George Morasci, an agricultural appraiser from Modesto and founder of Five Monkeys BBQ Sauce, has secured a first-place win at the World Food Championships in Indianapolis. Morasci, who started his barbecue sauce brand eight years ago, teamed up with Missouri chef Mike Johnson and Washington-based Andy Nguyen for the competition.
The trio competed in the live fire category, which required participants to cook exclusively over wood or charcoal-fueled fires. The team advanced through two rounds: an initial round featuring 23 contestants and a final round with five finalists and two wild-card teams.
For their first entry, the group presented an Asian-influenced menu that included wagyu ribeye steak with fire-roasted bone marrow butter, flambé pineapple chutney, bulgogi sauce, char siu and crab fried rice with a quail egg, roasted lobster rangoon with citrus marmalade, and banana pudding cupcakes topped with caramel made from Five Monkeys Original BBQ Sauce. Although their dish was visually impressive, Morasci said it may have overwhelmed the judges. “We did not make the top five,” he said. “We were given a wild-card entry into the finals because of the way this dish looked.”
In preparation for the final round, Morasci explained that they simplified their approach. “We were confident that we could do better, so we decided to do a little bit less,” he said. Their revised menu featured wagyu ribeye steak with bourbon peppercorn sauce—incorporating rye whiskey from Hard Truth Distilling Company as required by competition rules—and side dishes including a crab cake with béarnaise sauce, charred Caesar salad (with dressing and croutons made by Morasci), and twice-baked potatoes.
Dessert became a bourbon-soaked spice cake topped with beef tallow buttercream and Five Monkeys caramel sauce after whipped cream was revealed as a mystery ingredient just before cooking began. Whipped cream was also added to sauces for both steak and crab cake.
Morasci described the collaboration among team members: “It was a team effort,” he said. “Everyone trusted everyone.”
Their efforts earned them 99.125 out of 100 points in the live fire category—enough to surpass previous world champions—and won them $10,000 in prize money.
“(People) that you would see and know, they’re coming up and patting you on the back, shaking your hand, giving you a hug and high-fiving you … anywhere from Super Bowl winners to Food Network chefs,” Morasci said. “I’m still not 100% sure that my feet have hit the ground yet.”
More than 400 teams competed across ten categories at this year’s event. Each category winner advances to compete at The Final Table in Bentonville, Arkansas next spring for a $150,000 grand prize.
Despite his success on the national stage, Morasci emphasized his family’s ongoing role in running Five Monkeys BBQ Sauce: “I always need to thank my family because they stay home so that I can go do these things,” he said. “(Five Monkeys is) still a family-run business. We ship and fill every order.”
Five Monkeys BBQ Sauce is available at select Ace Hardware locations, Raley’s stores, Cost Less in Modesto, Village Fresh in Turlock as well as online through Amazon.
