Kiwi brothers beat Aussies at barbecue competition
Cook Cartel beat barbecue bosses from around the world to become the first international team to win the title at Meatstock Sydney.
Two west Auckland brothers have shown the Aussies who the real king of the barbecue is, taking out the grand champion title at Meatstock Sydney.
With their expert crusting, marinating and glazing, Cook Cartel became the first international team to take out the title at the three-day festival last weekend.
Master barbecuer Steve Cook, who is also a graphic designer, told Afternoons he’s still running on a high after getting a perfect overall score of 250.
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“There’s always a bit of that [trans-Tasman] rivalry as you can imagine but the barbecue community is a really wonderful thing.”
None of the Aussies were cooking kangaroo meat, Cook said, but he joked: “It was pretty much only us cooking the kangaroos and whipping their butts by the end of it".
From left, Mike Cook, The Four Saucemen's Adam Winter, and Steve Cook.
Supplied / Steve Cook
Cook became engrossed in competitive barbecuing after being invited with his brother to showcase their classic cars at Meatstock in 2019. The next day, he ordered a barbecue from Texas but, while waiting for it to arrive, he couldn’t help buy another to try out immediately.
Since then, he’s racked up about 27 barbecues and built himself a competition trailer with two Octopit barbecues mounted on the back and a wash down station, so he’s loaded and ready to fire up without needing to unload at competitions.
“Some people call it a hobby, but for me, it's most certainly a sport. It’s something we practise and we train for, there's trophies and accolades so ... and it's a very competitive environment.”
Kiwi barbecuers take out Grand Champion title
Cook Cartel have won several accolades for the brisket.
Supplied / Steve Cook
Cook Cartel’s brisket has won them several accolades over the years, including first place at Sydney Meatstock, first place at Melbourne Meatstock and the New Zealand National Championships in 2023.
“The Aussies most certainly love what we do with it, or the judges do, not the competitors so much.”
It has taken years to perfect their “unorthodox” methodology, he says, and they even flew in their own meat and wood to get it right.
“Our competition briskets are typically cooked in four hours or less. They are going against that whole methodology of needing to tend to fire for 12-14 hours.
“I found that with the high fat protein … we can really give it more of a hard sear over a bit of a flame and it generates this beautiful caramelisation and crust and then going through the braising process to make sure that we can look chase the texture and tenderness.
A display of all the awards that Cook Cartel team took home from Meatstock Sydney in 2025.
Supplied / Steve Cook
“But there's a bit of a science, bit of an art in through the injections, the seasonings, the finishing, the glazings, all those last little bits and pieces to ensure that it can really appease to the judges and then trying to accelerate their palettes and that bit of a wow factor when they go to have a bite.”
Next in his sights is the world championships in Lynchburg, Tennessee, where they represented New Zealand last year.
“We really wanna put New Zealand barbecue on the map."
