Meatstock Festival wraps up after delicious two days at Toowoomba Showgrounds

The music and barbecue festival has come and gone, and to say we were entertained is an understatement. From Dad bods to award-winning artists, find out what happened at Meatstock

DAD BODS, butcher and boning wars, and music performances were just some of the highlights during the weekend’s Meatstock.

Toowoomba Showgrounds welcomed thousands through their gates Friday and Saturday for the music and barbecue festival.

Christian Nicholls of Highfields Gourmet Meats competes in round four of the Australian Butcher Wars at Meatstock at Toowoomba Showgrounds, Saturday, April 9, 2022. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Friday evening saw the inaugural Vadals Australian Boning Wars, where five teams were tasked with portioning a hind quarter of beef, judged on their time, skill, final yield and bone cleanliness.

Oakey Beef NH Foods presented two teams, Lucas Harrison and Heylla Ferreira da Silva, and Jairon Santos and Remes Pinheiro, for the competition.

Mr Harrison and Ms Ferreira da Silva placed second, with a score of 82.7.

“I was shaking a little bit trying to do the right cuts, but we think we did well,” Ms Ferreira da Silva said.

Lucas Harrison and Heylla Ferreira Da Silva from NH Foods Oakey. Vadals Australian Boning Wars at Meatstock, Toowoomba Showgrounds. Friday, April 8, 2022. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Meanwhile, Mr Santos and Mr Pinheiro came fourth with a score of 79.6.

Remes Pinheiro from NH Foods Oakey. Vadals Australian Boning Wars at Meatstock, Toowoomba Showgrounds. Friday, April 8, 2022. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Highfields Gourmet Meats owner Christian Nicholls competed in Round Four of the Australian Butcher Wars, with a clear focus on presenting product found in his store.

However, Roma man Paul Lavelle took out the Butcher Wars crown.

Paul Lavelle from Roma won the Butcher Wars at Meatstock, Toowoomba Showgrounds. Saturday, April 9, 2022. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Crowds were blown away by the Phat Boyz Burger Eating Competition, undertaken by five professional competitive eaters.

The goal was to eat the most of a 3.5kg Phat Boyz burger, consisting of wagyu, pulled pork, bacon, eggs, cheese, tomato, lettuce, and of course the burger bun, in 30 minutes.

Competitive eating champion James Webb, known as J Webby Can Eat, was the only competitor to finish the meal.

Mimi Zhang, competing under the name Mimi “The Mini” Monster, came in second, eating 2.32kg of the burger.

Chad “Froman” Jones came in a close third place, consuming 2.225kg of the challenging meal.

Crowds saw the likes of Casey Barnes and Lee Kernaghan on the Live Stage, with an array of meals on offer.

Winner of the Best Dad Bod competition is Matt Jones from Hervey Bay. Meatstock, Toowoomba Showgrounds. Saturday, April 9, 2022. Picture: Nev Madsen.

However, an event that had the crowd cheering the showgrounds down were the Beard and Mo Wars, that saw guests put up their hands for best beard, best mustache, best mullet, hairest chest and best dad bod.

While there were many competitors, audiences loved the enthusiasm of Hervey Bay Dad Matt Jones.

Meanwhile, cafes and hotels have been slammed with the influx of visitors to the Garden City, with an estimated $3.3 million expected to be injected into the community.

For our mega gallery of Meatstock snaps, click here.