BBQ Mania

14/08/2026

Alright Fam! Since I'm on a roll here with organising/admin..

Im after some pitmaster rockstars that might be keen to come and entertain the crowds as our new location will provide alot more public foot traffic this year..

So if you have hung up your comp gear but still wanna come hang with the bbq family id love to hear from you!.. I'm after someone to do demos/cook and just talk s**t with the public and hand out tasters.. (Relaxed, not full on stage/mic/masterclass style)
Also any brand ambassadors that would want to set up a tent to showcase products..or stalls/shops that want to sell anything BBQ related..

Or even if you have any cool ideas or know someone perfect that you could get me in touch with? - Tag em below!

Let's make the most of this new location and get some fun happening here!
Thanks! ❤️‍🔥

13/08/2026

Hello Pitmasters, Teams, Judges, Sponsors and Mania fans!
Obviously there's some big changes this year and we are nearing our new date.. so time for an update..

1. Date change- No longer in Oct, now the 7th & 8th of November.
Unfortunately the Rotorua Blues and Bbq festival isn't going ahead this year! 😔 which we are personally quite sad about as it was one of our favs.. but we are happy to sneak into the later date and hopefully some better weather!

2. Location change- I know, I know! We all love a good campground and especially our beloved GLTHP! 🥰 They were so awesome to us!!
But what most dont realise is how much $$$ running a comp/event is.. the cost of the campground as well as the hireage of marquees/parking/security etc are just unmanageable for us this year as well as the physical location was really hard to get the public to come out to!
So we have decided to go where the people are and with the help of our friends at Dropzone-The Landing Lake Taupo we will be setting up on the grassy area off the side of dropzone/beside the ninja course.
Which means we have access the bars, restaurants, cafes, kids entertainment zones etc.. all right there!!
But it also means ya'll will have to sort your own accommodation.. message Mandy Brionie May Brunswick if you would like help with this/talk about the possibility of staying onsite..

3. The Competition layout-
This year we will only be facilitating NZBA, (at this stage no SCA or RCOA) but one of our weekends days we will be hosting the BBQ World Cup & Expo finals.. so everyone who has recieved an RGC OR GC throughout the year gets to battle it out together for the final decider on who gets the chance to represent NZ BBQ in Las Vegas in April 2027!! Pretty exciting stuff!
I dont have all the finer details for this and it will be facilitated by the NZBA rather than "BBQ Mania" so if you want to know more I suggest you hit up your favorite NZBA representative.. 😁
We will advertise here when we know more though.

Right!, time for Mandy to hurry up and get her organizing going!.. she will update more as more details are finalized! 😁
Looking forward to seeing you all again soon!

Let us know in the comments if you are planning on joining us and if you have any burning questions! ❤️‍🔥

11/06/2026

👀 Peep some changes to Mania this year!..

More info to come in an official announcement soon! Keep your eyes peeled!

Heads up teams! There have been a couple of minor tweaks to the NZBA competition calendar for the remainder of the season.

We’re keen to finish 2026 with a bang, so let’s get these last four comps absolutely chocka with teams. If you’ve been on the fence about entering, now’s the time to lock it in, round up your mates, and get your entries sorted. We have some well seasoned, experienced pitmasters keen to help & mentor any new teams, so if you're brand new but want to know more, please reach out!

Check the updated dates and details on the NZBA calendar below, confirm your spots, and help us send this season off in style!

08/10/2025

Well.. now that the dust has settled on our weekend and rest and recovery has been had.. now we reflect and give thanks to all involved!-

Thank you all for coming to The Kotare Barbecue Mania 7 Taupo Event!
And what an eventful weekend it was!
We had, rain, sun, wind.. slushy muddy ground and even a thunder and lightning storm!
So well done to all our competitors and even the public that came out with their umbrellas and gumboots to come and check it all out!

Here's the whole weekends results! Congratulations to those who heard their names called and recieved top prizes! 🥳👏🏼

Saturday- NZ Barbecue Alliance - (23 teams)

Grand Champions!- BEERS Championship BBQ
Reserve Grand Champions- Smokey Fish Bar-Bee-Q

Sunday- SCA NZ Group
(16 individual steak cooks and 9 ancillary cooks)

Steak-
1st- Morgan from Out The Grate BBQ
2nd- Cherie from 2 Girls and a Grill NZ
3rd- Scott from Smokey fish Bar-bee-que

Anything with Sacred Grounds Coffee (Acacia Bay roast)-
1st- Charlotte from Rolling Coal BBQ
2nd- Troy from Beers Championship BBQ
3rd- Natasha from 2 Girls and a Grill

Rib Cookoff Association NZ - (16 individual entries)

Wings-
1st- Josh from Big Bark BBQ
2nd- Cherie from 2 Girls and a Grill NZ
3rd- Jon from Smokesman

Ribs-
1st- first timer- Melissa from Meatloaf
2nd- Troy from Beers Championship BBQ
3rd- Logan from Christchurch (Smokey fish)

Again well done to everyone for getting through the crazy weather and travel chaos.!

Thanks to our sponsors who without them we wouldn't be able to host this each year!

Biggest shout out to our main sponsor for all their generosity and help putting this together-

✨️Kotare Consultants✨️

And our category sponsors-
McLeod Cranes and Hiabs
Bidfood Taupō
Commodities NZ Ltd
General Compression Limited
The Landing Lake Taupo/ Dropzone Entertainment Ltd
Out The Grate BBQ
Team Bbqwar/Ultimate Tinfoil
Brunswick Drilling Consultants

Donkey Grill- Our cool as Trophies
Get Set Event Hire- Judges marquee,tables & chairs
Intercept Security- The lovely Shaun on the gate
Signlabnz- Mania signage (and our trailers new wrapping!)
Undisputed Belts- for the STUNNING Championship Belts 😍

The Merchant of Taupo for the gift basket for the raffle prizes. Along with Kinloch Honey Ltd, Texanz BBQ and our beloved Ken from Barbecue BOI who unfortunately couldn't be with us this weekend so he sent some prizes for this and the competitiors!

The team at Misfit Garden for the lush bouquets of parsley for our teams.

Our amazing food and coffee vendors who put up with the awful weather and long days to serve you all! - Black Label Barbecue, Bens Bistro, Doses Taupō 💕 appreciate you guys joining us!

Thanks to Stim craftsmanship for bringing your beautiful stall of handmade wooden beauties!
And Carbon Metal Works & Meat Marauders for showcasing the Hurt Locker and yarning with the public about your custom pits.

Another thanks to Commodities charcoal for all the charcoal prizes that was sent our way for your prizes! So spoilt!

And of course thank you to our gracious hosts who let us take over their park every year!- Great Lake Holiday Park

Thanks to all our friends and family that helped out in anyway big or small and our boys for manning the BBQ Supply stall and raffle ticket sales.

And not to be forgotten our sanctioning body's representatives- Chris, Kat, Carl, and Scott! And all the judges! Thank you for your service!

Without you all we couldn't make this event happen!
Our hearts are full and exhausted!
Much love to you all!

Hope to see you all again next year!!

06/10/2025

.. Annndd...the winner of our BBQ prizepack RAFFLE- Wayne James Dil / Team Bbqwar

Thanks to all who entered!
And special big thanks for all the generosity from these guys who put together all these wonderful prizes!-
The Merchant of Taupo for the $200 hamper full of foodie goodies and thanks to Barbecue BOI for the BBQ accessories, voucher, rubs and goodies.
And thanks to our mates for the beautiful pot of honey- Kinloch Honey Ltd

02/10/2025

💥Sponsor Spotlight💥

This Year BBQ Manias Steak Cook Off Association Competition is proudly brought to you by-
The Landing Lake Taupo's Dropzone!

There’s something for everyone and it’s all under one fun-filled roof out at The Landing! Perfect your tenpin bowling technique, let the kids bounce off the walls on the trampolines, challenge the adults to time trials on the outside Ninja course, play in the arcade, watch the little ones enjoy the indoor playground, or simply sit back and enjoy a drink and a meal.

The Dropzone is Taupō’s one and only destination for fun, thrills, laughter and excitement and the whole family is invited.

Generous and fun and oh so fitting for this years SCA Sponsor!
Always community orientated and always keen to jump in and help in anyway possible!
Thank you team for all your support!

Check them out on Facebook or head to- https://www.thedropzone.co.nz/ to book the whole family in for some epic fun!

01/10/2025

Alright Teams-

Reminders- (coz I know most of ya'll don't read the info packs that get sent out!)

-Drive in and go straight to your site and start set up, as it can get congested if you all drag your trailers into the turn around circle in front of the office. Then later- check in at the office let them know who & where you are and theyll sort you out.

-Your trailer/caravans must be up to code with its electrical certs.
-The plugs/outlet on your cook-sites will require campsite plugs/fittings.

-Cabins require you to bring your own blankets (& pillowcases)- only fitted sheets and pillows are provided. Linen can be hired from the campground at $10 per person.
-Showers, Laundry and Kitchen are all a shared communal situation.
And if you have a standard cabin toilets are also communal.

-Bags of ICE are available for purchase from the campground office $5 a bag
-Parsley will be there for you Friday afternoon on the big BBQ Tables by the office under the shade.

-Car Parking- Cabins are allocated one car park, otherwise if you can fit your vehicle on your cook site please do, otherwise Mandy and the parks manager can advise you as to where you park your vehicles on the day. (There will be plenty of room

-It is COLD in Taupo and the weather isn't looking too flash for us.. so make sure you bring plenty of warm/wet weather gear!
All cooking sites are on grass, make sure you adequately weight down your gazebos.

And here's the weekends Timetable & Site Map-