(Riverton, WY) James Bunker is creating sparks on social media, hoping it will fire up and fan into flames on social media by inviting food celebrities and foodie personalities to participate or make an appearance at the 4th Annual Rendevous City Beef Roundup held on August 26 at Central Wyoming College.
It began with Guy Fieri.
“So I was sitting at home one day, and it’s like, Guy Fieri…he says something, and then all of a sudden, it’s on fire and draws a crowd,” Bunker said. “I wanted to step it up because the Rendevous City Beef Roundup is awesome. It’s a great asset for our community and draws a lot of people here. So I was thinking, that’s my game plan. We’ll get him (Fieri) here…he’ll talk about it, do a show on it.”
Bunker found out “through the grapevine that Fieri was already scheduled out this year, during that time frame,” he said. “So I needed another route to go. Other places have their big events, balloon rallies, and such…Sheridan’s got their (Coffee Crawl) thing. I think the Beef Roundup is a big deal for Riverton…we’ve been doing it for three years now. I’m really excited about it, so that’s kind of the ‘why’ behind it all.”
Bunker decided that he wasn’t going to just keep it to Guy Fieri, so he opened up the invitation to all food and chef celebrities, naming off personalities such as Alton Brown, Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, Rick Bayless, Barefoot Contessa, The Bearded Butchers “…let’s invite them all,” he said, “Don’t give up on Guy; keep tagging, sharing and posting to him. But if you know someone who’s a food personality that you want here and thinks they could do it, tag them all. Let’s give them all a little kick in the side and turn their heads to Wyoming.”
The Rendezvous City Beef Roundup is an annual state and nationwide beef competition designed to showcase and build awareness and provide access to local beef consumers and create new markets for producers. There is a ticketed VIP steak tasting dinner; a celebrity judge panel that awards the “Best Beef in Wyoming” and an Open Division “Best Beef in the West”.
“Last year’s event was amazing,” Bunker said. “There are so many amazing producers and cool vendors that make stuff from cattle products, amazing chefs…there’s beef now coming in from 19 states, coast to coast, north to south. The producers want in…it’s definitely gaining a lot of momentum. I like to travel a lot, and when we travel there’s good food, don’t get me wrong, But really, for a town for the size that we are? We have amazing cooks, chefs, and restaurants.”
“Also, a big part of it is that people are out here and tasting this local beef,” he continued. “Whether it’s from Wyoming or Washington or elsewhere…if they go out and taste it, they will figure out that local beef is always going to taste better and be better for you. So I want people to realize that yes, you can go to Walmart or Safeway or Smith’s and get beef off the shelf…but the quality that you get from these low-scale producers? People need to look at all of this in a craft sense. It’s like going from a Bud Light to a crafted beer. You’re getting the ‘Ferrari’ of steaks. We literally have the best beef, right here.”
You can share Bunks BBQ’s posts from their Facebook page, or share from the Rendezvous City Beef Roundup Facebook page and tag your own favorite food personalities.
“Whether they’re on Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram…let’s get their foot in the door of Riverton, Wyoming,” Bunker said. “I want them to see what we’re doing here.”