Category / On The Road

8
Jul

Guest Judging on Food Network's Chopped Grill Masters series

Chopped_03Back in April, I traveled to New York City to be a guest judge on the second season of CHOPPED Grillmasters.

Chopped_02I was paired with veteran judges Scott Conant and Chris Santos. Coming in as the new girl on a very established show with two guys who are very comfortable and experienced can be a challenge. I cannot, however, say enough nice things about working with the two of them. So smart and articulate, with incredible culinary knowledge, they were so welcoming, and very interested in the barbecue knowledge and perspective I shared. The photo above was taken on the first day of filming. I can’t wait to see how the show is edited.

Chopped_01This special series is the second time they’ve filmed an outdoor Grill Masters series, specifically focusing on food cooked live fire. I ended up knowing two of the contestants each day, and fellow barbecue friends will recognize a number of familiar faces. This is a five-episode series, airing on five consecutive Tuesdays. The winner from the first four episodes will compete in the finale. I’m judging the first episode and then another one that airs in early August.

Chopped_04Of course, I can’t give divulge any details, but suffice it to say that everyone on the show did an admirable job under a great deal of pressure.

Chopped_05Hope you’ll set your DVRs and plan to watch the fun! Tuesday, July 14th at 10 pm ET. Food Network. CHOPPED. Please tune in!

 

 

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2
Jul

17th Street at the 2015 Big Apple Barbecue Block Party – The Pit Crew

BlockPartyCrew-21Earlier in June, the 17th Street pit crew at the 13th annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party.

BlockPartyCrew-22And here’s our expanded crew with the addition of extra volunteers — Shane Linn of Townsend Spice, Mike Mrva, Adam Wood, David Bogan, Woody Tunnicliffe, Phillip Heern, me, Mike, Lawson Linn, Tracy Heern, Laurie Neef, Colin Wilkinson, Diana Gremillion, Erik Hernandez, John Hulslander, and Mike Humes. This group operates like a well-oiled machine and they totally rocked it.

BlockPartyCrew-20The event kicks off with a group photo of the pit masters and a rib-bon cutting ceremony. 17 of the country’s finest barbecue restaurants are represented here.

BlockPartyCrew-19Tim Love, of The Woodshed Smokehouse in Ft. Worth, and one of the new owners of the Block Party, acted as master of ceremonies.

BlockPartyCrew-10We bring the power in the form of five Ole Hickory Pits.

BlockPartyCrew-15Townsend Spice is a huge supporter …

BlockPartyCrew-16… as is Royal Oak Charcoal.

BlockPartyCrew-03Mike and Phillip orchestrate the cooking schedule.

BlockPartyCrew-17We’re cooking non-stop from the moment our equipment is set up and the meat is delivered.

BlockPartyCrew-05We smoke thousands of racks of ribs.

BlockPartyCrew-01Ribs are lightly sauced and sprinkled with Magic Dust® one final time.

BlockPartyCrew-04And then cut into three-bone portions.

BlockPartyCrew-11This area operates like a finely tuned machine, churning out hundreds of plates each hour.

BlockPartyCrew-14We also make gallons and gallons of baked beans.

BlockPartyCrew-02All served with a smile.

BlockPartyCrew-12This year we also cooked two Heritage Farm Cheshire Pork hogs. Delicious!

BlockPartyCrew-13These Chester White pigs are beautifully marbled and incredibly tasty.

BlockPartyCrew-07Elizabeth Knight, Shane Linn, Lawson Linn, and Luke Ray greeting Flava Fav, one of our long-time Block Party friends.

BlockPartyCrew-09New this year was a VIP tent in Madison Square Park …

BlockPartyCrew-08… with each pit master serving his signature food.

BlockPartyCrew-18Looking up and seeing rolling smoke and skyscrapers never gets old. We love New York City!

Stay tuned for more Block Party posts and information in the coming weeks.

 

All photos ©Ken Goodman Photography

Follow our adventures in real time on Instagram and Twitter.
See lots of entertaining and barbecue ideas on our Pinterest boards.
And we post fun things on Facebook, too!