Revenge is a dish best served cold, but David Jacobson, the US ambassador to Canada, is hoping it cooks just as well on the grill. Jacobson is holding an international cook-off competition today at his annual July 4th bash held in Ottawa, usually the biggest Independence Day party not on American soil. "We are going to avenge the gold-medal hockey game," Jacobson told The Globe and Mail. "Unless – of course – Sidney Crosby shows up to barbecue."

That's a line that probably goes over best with Canadians: Crosby scored the winning goal for Canada in last year's Winter Olympics gold medal game. Jacobson is hoping that the American chefs will come out on top, of course, but there's an extra layer of motivation for the ambassador. He had to deliver a 24-pack of Molson Canadian on behalf of the U.S. to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper after President Barack Obama lost a bet on that hockey game. Pictures of the ambassador preparing for the competition can be seen here. Had the American team won, Canadians would have had to deliver a case of Yuengling, America's oldest beer, to the White House.

The party in Ottawa is expected to pack in 4,000 people and is being dubbed Backyard BBQ 2011. Competing chefs from each country will be judged by a panel of 12 chefs and certified judges, including Ron Eade of the Ottawa Citizen, who is a certified judge with the Canadian Southern BBQ Association. All the food will be judged to the highest competitive cooking standards, and taste tests will be done blind to ensure no judge can be swayed by any national bias. 

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at connorbsimpson at gmail dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.