Season 5 of BBQ Brawl concluded, revealing the winner and losers of this season's competition for "Master of 'Cue."
In this season of the cooking reality show, 12 barbecue chefs were divided into three teams led by captains. At the end of each episode, one chef from each bottom-ranked team was eliminated until the final contestant was crowned the "Master of 'Cue."
After eight weeks, a BBQ Brawl winner was declared in the double-episode season finale, which aired on September 2 on Food Network.
Winner & Losers of BBQ Brawl Season 5
Erica Barrett
Erica Barrett, a fan of Bobby Flay and picked first for his team, was the winner and "Master of 'Cue" in Season 5 of BBQ Brawl. After winning, Erica posted on Instagram thanking all the captains, including Flay, who was "the best coach ever."
Noah Sims
A private chef, Noah Sims has cooked worldwide for the not-for-profit food relief organization World Central Kitchen.
Sadly, that didn't stop Noah from being the first casualty of BBQ Brawl in Episode 2 when his twice-baked potato was judged "unbalanced."
Shannon Snell
After leaving the NFL, Shannon Snell ventured into barbeque and now owns Sonny's BBQ, a franchise restaurant that has expanded to over 80 locations nationwide.
Unfortunately, after Episode 2, Shannon had to drop out of BBQ Brawl due to "some personal health reasons." However, before leaving the show, he was at least able to impress the judges with his glazed banana tostada.
Andrea Nicholson
Canadian barbecue chef Andrea Nicholson, owner of Butchie's, a restaurant chain known for bar-style food and ice cream, set out to prove that Canadians can barbecue just as well as Americans.
The texture of Andrea's "pasty" creamed corn and her "very heavy" rattlesnake bites eliminated her from BBQ Brawl in Episode 3.
Logan Sandoval
Logan Sandoval owns Zer Barbecue, a pop-up restaurant focused on Asian fusion and named one of California's best new restaurants in 2021.
While the judges "loved" Logan's idea of an LA street taco, his cuts needed "some finesse and care" to make the dish "delicious," which resulted in his elimination in Episode 4.
Ray Lampe
Despite Ray Lampe winning over 400 awards, writing nine cookbooks, being inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2014, and being chosen as a franchise player by his captain in this competition in the first episode, it still wasn't enough.
Ray finally lost this competition in Episode 5 when his portobello "simply tasted like a mushroom" and didn't get that "steak experience." It didn't help that his Asian dipping sauce didn't complement the blue cheese with his steak.
Elena Terry
Named one of Wisconsin's most influential Indigenous people in 2022, Elena Terry has been a live fire cook all her life and wanted to join BBQ Brawl to show other Indigenous chefs that this is a space where they can exist and thrive.
In Episode 6, Elena sadly met her end on BBQ Brawl when her steak salad had "components that didn't all make sense together," and her steak was the "least successful part" of her dish.
Flora Kamimura
Growing up in Brazil and living in Hawaii, Flora Kamimura strived to show her culture in BBQ Brawl through her cooking.
Flora was told that her french toast "wasn't the most inventive dish" but that, with all its components together, "it was really good." However, the lack of sauce caused her canned ham to get "lost in the dipping process," and Flora was eliminated in Episode 7.
Ashley Turner
25 years of barbecue experience and working as a chef at Hacienda Taproom & Kitchen, Ashley Turner is a Texas native.
In Episode 8, Ashley's "Tex-Mex Fusion" wasn't enough to keep her in the competition. While her orange margarita dipping sauce was a real winner with the judges, the lack of jalapeno in her dishes did her in.
Sam Cruz
Growing up with multiple siblings, Sam Cruz has always been competitive, having already participated in other cooking shows like Food Network's Beachside Brawl.
Despite both of Sam's final dishes having "showcased the creativity" the judges had "seen from [her] all season," there were "execution" issues that ended in her elimination in the penultimate episode of this season of BBQ Brawl.
Hugh Mangum
Chef and co-founder of Mighty Quinn's Barbecue, Hugh Mangum joined BBQ Brawl to help rekindle his love for classic barbecue cooking, making it to the final episode of Season 5.
Despite never being at risk for elimination even once during this season of BBQ Brawl and being chosen as a franchise player, it wasn't enough to reach "Master of 'Cue."
Bruce Kalman
Former Top Chef contestant and James Beard-nominated chef Bruce Kalman owns Soulbelly BBQ but is still a "newbie" to the barbecue scene.
Bruce wanted to prove himself on BBQ Brawls, which he certainly accomplished when he became the second runner-up. While only being at risk for elimination once in Episode 6, the title of "Master of 'Cue" was still out of his grasp.
Episodes 1-9 of BBQ Brawl Season 5 are streaming on Max.
