What I learned from barbecue

What’s up my Eaters!

I hope you are all doing well. This week has been super hectic. Work, the start of summer, sickness, and everything else life throws at us has had me absolutely running.

Although it isn’t exactly ideal barbecue weather, I can’t even lie, I was ecstatic about all this rain we’ve gotten recently for my farmer friends and partners. Rain changes everything.

A rainy week for some may mean canceled cookouts and muddy shoes, but for many farmers, it can mean relief. It can mean growth. It can mean hope after stress and uncertainty.

As National Barbecue Month came to a close, I found myself reflecting on my own evolution in barbecue, and this week I’d like to share a little about that journey and what I’ve learned since I first started back in 2014.

My journey into barbecue was sparked out of necessity.

At the time, in my opinion, the local barbecue scene needed something new. Gwen and I had grown tired of going out, spending an arm and a leg on barbecue, only to leave disappointed.

One night, after talking about it with a group of friends, we decided to do something about it. We all chipped in and bought a smoker.

Just like that, Pink’s Barbecue was born.

The early years were pretty much trial and error.

I’m not one of those pitmasters who had generations of experience behind them. I’m a chef who enjoyed barbecue from both a cultural and flavor perspective. All of my barbecue experience was self-taught, and those early years definitely showed it.

A lot of meat got burned. Even more meat was ruined by dirty smoke.

But I learned fast.

As I learned, the product got better. My flow started to develop. My process became more efficient.

Because the learning curve was so steep, once I started to figure things out, I became very regimented in how I produced my barbecue.

Everything became about the temperature, the time, and the smoke. The meat and the production were far more important to me than enjoying the moment.

If I’m being honest, other than wanting to make sure I sold people a good product, I don’t even think I thought about the customer all that much.

Back then, for me, it was about learning all the details of making “good” barbecue.

Unfortunately, after about a year, circumstances beyond my control caused our partnership to come to an end, and we shut things down.

Just like that, Pink’s Barbecue was gone.

Over the next few years, life happened.

We grew our professional careers. I went back to school. Our family started to grow. We were busy.

Then, in 2018, I was given an assignment to create a business and develop an investor-ready business plan.

Instead of starting from scratch, I decided to breathe new life into Pink’s Barbecue.

As a result of that project, which I ultimately spent the next two years developing, Pink’s Barbecue was rebranded and relaunched.

Pink’s Barbecue was a new brand with a new vision and direction.

In 2021, I left my career job and jumped headfirst into Pink’s full-time.

Since then, the road has been long and steep.

It has brought me to the brink of quitting more times than I care to admit.

Entrepreneurship is hard. Often, it’s thankless.

However, through it all, we are still here.

Still pushing forward. Still taking ground. Still learning. Still growing.

Most importantly, we’re still serving world-class barbecue.

Now, we do it through an entirely different lens.

One revelation I’ve had over the last few years is that, in the early years, I was so focused on getting everything right.

The trimming. The seasoning. The marinades. The chopping. The fire management. The temperatures. The sourcing.

I tried to control everything.

The problem was that it wasn’t sustainable, nor was it realistic.

Barbecue is live-fire cooking.

The wind is constantly changing. The weather is constantly changing. The fire is constantly changing. The temperature is constantly changing. My attitude and emotions are constantly changing. The product itself is constantly changing.

Everything is changing all the time.

So if all of those variables are constantly changing, how could I ever expect barbecue to be anything other than ever-changing?

Now, in this season, I’ve learned better.

I still take barbecue very seriously. I still take pride in my craft, and I still execute at a high level.

But now, my heart behind it is properly aligned.

Now, I enjoy the process.

With each cook, each market, and each event, I’ve learned to slow down, take in the moment, and be more present.

The technical side of barbecue still matters to me. It always will.

But it isn’t what fuels me anymore.

Today, it’s about the people.

It’s about the memories being made around the food. It’s about the relationships that have been built. It’s about the community that Pink’s Barbecue continues to create and serve.

My Eaters, as I close this week’s article, I want to leave you with this.

For all of you out there growing, learning, leading, building, and trailblazing, let me encourage you with something I’ve learned along the way.

Give yourself some grace.

Be present.

Enjoy the moment.

Notice the people around you, and remember them.

Build community that transcends the task at hand.

Because at the end of the day, the work will get done. The event will end. The project will be completed. The meal will be eaten.

What remains are the people, the relationships, the memories, and the impact we leave on one another.

Those are the things that last.

Until next time, y’all, remember that you can always come see me or the team every Saturday at the Peachtree City Farmers Market.

Take care, and I’ll see y’all next week.