Don Marinoff. (Contributed photo)

“The whole trip was just a great experience. I’m glad that our friends got to come with, and show people in this community what we can do,” Ken said.

“We’re so blessed to have our friends, our community, customers, come in here,” CC said. They attracted a large following on Facebook as people kept tabs on the team.

They are already looking forward to entering some competitions next year and may return to the American Royal.

“We’re very humble, being in the position we did, it just blows our mind,” Ken said. “We always want to serve the best to our customers.”

The team was sponsored by Smokey Woods Meats of Crivitz, Wis.; Master Fleet National of De Pere, Wis.; Sertich Environmental Services; Alpha MI Brewing Company; Stateline of Iron River; Dun-Good Riders ATV/UTV Club; Maplewood Meats of Green Bay, Wis.; Sunny Hill Farms of Green Bay, Wis.; Blazer Family Farm; along with many donations from friends and customers.

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Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 85242, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.