Important Lessons Learned At Memphis In May

The recent international competition — sometimes known as the Superbowl of Swine — was the first official meetup of this year’s recipients of Preserve the Pit fellowships.

This groundbreaking program launched last year by Kingsford was created to celebrate the rich history of Black-owned barbecue businesses and invest in its future through an ambitious fellowship program.

At Memphis in May’s World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, plenty of information was swapped, meals shared and Instagram-worthy photos snapped. The takeaways were mighty tasty.

Meet the 2022 Preserve the Pit fellows

After last year’s enthusiastic response to this heartwarming project, it’s not surprising that the number of applications soared in 2022. More than 2,700 applications poured in, making the selection process challenging.

The winners were announced in late April:

• Terrance Nicholson – Old Hickory, Tenn.: Terrance Nicholson is a Nashville-raised barbecue pitmaster. He entered his first competition in 2014, won the pork rib contest and hasn’t looked back since. As he continued to compete, people would taste his food and ask where they could purchase it themselves. That planted the seed to start a catering business alongside his wife and business partner, Dareka, which turned into a food trailer, Zilla’s Pit BBQ. Terrance is passionate about bringing the traditions of his hometown of Brownsville, Tenn. to the masses.
• Marvin Ross – Summerville, S.C.: Marvin has been farming since around the age of 10-years-old alongside his grandfather, when he first showed a passion for pigs and other farm animals. Currently, he is the owner of Peculiar Pig Farm LLC with clients across the barbecue belt states. Most recently, Discovery Channel filmed Marvin for a documentary and he was featured at the 2022 Charleston Food & Wine Festival.
• Cameron Brooks – Fort Wayne, Ind.: Cameron Brooks is a fourth generation BBQ business owner, operating his catering business, Brooks BBQ and Chicken. Established by Brooks’ great-grandmother in 1966, Brooks BBQ and Chicken was the first Black-owned barbecue restaurant in Fort Wayne, Ind.. He has rebranded the business and is currently running a food truck and acquired a brick-and-mortar in the Union Street Market at Electric Works which will become its home this fall.
• Joseph and Laura Payne – Aurora, Ill.: As the founders of JP’s Que, Joseph and Laura Payne bring their twist to condiments. By combining flavors from their Black and Mexican heritage, their goal is to inspire people to become masters in their kitchens. Joseph spent much of his time watching and learning from his mother in the kitchen from a young age. Likewise, Laura applies the knowledge she gained from the generations of Mexican women around her. Together they’ve combined their knowledge, skills, and love of food and BBQ to bring consumers their interpretation of home.
• Donnell Crear – Smyrna, Ga.: Based just outside of Atlanta, Donnell is the owner/operator of Sunbelt Packaging Company, an artisan foods co-packaging company. They specialize in small batch production of sauces, dressings, marinades, dry mixes, and seasonings for other small businesses throughout the Southeast. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University.
• Rashida & Timothy Marshall – Stone Mountain, Ga.: Rashida and Timothy own and operate Soul-Pit aka RaRa’s Home Cooking and Catering, established in 2020. Timothy, the grill master, and their four children, provide their Atlanta community with the best home cooking and barbecue from their family-owned and run business. At Soul-Pit, the family takes pride in their homemade food and cook from the “soul.”

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Cameron Brooks first learned about this opportunity from his customers, who urged him to go for it: “They reached out through Facebook,” he said in a recent phone interview.

One of the most valuable lessons he’s learned from Preserve the Pit mentor Pat Neely is about how to handle the volume of orders received at his food truck in Fort Wayne, Ind., where fans line up for the mouthwatering ribs and chicken. “He told me about a smoker I’d never heard of,” Brooks said.

The seasoned barbecue cook works closely with his wife, Brittney, and the couple plans on opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant this fall, an effort bolstered by the grant that’s part of Preserve the Pit.

The financial boost and the additional benefits have been game changing for Brooks. Before, between prepping and smoking for up to 5,000 customers a day, there was not a lot of down time.

“I’ve never been able to explore barbecue culture, but this program gets me out from behind the grill. It’s been so amazing to be around people who know so much about barbecue,” Brooks said.

For Neely, Preserve the Pit is the chance to pay it forward: “When I was coming up in the barbecue business, I was lucky to have such a supportive community in Memphis. Those mentors always told me that I needed to share my experience with others. Kingford’s Preserve the Pit is the perfect way to do just that.”

A saucy pivot

For Laura and Joseph Payne, the Preserve the Pit was especially appealing because they had no experience being entrepreneurs. “It’s exciting and scary at the same time,” said Laura.

The original goal was to launch a barbecue food truck, but the pandemic derailed that vision. “We had the sauces and the seasonings already developed, so we decided to push forward,” Joseph said.

This love story has a spicy twist, as Laura’s Mexican heritage was skillfully blended into the traditional sauce recipes.

The two are getting sage advice from barbecue superstar Kevin Bludsoe, a Los Angeles based chef who makes regular guest appearances on TV shows.

“He’s been so helpful walking us through the in’s and out’s of getting our products out there,” Joesph said. “It’s been so inspiring.”

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