Southern Smoke BBQ: About Us

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Brian was born on the New Jersey shore in 1982 and spent much of his younger life fishing and surfing in the shadow of New York City. Working summers at the Circus Drivin Dinner, he discovered an aptitude for cooking and decided to forgo art school or underwater archaeology to study culinary arts at Penn Technical College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He later transferred to Penn State’s main campus for Hotel & Restaurant Management. It was culinary professors in PA, like Chef Mike Ditchfield, who first introduced him to farming practices and the rich bounty of the earth, which until that time he only saw sitting benignly in food stores or unceremoniously loaded through the back doors of restaurants. Balanced between football games and the lively student life at Penn State, Brian was also one of the founding members of the Sustainable Agriculture Club, which has flourished at Penn State for the past eight years.

After college, Brian packed everything he owned in his jeep and headed to South Carolina, where he joined an amazing group of chefs in Charleston. He worked with Chef Sean Brock during his first few years at McCrady's restaurant, consistently ranked as one of the best and most influential restaurants in the country. Chefs like Sean and Anderson Allen profoundly influenced him, showing what it truly means to live a food-centric life as a chef. They would take almost daily trips to local farms and markets, corralling chickens or helping to plant rows of tomatoes in the Carolina sun. It was during his time in the South that he collected many of the methods and recipes that embody Southern cuisine, which later became the heart of his BBQ catering business, Southern Smoke.

After several years in Charleston, Brian received an opportunity he couldn't refuse and once again packed the jeep, this time heading to Colorado, where he ran the kitchen of the Smith Fork Guest Ranch, an ultra-high-end resort nestled in the West Elk Mountains. Surrounded by natural beauty, he was finally able to build his own cuisine based on local farms and ranches, as well as foraged edibles from the mountainside. Smoked Elk Tartar, foraged watercress tart, and wild chamomile ice cream were common fare in the small dining room where guests were entertained, including the ranch’s closest neighbor, Joe Cocker, who we will all miss.

The ranch closed in the winters, which meant Brian had to find his own way as the seasons changed. This seasonal lifestyle allowed him time to travel extensively across the country, eating and meeting everyone he could. He also traveled to Thailand, Bali, and took a sous chef job in New Zealand at a lodge on the South Island, and ran the kitchen of the Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge in Alaska.

In 2010, after a change in management at the ranch, Brian headed south again, this time to the Caribbean to work with his old friend Anderson Allan in Red Hook, St. Thomas, USVI. The island culture is a saucy mix of ethnicities and cultures that have blended into a delicious stew, which is quite spicy at times. It was here that Brian also collected methods and flavors that appear on the plates and bowls at Southern Smoke. Many dishes have been adapted for a Northern audience, but the flavors and traditions are all still present, and Brian is always waiting for the time he can serve calf's foot soup or curried goat’s head in the states.

In the summer of 2011, Brian returned to his home in New Jersey, and with extremely modest startup funds, he launched Southern Smoke to bring back the foodways and flavors he encountered on his travels. It has been a constant education in business and patience, as he always says, "the cooking is the fun part, but it’s only about 40% of a business." Still, the BBQ catering business soldiers on through trial and tribulation, continuing to grow and bring the best of the South to the good people of the North. Come and be a part of the story, and we hope you will enjoy the journey as much as we do.