Sometimes being good isn’t good enough. Sometimes you have to resort to stratagems.
Then, in 1985, Ferguson heard about a competition in Cleveland, Ohio, for the “best ribs in America.” He explains, “There are national cooking contests for almost any type of product–pizza, chicken, specialty restaurants, special recipes. You read the trade magazines, and you find out where they are. It can do a lot for a business to enter them. You’re competing against some of the best chefs from around the country.” The Giovanni’s team entered the Cleveland contest, and out of 53 restaurants it came in 6th. On the basis of that showing they were invited the following year to represent Illinois in the World’s Invitational Rib Championship in Richmond, Virginia. They took first place and a $10,000 check–fortunately.
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Ferguson’s recipes are based on what he learned at Biasetti’s, where he used to deliver pizza; owner Art Biasetti, he says, based his recipes on what he learned at Twin Anchors. “[Our ribs] are very similar to theirs. Usually, in the restaurant business, you tend to cook what you’ve learned. You can get creative, but that’s the base. I don’t think there’s many people that sit down and create new menus when they open a restaurant, except maybe somebody like Melman, with a test kitchen. So I refined their rib recipe.
The family is considering opening a second restaurant, in Naperville. “I wouldn’t expand into the city–at least into the trendy parts–because not too many restaurants last a long time there. We’ve got a good neighborhood business, a good trade from all over the area, and we get out- of-towners. When the restaurant show comes through in May, for those five days we’re jammed with people from all over the country.”
