Chef of the Month is sponsored by Ford Hotel Supply.
Restaurants: BEAST Craft BBQ Co. and
BEAST Butcher & Block
Position: Owner/Pitmaster
Married? Yes
Kids? 3 kids
Where are you originally from? Lebanon, IL
Where did you go to school? Southwestern Illinois College
How did you get to where you are? The planets aligned, honestly. I owe my success to a mix of long hours, intense work and poor obsessive behavior management, but I wouldn’t have accomplished anything without the full dedication of my wife, family, friends and staff. I’m an overachieving black sheep that wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.
New things going on in your restaurant: Live-Fire Brunch is back every Sunday at BEAST Butcher & Block and BEAST Craft BBQ Co. just launched our first food truck!
Favorite menu item: Snoot
Three cool facts about you:
• I have been featured on Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery Games, BBQ Brawl season 2, and Beat Bobby Flay.
• I’m a wrestling nerd.
• My wife is a better cook than me.
What is your favorite piece of equipment or kitchen item? I think I’m supposed to say my chef’s knife is my favorite piece of equipment, but I really love my direct smoker in The Skullery. Nothing gives more flavor to a piece of meat than direct smoking.
BEAST Craft BBQ Co., 20 S Belt W, Belleville, IL, beastcraftbbq.com
BEAST Butcher & Block, 4156 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, MO, beastbbqstl.com
This article appears in August 2022.