At the 'Super Bowl of Swine,' global barbecuing traditions are the wood-smoked flavor of the day

Memphis barbecue is elevated to fine dining under the sun at the annual World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. Techniques are passed on from generation to generation and a multi-cultural community of pitmasters, chefs and culinary athletes have become united by food. Teams comprised of people from Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Canada and Brazil come to Memphis to learn from and compete with mostly American teams in the so-called Super Bowl of Swine. Juan Garza, who led the Mexican-based team when they competed last week at the cooking contest, said each country has its own barbecue traditions, but everything is merging together as “techniques are going across borders.” Garza said his team's mantra is “El fuego nos une,” which means the fire unites us.