Barbecue is the epitome of the Slow Food philosophy with its process of curing pork ribs for a minimum of 24-48 hours before slow cooking them over charcoal for several hours more over a low heat.

Adam Protter of Big Smoke: Mountain BBQ in Mount Currie said he was living the Slow Food way even before he heard of the movement. Big Smoke barbecue literally translates to slow food with beef briskets roasting up to 10 hours. Everything on Protter’s menu is made from scratch, from sauces to Protter’s unique salt seasoning blend. He can name the local farm where each organic vegetable in a salad came from and all of his meats are free range and natural.

"I don’t like cardboard mass produced food," he said. "I like my food and dining to have layers of flavour and to be interesting, culturally significant and unique. . . It is more labour intensive (to follow the slow movement way). It requires a bigger intellectual and emotional commitment to it. When trying to make a profit, it is a difficult thing to do. You live a lot closer to the line than a lot of chefs and restaurateurs are comfortable with."

Last year, Protter won "Best New Barbecue Team" and placed second in the pork-butt category at the 2004 Canadian National BBQ Championships. Whistler will again host the competition again this year on July 30-31 at Dusty’s Bar and Grill at Creekside. The Grand Champion will win a trip to Jamaica along with entry into the Jamaican BBQ Championships.

In addition to the championship categories, there will also be more casual categories such as appetizer and chilli competitions along with live entertainment and family activities. So whether you are barbecue baron or just plain food lover, there is something smoking under the lid. For more information, visit www.tourismwhistler.com or contact jkearns@intrawest.com to register.

Award winning barbecue can always be found at Big Smoke. No gas or electricity is used for smoking their meats. Everything is cooked using charcoal over a competition smoker, the same smoker that Protter works with when he competes at the Canadian Championship.

"What I put out (in my restaurant) is similar to what the judges will taste at the competition," Protter said. "Barbecue is pure technique. It’s voodoo. It’s time and knowledge and risky. We are after the flavour."

Big Smoke is located in Mount Currie, a 25-minute drive north of Whistler. For more information, visit www.bigsmoke.ca. Check out their daily specials and authentic Mexican dishes – the prawn and pear sopes are not to be missed. And don’t let the brown paper on the tables lead you to think that Protter is cutting any corners. It is all part of the slow food philosophy. No harmful cleaning products are used to scour tables, nor detergents used to wash linens and the paper is recycled – definitely a local joint where environment, farmers, chefs and taste are smoking together.




contributed by Nicole Fitzgerald – CityFood correspondent for Whistler