Calgary pitmaster Janice Smella wins Jack Daniel's World Championship, first non-American grand champion

Janice Smella and her Calgary team SmellaQue won the Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue grand champion title over the weekend at Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee — the first non-American team to claim the prize.

Smella is the first Canadian to take the title. SmellaQue competed against 150 teams from 20 different countries. The team's victory came despite placing only one dish in the top 10: Katie Smella, Janice's daughter, placed fifth with the chicken. The aggregate score across five meats — chicken, pork, ribs, shoulder, and brisket — determined the grand champion.

"I really went in there just looking to have a really good time to celebrate BBQ with the friends that came with us and with the family, so (winning is) unbelievable," Smella said. She described the moment they were called as grand champions: "I wasn't listening and I was ready to clap and applaud the grand champion. When they turned, this enormous check, very American, had our team name. That's when I was like, 'I think that's us.'"

SmellaQue started competing in 2014 and has been named Canadian BBQ Team of the Year five times. The team won BBQ on the Bow, described as Canada's longest sanctioned BBQ contest, three times. This was Smella's third Jack Daniel's appearance — she competed in 2019 and 2025. Along with the grand champion title and $25,000 USD prize, SmellaQue won a spot to compete on Campion's Row and various cookware items, plus the Jack Daniel's Trophy.