Think MasterChef meets Ryder Cup as teams from over 30 countries across Latin America and Europe locked horns in San Jose, Costa Rica for the WBQA Intercontinental BBQ Championships last month.

David Taylor and Ian Jones from BBQ magazine travelled to Central America to cover the event and watch and taste the live-fire brilliance and passion of 45 teams. There were six rounds of cooking in the competition, with pork ribs, fish, chicken, vegetarian, side dishes and a whole suckling pig, all on the eclectic, international menu.

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Judges from the World Barbecue Association (WBQA) scrutinised each dish, awarding points on a strict set of criteria. Chile emerged as the champion country, taking first, second, and third place overall in the competition and winning eight separate awards across the six categories.

Alongside the fire and the food was the song in a carnival atmosphere and celebration of BBQ cooking across the world. There were pit barrel smokers, ceramic and Asado grills, alongside open-fire cooking and make-shift brick barbecues – a riot of colour, smells and wood smoke by the foothills of the Costa Rican rainforests. This was a BBQ trinity of food, fire and friendship.

“A big thank you to WBQA – in particular Marcelo Reyes, Pablo and Jimena Formal and the whole WBQA board – for hosting BBQ magazine,” said Ian Jones.