Only a handful of legendary cooks have won every major contest, like the Memphis in May, the American Royal, and the Jack Daniels Invitational. Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q is among those rare champions. The California BBQ Association brings Chris Lilly to Los Angeles on July 27 - 29, 2007 for a master barbecue class.

Lilly makes promotional appearances at barbecue events, but rarely teaches an in depth cooking class. We discussed his travel schedule during an interview I conducted for the National Barbecue Association’s Q Magazine earlier this year “I don’t normally do a lot of cooking classes per se. I do a lot of catering, some appearances and lectures when I can fit them in…” he said, highlighting the very special nature of this opportunity.

Two separate classes will simulate a contest timeline: a night session to prep and begin slow cooking of beef brisket and pork shoulder, followed by a morning session with pork ribs and chicken. The timeline is geared for contest cooks, but the secrets of low and slow cooking will improve anyone’s backyard barbecue skills.

• Saturday session runs from 7 - 9 pm on Friday July 27, and from 8 am - 4 pm on Saturday July 28.
• Sunday session runs from 7 - 9 pm on Saturday July 28, and from 8 am - 4 pm on Sunday July 29.

Classes will be held at the L.A. County Fairplex in Pomona at a cost of $350 per person, or $400 for a married couple. Those flying in (Ontario airport is within a twenty minute drive, even during rush hour) can arrange for a cooker to use. More details and an entry form are on the CBBQA website.

About the instructor:

Chris Lilly is the head cook of the Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q Team.Their record includes ten World Champion titles, eight state grand championships across the Southeast, and numerous other victories not listed below.

Memphis in May World Championship BBQ Cook-off
1997 1st place BBQ sauce
1999 1st place BBQ sauce and 1st place Pork
2000 1st place Pork and Grand Champion
2001 1st place Pork
2002 1st place Pork
2003 1st place Pork and Grand Champion
2004 1st place Pork

American Royal International Cook-Off and BBQ Sauce Competition
1995 1st place White BBQ sauce
1998 1st place BBQ Sauce “Best Sauce on the Planet”
2002 1st place Chicken and Reserve Grand Champion
2004 1st place Brisket and Grand Champion

Jack Daniels World Championship Barbecue Contest
2003 1st place Pork

Sorry to keep you in suspense by not ending this mango saga sooner. I sold this story to the L.A. Times, and wanted to avoid any rights conflicts with them. Read about it on page three of today’s Food section, or for a limited time, on the Times website (free registration required).

From a business standpoint, 2007 was a trial run for all parties in the supply chain, and they smartly chose a “wait and see” approach in this new business of importing mangos from India. This year, they brought in relatively small consignments by costly air freight. Why risk big shipments of expensive fruit that might not sell? When they smooth the import process, we’ll probably see an improvement in the quality of fruit, access to more of the other commercial mango varieties grown in India, and most critically, lower prices.

The price of these mangos is expected to drop substantially when they can perfect the logistics of shipping them via refrigerated ocean freight. Since Indian produce exporters already send their mangos on sea voyages to other nations, it’s a matter of time before they perfect the timing of picking, packing and shipping mangos for U.S. consumption.

The catch 22 is that few American distributors are willing to foot the financial risk of importing an ocean container full of Indian mangos. Why not? American consumers haven’t shown enough interest them yet. How come? Because they’re too expensive. Why’s that? Because they’re shipped by air freight. What would it take to bring down the cost? And so on.

In the meantime, expect to pay high prices for Indian mangos, if you can find them at all. You’re most likely to find them at the largest Indian groceries in cities with a big Indian-American community. In Southern California, these stores stocked them as of last week, for an average price of $35 for a case of twelve.

Pioneer Cash & Carry, 18601 Pioneer Blvd., Artesia, CA; 562-809-9433.

Ambala Cash & Carry, 18411 Pioneer Blvd., Artesia, CA; 562-924-1441.

Farm Fresh, 18551 Pioneer Blvd., Artesia, CA; 562-865-3191.

New Bombay Stores, 917 W. Foothill Blvd., Upland, CA; 909-981-9323; and 1385 Blaine St., Unit H3, Riverside, CA 951-788-3042.

Bombay Bazaar, 3848 N. McKinley St., Corona, CA; 951-272-3820.

Melissa’s World Produce http://www.melissas.com ; 800-588-0151; $55 per case, plus shipping.

The waiting is the hardest part. I managed to score the first Indian mangos imported legally into the US. Mangos shipped that far have to be picked green to survive transit, and this reality factoid should have been obvious to me long before I looked inside the case. Despite having these precious Fabergé eggs in my clutches, I endure an interminable wait for them to ripen fully.

Alphonso (left) and Kesar mangos (right)

But what if these supermangos fail to live up to the hype, and I’m setting myself up for disappointment? Will I regret forking out $35 a case for 12 mangos?

Despite these concerns, plenty of other customers were snapping up cases of fruit last Saturday. It’s impossible to underestimate the excitement in some quarters of the Indian American community for these once illicit fruits. For many, the novelty of tasting a fruit unavailable in this country for the last two decades is worth the high cost. For more recently arrived expats, these mangoes don’t hold a candle to the tree-ripened ones back home. Will I have to travel to Mumbai to enter mango nirvana?

Pioneer Cash and Carry is the largest grocer in Little India, and store owner Devraj “Dave” Kerai wanted to be first to carry this in the Los Angeles area. Despite the high cost, he expected to sell through this initial shipment of 110 cases in a day. Kerai expects his next weekly shipment to arrive this Thursday or Friday, and by Saturday, will probably be sold out again.

Due to the high cost of air freight, future shipments are unlikely to drop substantially in price. The good news is that mangos are ripening in other countries, and the varieties trucked up from Mexico sell for very low prices ($8 a case in the L.A. region). Local markets sell Haden and Ataulfo mangoes from Mexico right now, with other varieties expected shortly.

Kerai’s produce distributor also sells to other grocers across the US. If you live near a city with a large Indian community, seek out the biggest Indian market in your area. See for yourself it these legendary fruit deliver the promised flavor bonanza. The season for mangos from India is expected to last only for a few more weeks.

Pioneer Cash & Carry
18601 Pioneer Blvd
Artesia, CA 90701
562-809-9433

The first show-and-tell samples of Indian mangos arrived on American shores last week with goverment minister types from both countries trumpeting the landmark trade agreement. Other than this brief story on National Public Radio, that initial trickle of produce hasn’t been reported in very many national outlets.

Well mango fans, D-Day is here. Today, the first volume shipments of the most flavorfully cultivated mangos arrives in US air cargo terminals. Eager consumers can scrum for these expensive gems in specialty grocers this weekend.

The grocer I’m speaking with in Los Angeles’ Little India expects to sell his initial allotment of 50 cases quickly, even at $35 per case (12 large Alphonsos per case). In contrast, a case of Mexican Ataulfos currently sells for about $5 - 8 a case in the Los Angeles region.

One of my sources reports that the mango season in India is nearly over, so I suspect that red tape has stymied the import process for some time. That bottleneck seems to have cleared. My grocer reports, “they opened the flood gates all at once in India, as almost everyone that was in line to import will be getting it on the same day.”

Stay tuned, readers. Mango madness continues this weekend.