Early April 2008 she was complete and we had the cooker of our dreams! Within a month, we had her at the Virginia State BBQ Championship cooking against 58 professional barbecue teams from all over the USA.

I had looked up competitions and the Virginia State BBQ Championship was two months away in Danville Virginia. He thought we should go visit the competition, learn about it, then enter the following year. I told him it was too late I had paid the $250 entry fee and sent the application that morning. We had two months to finish the cooker, learn how it cooks, and prepare for the event. Danville, Virginia Pigs in The Park May 16, 2008, would be our first competition.

One of the most common questions we get asked is "How did you get into barbecue?". I usually answer the question with just a few bits of the whole story. I thought I'd tell the complete story from the beginning. It was 1991 I was living in my hometown of Clifton Forge, Virginia, and a friend invited me

When thinking about what to write for my first blog post I wanted to provide a spark that would perk the interest of those who have little to no knowledge of barbecue. Perhaps reading this post will start you on a barbecue journey as a connoisseur, pitmaster, or student of all things barbecue.