Maine-made rubs and sauces earn top honors in blind tasting competition

York, Maine -- DennyMike’s ’Cue Stuff (www.dennymikes.com), the all-natural, gluten-free line of Texas-style barbecue sauces and rubs from Maine, has earned two First Place medals at the 2010 Scovie Awards held in Albuquerque, NM, contest officials announced recently.  One of the industry’s most competitive gourmet food contests, this year’s awards recognized the top fiery foods and barbecue products from around the globe, having attracted nearly 600 products from 32 states and countries and provinces as diverse as Panama, Australia, Japan, Antigua and Canada.

DennyMike’s “Hot ’N Nasty” sauce bested the competition in the “Barbecue Sauce – All-Natural Hot” category, and DennyMike’s “Cow Bell Hell” rub was awarded an additional First Place win in the “Dry Rub/All-Purpose” category.  The Scovie Awards are selected based on blind taste tests by a panel of the country’s most influential culinary experts. 

“The recipes for my rubs and sauces at DennyMike’s ’Cue Stuff were created to appeal to people looking for a broad range of heat in their cooking,” said Dennis M. (DennyMike) Sherman, the growing company’s founder.  “It means a lot to me to have our barbecue products recognized at a respected event like this.”

Named for Wilbur Scoville, who pioneered a rating scale for spicy foods, the Scovie Awards have become the industry standard for excellence in more than 80 categories of fiery foods and barbecue.

"Every year, I am increasingly impressed with the diversity and quality of the products entered in the Scovie Awards,” noted Dave DeWitt, dubbed by the New York Times as the “Pope of Peppers” and the author of more than 35 books on chile peppers, fiery cuisines, and barbecue.

The Scovie Award adds to the growing collection of impressive medals and high-profile recognition being earned by DennyMike’s ’Cue Stuff’s barbecue sauces and rubs.  At the 18th Annual National Barbecue Association’s (NBBQA) Conference & Expo, held earlier this year in Austin, Texas, DennyMike’s “Pixie Dust” and “Chick Magnet” rubs earned First Place/Gold Medals in the All Purpose Rubs and Southwest Rubs categories, and DennyMike’s “Sweet ’N Spicy” and “Carolina Style” sauces won Fourth Place awards in the Mild Tomato and Spicy Vinegar categories.

Additionally, Sherman’s recipe for “Seafood Stuffed Smoked Lobster” was featured in the recently published America’s Best BBQ, a barbecue cookbook coauthored by Ardie A. Davis, founder of the American Royal Barbecue Sauce Contest and the Great American Barbecue Sauce Contest in Kansas City, and the national “Baron of BBQ,” Chef Paul Kirk.

In other business news, the company’s line of small-batch, gluten-free and all-natural rubs was picked up by Cabela’s stores nationwide, is being offered on Cabela’s website (http://tinyurl.com/y8qjnd6), and in Cabela’s national product catalog.  Furthermore, Sherman’s recent affiliation with Seacrest Foods International, Inc., puts DennyMike’s ’Cue Stuff rubs and sauces front and center at more than 50 Whole Foods stores throughout Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and northern New Jersey.  DennyMike’s barbecue products also were recently added to the exclusive rosters at Associated Grocers of New England, Inc., and Associated Buyers, which distribute specialty food products throughout the Northeast. 

About DennyMike’s ’Cue Stuff:  

DennyMike’s ’Cue Stuff is a Maine-based company with Texas barbecue authenticity.  Each of DennyMike’s award-winning barbecue sauces and rubs is hand-crafted in Maine in small batches, using only the finest ingredients, including natural sea salt, clover honey and Barbados molasses. As ideal for indoor cooking as for outdoor smoking and grilling, DennyMike’s rubs and sauces have quickly become popular fixtures in the American barbecue arena and beyond. 

For descriptions of sauces and rubs, barbecue recipes, and order placements, visit www.dennymikes.com.

For downloadable hi- and lo-res images and additional background information, visit www.frontburnerpr.com/dennymikes .

To schedule an interview with DennyMike Sherman or request product images, contact:

Ann Ewing at Front Burner PR, Ph: 207.699.5500 or ann@frontburnerpr.com .