The Yak Ales Barbecue Festival is an annual celebration of meat, fire and outdoor cooking. Inspired by American barbecue festivals celebrating low and slow barbecue every summer across the States, the inaugural event was held at the Queen Victoria Market in 2015 attended by over 45k people. Expanding to include events in Sydney (2016) and Perth (2017), the festival's events have introduced a range of barbecue legends to Australian audiences including Chris Lilly (Big Bob Gibson BBQ), John David Wheeler (Memphis BBQ Company), Mike Johnson and Christina Fitzgerald (Sugarfire Smokehouse), Leslie Roark Scott and Craig "The Ninja" Verhage (Ubons BBQ) and Jim Johnson (KCBS). With the support of its generous sponsors, the festival has awarded over $100k in cash and prizes to competitors since 2015, and has created the opportunity for 5 teams to go to the States and compete on the world stage.