Opentable Masterclass Dining Series

Owner, Melissa Goffin was invited to speak at an Opentable industry event around how to market to better connect with our customers. Here’s a little snippet…

Thanksgiving and giving thanks 2019

It’s that time again – when I try to spend time in gratitude but find myself mired down in all the stuff I need to buy (that I picture finding its way into landfill within the year if not the month) and the scientific precision required to manage our family’s calendar – thankfulness feels like one chore too much.

 I don’t know about you guys, but I do it to myself. I proclaim to be all about outsourcing but I’m baking and planting and creating homemade gifts. I’m listing, shopping, planning parties and decorating and spending every ounce of spare energy on doing and more and making the season ‘perfect’.

When isn’t all this stuff just taking me farther away from perfection? Isn’t our time better spent just actually sitting with our loved ones and sharing moments than missing dinners out buying all the xmas ‘must haves’?

I keep thinking I’ll get better at this. Wiser, more efficient, more conscious of what matters and what doesn’t and focus myself better. I guess I’ll keep making reminders, maybe we could help each other to set different expectations? I could be that friend that says, ‘DON’T. Don’t worry about the mess at home and feed your kids fast food.’ (hint: I am already kinda that friend – I also think clothes on kids are optional). But maybe we could all do more of this. Don’t bring me stuff for xmas – I don’t need it. Just bring yourself and your smile and your thought-provoking conversation.

In my first 10 years here in Oz, I didn’t have a Thanksgiving, because if I didn’t do it, nobody else was (obvi, not an Aussie hol, I’m not complaining) but mostly because I found it all too hard. My job in teaching meant I was ALWAYS drowning in report writing at this time of year and I couldn’t imagine adding cooking a turkey and organising a THING on top of what already felt like a totally overwhelming time of year. But then we had kids and started Red Gum and my desire to share this special holiday with them and my reason (and ability – thanks Chefs!) for extending our US food traditions via the business meant I was able again to connect with the holiday.

A wonderful thanksgiving feast shared with friends in 2018 - we are excited to do it again this Saturday!

And here’s what I love about Thanksgiving. It’s none of those things. It’s not about STUFF. It’s about taking the time to eat, to be with the people you love and be THANKFUL. It’s about all of the things that we value here at Red Gum BBQ. It’s about moments and family and food.

If you didn’t know, thanksgiving is literally about GIVING THANKS. And is a perfect reminder as I race through my days thinking of all the doing, that what I should be doing, is remembering the WHY. It’s not about the decorations or the presents, the dresses and the nails, the baking or the events. It asks us to stop in our tracks, look around, take notice of WHAT WE HAVE and be grateful for that. To be THANKFUL for all of the people we get to sit around a table with and share moments with. To be thankful for the bountiful blessings we do have and remember that that thing in our brain – or those 20 – don’t actually matter.  

This Thanksgiving/Christmas season Red Gum BBQ is partnering with The Smith Family Fund and their toy drive for kids who won’t get the xmas ours will. We’ve got a collection in the restaurant and are hoping to get 100 toys. If you’re nearby or visiting the restaurant in the next couple of weeks, please think of bringing something along. If you want the specifics, look HERE.

Our target is to collect 100 gifts to donate to The Smith Family this Christmas.

On Saturday, we’ll sit down with friends in our private dining room and celebrate Thanksgiving. We’ll share the things we’re thankful for and take those precious moments with those special people to STOP. And to remember that all the stuff that matters is the stuff that’s all around us at that table. 

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours. ❤️

Our Most Epic BBQ Adventure: and other Southern miscellaneous food tales

The time has finally come. Our week long, whirlwind, eat as much as you can stuff in your face, lather yourself in BBQ and honey butter, leave the kids at home and drink bourbon on a shrimp boat, Epic BBQ Adventure begins! We are ready. Bags are packed, kids are bribed sufficiently with game zones and lollies and our BBQ merch is on board and ready for sharing.

This is the deal: Martin has been invited to participate in the COOLEST BBQ fest in the South, hosted by our very dear friends and Southern Living Magazine’s Best BBQ in the South two years running, Southern Soul BBQ on St Simons Island - South Georgia. Harrison & Griffin, SS’s fearless leaders - the two most Southern-hospitality, BBQ-lovin, good-time havin folks you ever did meet - are hosting the third annual Firebox BBQ weekend and their BBQ brings all the boys to the yard. Not only is the event for charity (supporting down on their luck, local hospitality folk) but it’s just cool. So everyone’s in. Who’s everyone you ask? Here’s the list:

Seriously.

So here’s our plan: We arrive on Wed night and drive to Georgia from Jacksonville. My Mom, who lives a mere 30 mins from this airport is less than impressed we’re hightailing it up, but our ‘work’ awaits! Thursday is welcome BBQ dinner with all the pitmasters and ticketed guests. We’ll try not to fangirl & boy but I can’t promise. We’re pretty sure we’ll get lots of questions about kangaroos & what everyone knows/thinks of US goings on (we see them, we love them, we don’t eat them and yes, everyone knows. And everyone thinks). Friday is a friends and family dinner and another opportunity to get to know the crew and learn about how they do what they do. Saturday is the big event and Martin and co will be on site first thing, pits fired, donuts and coffees (from a pot, I’m assuming. We’ll manage) and the long, wonderful day of Martin in his happiest of places and me, basking in the warmth of an Autumn Georgia and catching up with friends begins. Sat night is the big event where all of the BBQ will be served up and beers and bourbon will be drunk. Sunday we’re off to Savannah for 3 days and nights of eating at some of Savannah’s most iconic - new and old - Southern restaurants and some serious meandering across the squares and boutique shops.

So come along with us! Follow our journey - what we’re eating, who we’re playing with and how much mischief we can track down in 6 short days. Check back here where we’ll be sharing all of the coolest, most uniquely Southern things we come across. And eat vicariously with us. Can we transfer calories somehow?

***

Airplane food has come a long way in the past decade. This Qantas meal was awesome!

And we knew we had arrived in America when we found awesome Mexican at Dallas airport.

And Martin really loves travelling with Melissa so he was overjoyed to be doubling up!

After arriving into Jacksonville and organising our luggage to be delivered to our hotel (it preferred coming in on the later flight), we set off for St Simon's Island and our hotel. Arrived. And this is our weather while here! Translated into Celsius: "farking hot and awesome."

Sleep. Next stop: Day 1.

Martin was up and ready to go at 6am - part jet lag, part excitement (prob most the former) and hit up Starbucks across the street for some Pumpkin Spice lattes. I've let him know that he can order me one every day while we're here. I'll stock up. Then he popped into Southern Soul BBQ - conveniently placed across the street from our hotel (Thanks SS!) and said hello to Harrison. Eventually we all got moving and got the tour of the smokers and saw Kitty and got totally excited about all of the festivities.

$3 corndogs. Welcome to the South.

So excited to be getting all kinds of Southern cookbooks. And PIE.

Also the South. 😲

Day 1, almost complete. Off now to the Pitmaster's Dinner to meet all the crew. YAY. See you with more updates tomorrow!

Martin tasting Mead (hat required)

Smokers everywhere. This is a mini one outside an Argentinian restaurant.

***

Last night we visited Southern Soul BBQ to enjoy dinner hosted by Chef Eddie Hernandez of Taqueria del Sol in Atlanta, Georgia. To say that the dinner was a journey of Mexican culinary delights is not only wanky but a huge understatement. Eddie was gracious and entertaining and each course was paired with an awesome beer. In plastic cups. Which just felt so much like home. Enjoying this meal, amongst our BBQ friends - new and old - was pure delight. It was the perfect start to our adventures on St Simon's Island.

Seriously delicious.

Day 2 began with lunch with Mom on Jekyll Island. The island is just neighbouring St Simon's and is a beautiful old heritage site with a hotel and historic homes. We lunched, chatted and roamed.

Martin's lunch - the American Club. Martin says he knows he's in the US when his mouth cramps trying to fit the sandwiches in.

Jekyll Island family shot.

The beautiful Spanish Moss trees of this area. Too beautiful.

We're just heading out to the Grill & Chill friends and family evening at Gascoigne Bluff now to enjoy more socialising, beer and good times in the warm Georgian evening. Back tomorrow morning to start the big day. 💗

On the evening of Day 2, we headed to Gascoigne Bluff – the site of the Firebox festival, now inhabited by BBQ trucks and smokers.

This evening was the Grill & Chill Family and Friends event where we had an opportunity to get stuck into some fried fish, hush puppies, grits and local craft beer. And of course, family and friends.

Tuffy Stone of Cool Smoke BBQ.

This mellow affair was followed up by a distinctively not so mellow, karaoke night. 

Me & Bryan Furman of B’s Cracklin’ BBQ. I can’t really explain this image. That I know of, there is no evidence of my karaoke from the evening but we’ll just assume that I totally channelled my 90’s angry girl for Alanis Morrisette’s ‘You outta know’ and that Peg Leg Porker and I were dead ringers for Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton.

Martin and Anthony Dibernado, Pitmaster & Owner, Swig & Swine. We were warned that there may be some serious frivolity and we were not disappointed. At some point home happened. And the alarm rang bright and early for Pitmaster Martin who will narrate Day 3.

At the start of Day 3, I left Melissa behind and headed to Gascoigne Bluff.

These are my lamb shoulders with my Granny G Lamb rub, these are cooked over Pecan. Lamb is not as popular as it is Australia and people are super inquisitive about it. I am super stoked when folks respond well later on when the event starts.

A Cinnamon Scroll for breakfast to hold the hunger at bay. This sure helped after a long night on the turps.

Anthony’s St Louis Style Pork Ribs. These were epic, thick and smoky. Anthony is a super nice dude.

Me and Kitty Sapp under the Spanish Moss. She keeps Harrison in check and the ship sailing.

I am always amazed how Melissa came make our BBQ stands so beautiful. Harrison and Melissa taking it all in.

These guys are the OG’s, humble and caring. The nicest gents in BBQ, Harrison and Griffin of Southern Soul BBQ.

You have never seen anything like this, Georgia Peach BBQ sauce. Bryan Furman is already a legend in the BBQ world and it is easy to see why.

BBQ Ninja time.

I am hanging with a good bunch of people, if you would have told me 5 years ago I would be on the Firebox bill with this mob I would have never have believed you.

It’s time to dine with Swig and Swine.

Bryan and Kitty.

Tank from Holy City Hogs. Whole Hoggin.

Elliot Moss of Buxton Hall chilling with the cauldron of Hash.

Momma Jean’s BBQ, this girl was a party!

Me!!

We were pulling pork next to this lovely lady – Amy Mills of 17th Street BBQ. What a pleasure!

And took some of her ribs as gifts to friends! #wecomebearingmeat

And then there’s this guy – who knew why he was there. #putsomesouthinyourmouth

Cheeky!!

Tomorrow we’re off to Savannah where we’ll immerse ourselves in more of the South and its wonderful food treats.

Day 4 starts by packing up our hotel on St Simon’s Island and saying goodbye to the island, to Southern Soul and to the new friends we’ve made and our dear old friends who came to see us.

 We didn’t have to be heartbroken for long because we skipped over to Jekyll Island where we were joined by more friends, reminisced and ate fried pickles with ranch dressing.

Just a short drive later and we arrived into Savannah and the amazing Perry Lane Hotel. We can’t remember staying at a more unique and wonderful hotel.

After wandering the nooks and crannies of Perry Lane, we made our way to Elizabeth’s on 37th Street – a Savannah icon where President Obama ate once upon a time.

Here are our cheese biscuits, served with butter and marmalade. Because butter is not enough.

Here is Martin’s Savannah Red Rice with Georgia Prawns, whitefish, clams AND sausage!

And here’s a little taster of their Gullah Rice – cooked in a skillet with crab and lots of other yummy things.

Dessert was an angel food cake chunks with sherry and berries and custard and cream, oh my!

With very full bellies we decided to walk home from dinner, taking advantage of the warm, fall evening and the charming Savannah streets. It just so happens that on this balmy Sunday evening, crowds were gathered, food trucks were parked and the Savannah orchestra was in full swing.

The city is just so magical and we’re so thankful to be able to spend more time here.

Day 5 began with a coffee, taking a call from Southern Living’s BBQ Editor in one of our magical wonderland hotel sitting rooms. We may be dreaming but we’ll keep eating – don’t wake us up.

 From here we borrowed hotel bikes and headed out for lunch at Treylor Park down in the historic district. I had the classic patty melt, Martin had a Sloppy Joe and we shared fried banana pepper rings with ranch dressing.

This is a picture of my chip with thousand island dressing.

And these? These are fried Oreo’s.

We continued to bike, explore and shop for a few hours and then sat by the pool to relax before dinner.

Tonight’s meal was at The Atlantic, a recommendation by our few Southern experts at Firebox. We were not disappointed. Highlights included:

 Open tomato sandwich on house made rye bread with bacon mayo. Not bacon AND mayo but BACON MAYO. It was as good as this sounds.

Roasted okra

And smoked, house made pastrami.

After dinner we wandered the city again – getting lost in its historic squares, admiring the gas lanterns and stunning southern architecture.

 This is us as we got back to the hotel and remembered we had just one more day in Savannah before we had to leave.

Day 6 began with breakfast at our hotel. Martin went for the ‘American’ with poached eggs (which I feel like sort of changes it to the Australian).

The biscuit and crispy, smoked bacon were a highlight.

I ordered a bagel. This simple little bagel was the best I’ve had in years.

Following breakfast we made our way to Bonaventure Cemetery – the Savannah cemetery made famous by Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil and the forever home to some of Savannah’s most interesting characters.

We then went next door and searched for some of my family who were buried here. Aunt Vic – Granddaddy’s only sister and the centre of some of our family’s wildest stories, was here. I said hello and spent a moment recalling some of my own sweet memories of her.

These guys have got a wonderful last resting place.

And then we had lunch. Pimento sandwich.

We’ve spent a fair bit of time wandering the squares of Savannah but haven’t tired of these homes and views

Went lolly shopping for kids. I didn’t bring these home but they were not a joke. I mean, unless you think bacon & cheese flavoured crickets are funny. 😲

Tonight, on our last night in Savannah, we ate at The Grey. Mashama Bailey’s take on Southern cuisine was featured recently on Netflix: The Chef’s Table and we were so excited to be able to visit. 

Martin, excited. Boiled peanuts. Look for these on our Summer bar menu – YUM.

Some of dinner’s highlights: Carrots, Chicken and Grits. But these words don’t do justice to what they were. Everything we had was beautiful. The venue, service and food were worth every bit of hype. What a brilliant way to end our Most Epic BBQ Adventure.

Private Dining room.

Tomorrow we stop by for another lunch with Mom (and pizza at Moon River – Martin is SO looking forward) and a short goodbye to our friends at Southern Soul BBQ before getting on our plane to make the long journey home.

When pies are complicated and messy but worth it.

We’re not cheap. We get it. And we own it. You may have lots of cheap meals in your life, but we ain’t one. And generally people say all kinds of amazing things about us but sometimes they say this: we’re EXPENSIVE. And if you compare us to your local pub meal, we agree. But if you put together all of the pieces of the apple pie, the whole is of a business trying to do right and stay alive. 

Delicious apple pie

And if you’re concerned with any of the following: global warming, the treatment of animals, fair wages, supporting low income workers, ethical business practices, supporting farmers (this list could go on), then maybe you should be asking questions of your local pub. The old adage is still true – you get what you pay for. And we’d add to this, if you’re not paying enough, someONE or someTHING is suffering. 

Pricing your menu is complicated at the best of times; not only do we need to take into account our set margins that cover things like operation costs and wages but how the pieces of the menu fit together. And what our customers can spend and how we create value are key considerations. But so much of what we do around pricing sits on the head of a needle. That is, when one item is out of balance – when we’ve ordered too much stock and haven’t sold it or when one week’s (or god forbid 3) labour costs are out of whack, our profit margins go careening down that ledge. And it just seems that the challenges are endless – the constant to’ing and fro’ing between doing things right and good often sit in stark contrast to doing things that make the business money. Our pockets would be much deeper, if only we’d chuck our principles. 

We realise that we have a responsibility to share this with our customers. If nobody is telling the story of what ethical sourcing and practices look like then how will consumers know what to look for? 

We make sure our team is equipped with the information they need to explain why our beef rib costs $54. We educate them on the challenging environmental conditions, including droughts and floods that have sent herd levels to the lowest in decades. We tell them that free range products still only make up 3% of the Australian meat supply and that the cost for sourcing local, quality and ethical products is high. But we also tell them why it matters. What it means to the environment, their community, animals and our world, when we make the harder, more expensive choice.   

But getting this info across to customers is more complicated. Some people just wanna cheaper meal. And isn’t our job to make them happy, first and foremost? 

Our answer is no. Our first priority has to be to our values. It’s been our guiding light thus far and will continue to be. 

Our guiding values are written on the wall of the restaurant for all to see.

Making our business profitable means being able to pay our staff, it means being able to pay our suppliers and it means staying alive. Ensuring that we’re balancing these competing demands and pricing our offerings to make a profit means the business can be sustainable. This is not about lining our accounts, but about the 50 people who count on us for jobs. It’s about the family-run businesses whom we choose to support and who rely on us for income. It’s about seeing this thing live and thrive and continuing to connect the dots of ethics and business. 

Our B Corp certification drives us. It means our practices are held to the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. It’s not just a brand on our wall – it’s our purpose. 

The team celebrating our B Corp certification!

It means paying our staff public holiday rates and penalties. On any average Sunday this means our staff are paid between $28 and $34 an hour. On public holidays these are between $42 and $51 an hour. On these days we add a 15% surcharge to orders – without this we wouldn’t be able to be open and even with this, we still sometimes make a loss on these days when all the pieces of the pumpkin pie come together. 

It also means that we only source local wine. We live in a wine region and we’re committed to supporting our local, independent suppliers. Yes, we can get cheaper wine from other areas but we like seeing our dollars supporting our local community and reducing our carbon footprint. 

It means sourcing reused and ethical materials, from compostable and recycled take away items and using reclaimed timber in the restaurant. It means managing our waste with purpose – with water reduction and recycling initiatives.  

It means challenging suppliers who tell us we should just get the cheaper meat and tell our customers it’s the other stuff. It means understanding the difference between grass fed and grain fed and why that matters. 

It means being true to our principles everywhere and in every context. And doing this just ain’t cheap. Nor easy.   

We are the only B Corp certified restaurant in Australia and while we love this accolade, it certainly isn’t all fun and games. 

Certification in hospitality is extremely rare, and we totally get why. Profit margins in this industry are infamously slim and we’ve got so many other things to balance and manage before considering more red tape for additional certification. 

But ultimately, we’re just working our behinds off trying to make all the pieces of the banana cream pie fit. And in our case, they’re just a bit fatter and yummier (our behinds too). Success is more than just a bottom line and what’s the point if you can’t feel good about what you’re doing?

And the people who want a cheap meal probably won’t visit us. While we’d like to be the place for everyone, we accept that we’re not. Thankfully, consumer attitudes are changing and people want to know more about their footprint. We hope that a customer that tells us our menu is too expensive or complains about a public holiday surcharge is open to learning about why we price we the way we do.

We're here to be a different kind of business – one that can be proud of how it exists in the world and of the bbq trail it leaves behind as it forges ahead.

I've never been good at keeping secrets.

I’ve never been good at keeping secrets. My son has the same plague/gift. Ask him who stole the lolly off the bench and see it written on his face. Ask me about my BBQ or my journey so far and I’ll tell you. In fact, I won’t shut up.

I’ve never seen BBQ as competitive. It’s always been about sharing. About connecting people and food and building a community. When I first ate BBQ in 2002, visiting my now wife in the South, I fell in love - with BBQ (and her along the way). As I learned more about the tradition, of how it brought people together, family stories and history, I was hooked. It did, and continues to, consume my thoughts. A biopsy would reveal a section devoted to wife and family – the rest (much larger part), devoted to meat, smoke, wood and fire.

 When we moved to Australia in 2005 I tried to recreate that sweet lick of smoke. I was desperate for information. Looking for any book on bookstore shelves on BBQ, all I could do was have family in the US send some over, Australia was barren. Before the days of Facebook BBQ groups and Franklin on Youtube, I searched and read and spent every opportunity stuck in - playing with BBQs, smokers, wood, chips, sauce and meat.

 The lengths I would go through to source meat was extraordinary. I spent countless hours tracking down experienced butchers, meeting with them, printing out animal diagrams and description info to try to get the meat to the ‘American-style’ specs I couldn’t find. In 2012, when I began smoking for our weekend BBQ business, I used to get briskets and pork butts delivered to my old work place. Colleagues would open the staff room fridge and be shocked to see it transformed into a meat locker - all in aid of practicing on the weekend. This odd occurrence went on for years until I finally devoted myself entirely to BBQ and left all ‘real work’ behind.

Early briskets, circa 2013.

While I struggled with passion and desire but lack of info, there were people that extended a hand of friendship and knowledge. In 2012, when I approached Paul from Silver Creek Smokers to build my first pit he astounded me with his skill, his generosity and friendship – he continues to do so. Across the next years many of the early crew – those men and women I stood next to at the first BBQ festival in 2015 –  Fancy Hanks, Big Boy, Bluebonnet and Burn City Smokers have been friends and supports over the years – we’ve shared stories, pits, gigs and meat.

Maeve & me at BBQ Fest 2015

In 2016, as we were opening the restaurant, I took a detour when visiting family in the US and spent some time at Southern Soul BBQ on St Simons Island, Georgia. Harrison and the team were so generous with their time and knowledge. I was like a sponge, watching, taking notes, asking questions. This amazing experience gave me a glimpse into not only what it’s like running a bricks and mortar joint, but the way this place reached out and connected the community and the camaraderie between the local BBQ joints.

Harrison & me, 2016

I know the pain of an all night cook. Only to see your brisket turn out tough and smokeless. I know what it’s like to haul wood and lift metal doors until your joints ache. I know what it’s like to fight a pit fire, fuelled by grease and heat, after little sleep and physical exhaustion and then to see all your hard work and money go into the bin.

We people who chase the perfect BBQ are a passionate bunch. Out to impress others yes, but much more so, ourselves. I don’t see those other BBQ folk as my competition but my brothers and sisters in arms. Our war is fought for the love of BBQ and in search for the perfect smoke. Our weapon is metal, fire, wood and meat.

Paul & Melissa, pre-open 2016

It is for this reason we had our first Pitmaster Masterclasses at a pop up venue in early 2015. And why they continue to feature as a core offering of our business. I get your passion. And your deep, desperate need to perfect your BBQ.  I continue to love these classes and the opportunity to speak to a passionate group of either new or experienced BBQ enthusiasts.

Over the years I’ve had calls or visits from people starting out – with their BBQ business or home projects. If you have ever caught me at the restaurant and wanted to chat BBQ you’ve more than likely been on the receiving end of me talking your ear off. It’s now been two years of running monthly classes in our function room at Red Gum, and I feel extremely humbled that folks want to hear me talk about something I love in the restaurant that I built.

These days, BBQ in Australia is a very different, much more diverse space. Where we used to explain to our friends at backyard BBQs what the pulled pork was, it’s now a staple across menus. I still spend my days and nights thinking about meat and playing with recipes at Red Gum – but also teaching this art to our in-house Pitmasters and to visitors to our Pitmaster classes.  

Me & Mike (Fancy Hanks) at Red Gum

So I go to youtube to share. For those same reasons that I am grateful to those who have reached out to me over the years and to give back. To build community. To hand over some lessons where I can that have been hard fought and hard won. To share my secrets - what’s in my brain is yours, for whatever it’s worth. In the hopes that we can learn from one another and create an even wider, more passionate and more connected BBQ community.   

I hope you’ll join me on this smoking journey and share your secrets too. It’s all about #sharingthebbqlove

Click here to subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow the smoke with Martin.

Happy Birthday Red Gum BBQ! [this is not a feel good piece]

The last few months have been a whirlwind of holidays, family visits, birthdays and mid-life crises. Or was this just me?

No, you know what. I’m pretty sure it’s not. Only because every SINGLE person I speak with, who takes the time to really let me in beyond the, ‘I’m fine, everything’s great’ mantra, tells me so. 

I’m 40. Plus or minus a few years. Let’s say minus. Anyway – what this means is that it’s literally written in the life playbook that at this point in time I am revaluating my life and my choices and feeling the loss of my former, quite fun, passionate and fiery (also dangerous, irresponsible and bad with money) younger self. But I digress. This is a blog about Red Gum BBQ’s 2nd birthday. Or is it? I can’t decide.

This 22 of January marks the start of our 3rd year of life and exactly 2 years after opening our giant roller doors at 87 Arthurs Seat Road.  Here’s a little iphone photos video of that day.

It seems all at once a lifetime ago and just the other day.

What came before that was years of dreaming, imagining and planning. Here’s a picture of baby Martin in 2007 with his new BBQ scraper. His love affair with American-style BBQ in full swing, he had just purchased his new 6 burner and our backyard BBQs were never the same. Pulled pork, ribs and homemade BBQ sauces became our go to party food and we loved sharing it with our friends in Oz who had not yet been exposed to it. This was pre-pulled pork on every menu days.

Christmas BBQ gifts 2007

This was our BBQ life until 2012 when Martin, on paternity leave with our son, Ashton decided it was time to bring the late night, too many beers ideas to reality. He wanted to open a BBQ restaurant. And the rest is the rest.

Our regular spot under the stringybarks at Emu Plains Market, 2013.

Cue 2019 and my (and your?) mid-life crisis. See the thing is, I’ve got this amazing business and I really, truly love what I do. I love going into that place every day and seeing all of the dedicated, quirky cool people who inhabit it. They let me be me and they are them. I have never felt more at home, more challenged and more fulfilled, professionally.

RGB Xmas Party 2018. Santa Sarah and me.

And I’ve got this wonderful, healthy, kind family – who I adore and who adore me. So what’s all the fuss about? We have health. And security. And love. And, well, that’s it, isn’t it? What else matters? Shouldn’t I spend every single freakin second being totally grateful for all of the wonderful wonderfulness my life is providing – YES!

Awesome family.

But there’s this haunting. If I’m really honest (and why not, publicly, to a whole bunch of strangers). Of a life unled. Of decisions locked in and permanent. Of a repetitive, foreverness that is as far as I can see. And I can’t seem to quiet my mind to the discomfort of it all.

But back to Red Gum.

In late November we gave thanks to a group of Red Gum BBQ friends who have supported us through partnerships over these past couple of years. It was an awesome night of food, wine and gratitude. Though there’s nothing like being ‘home’ for Thanksgiving, sharing it in a new home, with a group of people who haven’t yet experienced it, is really special. It’s hard not to be moved by the simplicity of it all. Perhaps I could learn some lessons…

Thanksgiving 2018

Over Christmas my Mom visited. It’s been 5 years since her last visit and she had never been to Red Gum. My pride gusheth over to show her our baby. And just in time to meet the new pits. This is Mama Carolyne eating BBQ. She says it’s the best she’s ever had. And she’s had a lot. And she is not biased.

Mom & Brisket.

Which brings us to this week and we celebrate 2 amazing years of adventure, friendship and growth. The learnings are innumerable. When I’m quite sure I’ve got something figured out, it twists and turns and shows me a new, confusing side.  Since last year you have continued to support us in showing up, sharing and investing in our story. And for that, we are overwhelmingly grateful. It is because of our community that Red Gum thrives. We continue to be humbled by your kind words and connection. That you choose to visit us, to share your special moments, that you take pictures and tell your friends, that you know who we are and you get it, is everything.

Thank you.

So I return to the disequilibrium of this moment of time. No, I didn’t make up that word. I thought I had but spell check says it’s cool. I’ll assume that this is just a time – with kids who push me to the brink and a repetitive familiarity of experience that gives pause to all thinking, feeling beings. And I’ll continue seeking but also trusting that our life unfolds as it should when we make the right decisions. Easy.

I hope you’re good too. Let me know if you wanna crisis together sometime. Maybe less, ‘I’m good, thanks’ and more ‘I’m a bit over [insert everything and anything here]’ would be useful. And while we’re ditching the formalities, no. My holidays weren’t ‘great’ and the start to my New Year has not been wonderful. It’s been nice. Ups and downs, you know? This is no pity party, I get how lucky I am and how grateful I should be. All day, every day. I’ll do my damndest not to focus on the suck but to focus on the beauty. But it ain’t alway easy, alright?

Martin and I, two weeks into open in Feb 2017. Amazed and humbled, still.

Honouring Joel

Yesterday I turned 44. 4 tens and 4 ones. As you age, it seems increasingly difficult to see those number rise and understand your value and worth against your impressions of the age and the awareness of your mortality. This year’s birthday came with a gratitude and peace that gave me a different perspective.

Today I attended the funeral of a 20 year old man. Joel was an employee of ours at Red Gum BBQ who died, tragically, driving home from our workplace, a week and a half ago. Joel was a kind and gentle soul who seemed to always have a smile on his face. He did a number of jobs at Red Gum – from dishes, to supporting the kitchen, helping clean pits and handle deliveries. No job was too big, no ask was too hard and no length too far to travel. Joel was the warm, friendly face greeting you wherever you were. Polite, cheeky, easy. These are some of the ways I remember him and some of the ways he was described today at his funeral. His funeral.

Joel, on a sunnier day.

First thing Sunday morning we got the call from his brother, who also works with us, to tell us the awful news. Joel left work and just minutes from us, hit a tree on the side of the road, losing his life instantly. There is no greater explanation, no reason or rhyme to this great tragedy. No sense to be made from the destruction of a family, the loss of this young man and the heartache of all who knew him.

I spent the next couple of hours in a spin wondering how I would communicate this news to our Red Gum family. To all of the people who worked most closely with him, to all who knew him in our building and to all who called him friend. How could I tell the Chef who worked alongside him that evening, the friend in the kitchen who knew him since childhood, the waitress who walked out the door with him and followed behind him in her car by just a minute? I knew this would be information that would deeply affect some, if not all who heard it. I googled ‘what to do when an employee dies’ – FYI: Google doesn’t know everything. I felt an intense pressure to ensure we were doing what was right. But what is right?

As the morning went on, and news of Joel’s death was being reported in the media we knew our time to share it carefully and collectively was dwindling. We had a few hundred booked in for the day and I wore my business owner hat too – I didn’t know what any of this would mean. We just needed to honour Joel’s news as best as possible and put one foot in front of the other. I spoke privately to some and felt their intense grief. We gathered the rest, moving through the building asking everyone to stop and come to the kitchen. It was 12pm and the restaurant was full. The response was as you could imagine. This was an impossible piece of news to share and more awful to hear.

The crew.

What happened next over the coming hours was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. Our people cried. And hugged. And hearts were breaking across our space and beyond. But they waited tables, they seated, they smoked and smiled, they served and supported each other. They huddled in corners hugging. They took long trips to the bathroom. They wiped their tears on their sleeves and soldiered on. Now I know we’re not in a hero’s field. We’re not saving lives and we’re not protecting the common good. But if standing, unflinching in grief and smiling for your friends and a sense of duty is noble, these are our Kings and Queens. Nobody wanted to leave. We asked, even encouraged some to go. But they stayed on and extended love and support to everyone around them. Martin and I watched on in awe. Our leaders extended hands of strength and support, as Captains do. People half my age supported me with a strength and resilience and wisdom I couldn’t have imagined. They shared in their sadness, gave smiles to our guests and stood strong in news that would shake any 44 year old, let alone an 18 year old, being touched by loss for the first time.

The next days and week have been similar. Hearts continued to break and loss continues to be felt. We still can make no more sense of this. Each of us is processing in our own way. Some pain is palpable and some hidden away. We have sentimental, hearts on their sleeve folk, and stoic, pragmatic types. I don’t know what each of them needs or how to fix it. I also understand, logically, that’s not my job. But it’s hard to not feel that these are my family, my responsibility and the joys and pains we experience there, mine to navigate. For someone who likes to think her way out of confusion, this one is proving difficult. It’s hard to see and understand when you’re in the middle of the thing. 

But I wanted to share our heartbreak. To honour Joel in some small way. To tell our community about our loss and of the beautiful young man who was taken from this world far too early. I’m not sure what lessons there are to be learned here – I suppose time will reveal those.

44 and Blessings

What I know is that 44 seems quite the privilege. This is one of those reminders, that comes at far too great a price, that life is much more than the silly things that distract us every day and age and health and love are gifts and essential practices. I’ll hope for peace for Joel’s family and for the people I know struggling with his loss. I’ll hope that we can be what they need from us but I’ve seen their strength and their wisdom and I am in awe of it. Joel, you are missed and you are loved.  

Starting at the end.

We use free range and grass fed meats, exclusively. But how do we ensure that this process is humane and ethical? It seems impossible. But in ensuring we understand and make the right decisions, we’re taking the journey and reporting it to you. On this occasion, I use the word ‘challenged’ in my video to mean, I STRUGGLED. Today’s visit was totally confronting. But knowledge is power and with it, we can make better decisions for us, for you and for our world. Phew.

The Meaty Truth at Red Gum BBQ

So here’s the thing about meat. That you may or may not be aware of. It’s a complicated industry, to put it lightly. One where, throughout recent history, most of what has been available to the masses has been sourced in a not very ethical and not very sustainable way. And did you know that an estimated 97% of Australian’s pigs are raised indoors with no access to the outside? Making doing their regular pig thing impossible. This leaves just 3% of pigs that are described as free range or organic. Pathetic statistic.   

Here's this guy with a cowboy hat who tries to explain it to us: 

Aussie dude in cowboy hat explaining Free Range

In this minefield of an industry there are the animals and the farmers, the distributors and the buyers and the consumers. There are free range, bred free range, grass fed & grain fed. There are bio shelters and factory farms and cages and pastures; there are RSPCA, Free Range, Organic and industry accreditations. Making sense of it all seems pretty much impossible. I ask a lot of questions but the answers are anything but clear.

Here's a graphic that tries to explain some of the most well known accreditations. Within these, there seems to be lots of movement between brands and farms and... fuzzy enough? 

https://www.choice.com.au/food-and-drink/meat-fish-and-eggs/meat/articles/free-range-meat-labels

So here’s another thing, that you may know but if you don’t here it is: We care a LOT about all of this. And want very much to be doing our best, as participants in this complex industry, to ensure that not only is the meat we source ethical, but that we are also contributing where we can to strengthening and promoting those within the industry who feel the same.

I remember the first conversation Martin and I had about our commitment to exclusively using free range meat. We agreed that as animal (and yes, meat) lovers, we didn’t want to contribute to an industry that was not caring for the wellbeing of the animal. This was not always an easy choice, in fact, it’s been more hard than easy, by far. For the many years our little BBQ venture was making a loss, it seemed an easy option to cut our costs in half and go with the factory farm, feed lot option. Everyone else was doing it and our consumers probably wouldn’t notice or care. But we didn’t. Because it was a commitment we made and one that we felt defined so much of what mattered to us. Because it was the right thing to do for the animals and for our planet. And because we were sure that if we could find a way to communicate the importance of it to our consumers, they too would share our passion and be willing to pay more for this better product. 

So we continue to plough ahead with understanding and improving our connection to this promise.

Here are some of the highlights (and lowlights) of this journey for us so far:

• In 2013 Martin spent about a billion hours (fact) on the phone trying to find someone who could source free range pork and chicken and grass fed beef of the quantities and specs we wanted. We could find grass fed beef and free range chooks, but finding pork was endlessly difficult and initially, for a brief period, we settled on a bred free range product. In this instance, we were working directly with the farmer and believed in value she placed on the ethical treatment of her animals.   
• In 2015 we finally found a supplier who could source us wholly free range pork products of the specs and quantities we required. From 2015-2018 – we moved between a couple of distributors who connected us to farmers like Borrowdale in QLD who provided an amazing product but still, we felt disconnected to the process and wanted to know more about where our meat was sourced and how it came to us. We continued to seek a direct farm to plate relationship and one that would cut down on our food miles.
• In 2018, we began working with Adam from Hopkins River Beef. He and his partner are based on the Peninsula but own farms across Victoria and process the meat at a plant nearby that they have invited us to visit. Having a relationship with Adam means we get to ask him directly about the animal, their processes and connect more deeply to our food. Adam is passionate about ethical farming so this relationship makes sense.
• Just this last month we moved to a new distributor who shares this same philosophy on ethical farming and ethical businesses. And they are providing us free range pork from farms in Victoria that gives us the opportunity to cut down our food miles and connect to the farms in a more meaningful way. 

Cows eating grass. #doingtheirthing

So the reality for us is that meat eating and caring about animal welfare DO coincide. For most of us, in fact. And ethical farming and the meat industry need us to say that it matters. The more we do and the more you do through choosing to purchase these items, the more this will be the norm. 3%. Not good enough.

So where to from here?

• We’re planning a trip to the farm. I wanna see it all.
• And the abattoir. Yes, the abattoir. All. 
• We’ll continue to seek a direct paddock to plate relationship for free range pork in Victoria.
• We’ll continue to shout from the rooftops the importance of ethical farming and will maintain our exclusive commitment to it.
• We’ll continue to get better at and learn more about how we can be more ethical in our use of food at Red Gum.
• We’ll continue to ask you to care about it too and to ask your butchers and your supermarkets for it.

And in the meantime – talk to us about our meat. Where do we get it from, how do we smoke it and why does it taste so good (cause obviously, healthy, happy pigs make yummy pork).  Hold us to account and spread the word. Ethical farming matters. Free range matters. Supply and demand – let’s expect more, support farmers doing it better and help to create a more competitive free range industry where everyone benefits! Get on board!

Now, who’s up for some ribs?!  (too much?) 

B Corp Baby!

I can remember our early conversations about Red Gum BBQ – back in our little rental house in Mornington. Martin was a Youth Project Officer for local Council in the city and I was a high school teacher. We were completely naïve about what it meant to open a BBQ restaurant and dreamt of all of the different things our business would be. One thing we were both clear on was that it had to be Good. Not good food, good service, good branding or ambiance (and yes, all of those things). But Good for the world. For our community. For us. We weren’t moving away from professions that filled our hearts and souls with a sense of purpose to shift into one of corporate greed and profit above ethics. We decided at the start that we would underpin all our decisions with a consideration of morality. We wanted to be a different kind of business – one that we could be proud of for its footprint – the way that it existed in the world and the impact it had on all it touched.

Our Guiding Principles, July 2014

In the beginning we described this as a ‘desire to be Good’ driving our decision-making.  We thought about all of the ways we could make this happen. One of the most obvious and most important was our use of free range meats. We lamented on what little unsavouriness we knew about the meat industry and factory farming and wanted to ensure we were doing what we though was right by the animals and our small part toward supporting an industry that prioritised ethics in farming. This wasn’t easy. When we started the business in 2013, we struggled to find free range farms who could supply us quantity and the prices were astronomical – we certainly couldn’t compete with others selling similar products for less. We kept at it. Never taking the easy way out. Never putting the profit margins above this commitment. We decided that what we needed to do was just talk about it more. Explain to people why they paid more for us and why it was important. We continue to get better at this. Looking for not only farms but abattoirs that use humane practices, learning more about where we get our products and how we can ensure we’re connecting with local and ethical farmers.

A delivery of native hardwood to our home in 2015

When we started planning for the restaurant in 2016 – we expanded this journey. We looked at our beautiful Mornington Peninsula area and decided that we would find our wines exclusively from this region. Sure, they were more expensive, but they were our neighbours and local families. This allowed us to support businesses and develop relationships with the people in our area and who similarly, are contributing to our local community. We sought craft beers – specifically – from small brewers and as local as possible – sticking to Victoria as a rule. We love the experience of knowing our suppliers and nurturing a community of like-minded businesses - expanding a kinder and more ethical approach to the ‘for profit’ world. 

Our community is not just the people and businesses around us but it’s the ones in the building. The beautiful and unique family of people who work with us to deliver all kinds of BBQ magic all year round. We fretted and considered how we would support those people and how we would create a space for them that was fair, nurturing and fun. We pay on the award and believe that this is not only legal but the right thing to do. We offer flexible working hours and arrangements, we value the people and their time and we have policies around treating each other with respect and kindness. We spend time and energy thinking about how to make our workplace a place that is diverse, safe and kind and this shows up in all kinds of wonderful ways.

This lead us to B Corp. Somewhere in that first year of business we heard of B Corp and realised we’d found something that could put a name to what we believed. And could give us the support and the structure to define and continue our journey. If you haven’t heard of B Corp, it defines itself like this: 

“B Corp certification is to sustainable business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee.

Certified B Corporations are leaders of a global movement of people using business as a force for good™. They meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.”

 I first found the assessment online and thought that I would do it quickly and see what came of it. Two hours later, without any sense for where I was in the process or how I could possibly answer some of these incredibly detailed and complex questions, I walked away. The assessment wanted to know anything and everything about our Governance, our Workers, our Community and our practices that affect the Environment. One full day workshop, 8 assessment hours later, 1 three hour skype call, 3 full days of providing authenticating materials, 2 further stages of review, and 6 months after I first sat down to do the assessment, we earned our B Corp status.  We join the likes of Ben & Jerry’s and Etsy who call themselves B Corp and are part of the growing group of businesses who believe that profits and being good are not mutually exclusive concepts.

Our home. First in the region! And first restaurant in Oz!

So what are the benefits? Firstly, we get to feel good. We get to say that being good matters to us and tell everyone we know about this movement and encourage them to participate. We don’t profess to be perfect or to be ethical in all ways. But we do say we’re trying. We get to do our part toward creating a better world and a different corporate landscape. One where profits are not more important that the really important stuff (like people and our planet). We are the first restaurant in Australia to receive the certification and the first business in our region of Victoria (see screenshot of B Corp site above!). What we want for the future is a place where free range isn’t even a thing because we know that ethical farming is the only way. We want a place where all people feel honoured and respected at work and that their skills and unique qualities have a place. That kindness and integrity are the norm. We intend to keep prioritising being Good and making decisions that considers the Benefit to our employees, our community and our world.

Join us?

Ratings, Reviews and Redemption: Easter 2018

Red Gum BBQ in its first year of existence has received much praise, lots and lots of folks love the food, the building and the culture of the business. This has overwhelming been the response. I go to work each day amazed and humbled that people come to spend their time with us and enjoy our hospitality. This is what drives me to continue to learn, research and create the best BBQ I possibly can. I dream of brisket, I spend hours thinking about wood, the species, the burn time, its moisture content and how this makes my food smoky, tender and juicy. I am enrolling in a welding course, so I can build my next pit. I want to build my own cooker, to my specifications, from years of trying to master the art of low and slow and always wanting things to work just a little differently. Stay tuned as I will be chronicling that journey. I live and breathe BBQ, the smoke, the early starts, prepping meat and cooking for hours. I love it and I pour my heart and soul into it. There are no short cuts in the way I cook my Q. It’s cooked by hand, with wood, time and love.

What I have found and continue to find difficult is this idea ratings and reviews. I think this started when I decided that I didn’t have the desire to compete in BBQ competitions. The thought of spending hours cooking and pouring my blood, sweat and tears into my BBQ and then being critiqued… what if the judges thought it was crap? I would be devastated. In the words of my friend and great Pitmaster from Georgia, Mr Bryan Furman of B’s Cracklin’ BBQ, I ‘cook for people and not judges.’ My focus has been on creating the best BBQ I could. And my measure of success is if folks come back again and love what I create - that's my reward. 

But actually, it turns out that having a BBQ joint is the ultimate way to be judged and critiqued. Every day you open your doors to the public is an opportunity to be scored, rated and reviewed. I never claimed to have the best BBQ, but I endeavour every day to create the most authentic BBQ I can. Some days I nail it, the combination of that piece of meat, the smoke, the heat, my timing in all the critical moments of the cooking process is perfect and the product is magic. We cook pork butts, briskets, pork ribs, beef ribs, chickens, sausages and sometimes others all at the same time and to a deadline - to get it out to my customers. Sometimes we win and what goes out into the restaurant is the BBQ magic. Sometimes just one of those elements from the core product to the smoke, cook time, resting or the rest is off and the product is less than perfect. Sometimes I or my pit team fall short and it breaks my heart. I want desperately for every person to get the best of what we do and every day I go into Red Gum thinking about and working toward making that happen. My sides are authentically southern, many are family recipes and I love them. We cut our fries by hand from potatoes that we have researched and tested. We cut, blanch, fry and serve every day. They are not bought in frozen, we make them each day, and did I mention they are cooked in beef fat. O.K fries are not O.K. We endeavour to make the best fries we can and sometimes we fall short, but we try our best.

I am so incredibly proud of my business, the food, the space, the look and feel, our ethics and of course my staff. It is better than I could have ever imagined, and my wife is to thank for that. We dreamed it up together, but she made it a reality. Anyway, what I am trying to get at is that Red Gum BBQ is an extension of me, my family, it is not a nameless faceless business but is owned by people who care, who feel and who have risked it all to follow a dream.

This leads me onto Easter 2018. Easter was tough, probably the most tough we have had it in a while. One of our key members of staff left us just days before the weekend, a number of our most experienced staff were granted leave without our knowledge, to say we were understaffed was an understatement. Melissa had to cover lots of shifts and worked herself into oblivion, but she is a legend and soldiered on, never wanting to let me or others down. We have had a lot great press recently, we were on Channel 9’s Postcards, we have had a Broadsheet, a Herald Sun and an Urban list article written about us and there has been a bit of a buzz surrounding the business for quite some time. This combination of factors colluded to create the storm that was Easter 2018. We were busy, super-duper busy, in fact the busiest we have ever been. Many folks who came had a wonderful time, they ate, they laughed, they were merry. They told us how much they enjoyed themselves, how they loved the food, the vibe and that they would be back with all their friends. And some, did not.

That feeling of knowing that you are doing your best and that you are falling short is tough to take. Flogging yourself and knowing that you failed is painful, the desire and want to do right by people and not being able to do so, is agonising. Whilst many had great times the ones that did not haunt you. In the days that followed Easter we heard from people who didn’t enjoy their time with us. They called, sent emails, wrote facebook messages, reviews via facebook, Trip Advisor, Google Business and Open Table. Where we could hear it, we heard it. They left their one-star review and essays about why their experience was less than average. They told us why we sucked. Some considerately, most, far from it. They were angry and frustrated and accusatory. We were 'greedy' and 'horrible' and 'misrepresented ourselves on Postcards in order to manipulate people.' And many had lots of valid points. We know that some food went out colder than it should due to not having enough runners. Sometimes drinks came after meals because we were short staffed, the toilets got neglected due to being under the pump and focusing on bodies and food in front of us. I am sorry about that. Sincerely and honestly. I am sorry that we ran out of meat and ruined people’s dinner plans. I know a 15% surcharge on a public holiday is a lot, but our staff need to get paid by the award rate and if we don't do this on these days, we can’t open. I know glasses were backed up as our dishwasher broke down and kept tripping the circuit breaker. I know that our fries weren’t up to standard as the busyness consumes and standards drop. I know that the Red Gum experience was not what I demand it to be and that my offering was diminished and for this I am honestly and genuinely sorry.

Every 1 star review I receive I take personally, I read it, I lament, and I learn. Today we had a leadership meeting purely focused on Easter 2018. We read every piece of negative feedback - from the food, to the building, to the service and it hurt, it was painful. What was interesting though was that there was no blame but rather solutions. We all recognised that this was not us, nor what we wanted to be. Negative feedback can be hard to hear but I think what is important is to own and learn from your mistakes, in this moment we tried our best, but we fell short. We now have a plan and hopefully we won’t make the same mistakes again, but I can’t say for sure we will not. We will continue to grow, learn and do better.

The people dissecting the bad and making good. 

What I think is important is for reviewers to know that when their words are mean and bitter and that their anger and vitriol is palpable through their tone, people are hurt. There is a person who is working their butt off and more often than not they know where they have failed daring to try and it cuts deep. Feedback is great. Allow me to learn from your experience and I promise I will try to do better next time. I know that you might be angry, disappointed or upset, in that same situation I might be too but please don’t be rude or antagonistic as your thoughts are valuable and they may fall on deaf ears. In the age of Facebook, Trip Advisor, Google Business, it is all too easy to give a review that is negative, but I would encourage people to have the conversation with the business either at the time or later and for us to make things right rather than finding out via a poor review. We send out replacements and fix our mistakes when we're made aware of things. We'll do everything we can to make your experience wonderful when you're with us. Give us that opportunity. And if you want to leave a review, imagine that you are standing in front of us - the people who built this business from nothing to something and speak with us in mind. Speak like you would if we were there with you. 

We will continue to pursue our dream, dare to be brilliant and not to take what we have for granted. And where we stumble and fall short allow us the privilege of redemption through kind and considerate conversation. We'll do the same for you. 

I am not much of quote man, but Melissa found one recently that is resonating with me now:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. 

- Theodore Roosevelt

We’re in the arena. And we accept that this exposes us to critics. We expect the best of ourselves and you should too. We have one simple request: Be kind.

We Knew This Would Happen - sort of. (Happy 1st Birthday Red Gum BBQ)

It was one year ago exactly that we were frantically cleaning and putting bits and pieces together to open to the public for one little Sunday – 22 January 2017.  We had all of 9 staff hired across the kitchen, dining room and admin. And we felt pretty confident that this would cover it. We were very wrong. On that occasion and many more that followed.

You came that day. We didn’t think you would, but you did.

That next Wednesday as the restaurant opened again for its first full week of trade, I returned to my ‘real job’ as a High School Teacher. I made it to morning tea or so before I texted Martin, asking – ‘can I resign?’ Now it wasn’t that teaching wasn’t inspiring me anymore (it wasn’t) or that I didn’t really enjoy my school and my colleagues (I did), it was that I had spent every waking moment from November to January, thinking, painting, dreaming, painting, strategising, painting, purchasing and painting. And I couldn’t bear to not be there in all the action (and to finish the never ending painting). So two whole days later, after a ‘please, Accountant, say I can!’, begging session that provided me no assurances, I gave my resignation.

And skipped back to Red Gum BBQ – fully committed and filled with all the anticipation and naivety of a new business owner.

In those early days there was a fair amount of wild and crazy. With a retrofitted building up in rural, Red Hill – we ran out of water, lost electricity, wireless dropped meaning orders and eftpos quit and often – all at once. It seemed that if the wind blew or the temps rose above 30, our essential services took a break. And the amazing thing was, that despite all the mistakes and mishaps, people continued to visit and enjoy. From the moment we arrived, you exceeded our expectations and you continue to.

Crazy Days

There have been so many lessons of this year – so many highs and so many lows. Our children have spent too many hours wandering the spacious ‘shed’ and its parking lot. Our heads have exploded with the stuff we don’t know and the things that are hard. We have cried and fretted, fought and sweated. But there was never a moment when we would have had it any other way. Across this year we moved from 1 giant pit to 4. We’ve now got 25 employees from our original 9. And while we’ve grown in stuff and people, more importantly, we’ve grown in lessons.

We’ve found another family in the people who work here. The young and old, unique, hard-working souls who make up the Red Gum BBQ family. It’s been a year of finding our feet and our people but they’re there now. When we go to work we feel safe, we trust and we have fun. And we are so grateful for that.

Our Work Family

And you – the people who visit us every day. You come with your kids, your Grandmas and your husbands. You celebrate bucks, birthdays and milestones with colleagues. You pick up lunches on your break, you invite us to cater your home BBQ and you bring your kids in after footy practice for a quick and relaxed family meal. You choose to spend your time and your money and your good will in our space and we love meeting you. You tell us you are coming back with your family or friends. You tell us that you loved the food and when you really make me tear up (and I do!), you tell me how special our place is and how wonderful your time with us was. Through all of the hard, mostly, we are humbled and grateful every single day.

Thanksgiving.

People often ask – ‘could you have pictured this?’ and well, sort of.

Did we think we’d be featured in 3 national magazines, with innumerable print, online articles and bloggers and shooting an episode of Postcards in a couple of weeks?! No. Those things are just too much. 

But could we picture ‘this’? Yes. We did. We were sure that if we could build the business of our dreams – extend Red Gum from tiny to enormous in the image in our mind – you would come. I suppose you shouldn’t put everything on the line if you don’t believe in what you’re doing. 

But could we picture ‘this’? No. Not this. Not how it feels when there are lines of people waiting to get in. Or when we look around at the people we work with and see them doing their thing – for each other and for the business. Or the table of boys, each with Red Gum BBQ hats bought by Dad for his son’s birthday. You let us celebrate all of our special holidays – Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. We brought our family and you brought yours. And the community of businesses here on the Peninsula who support us in so many ways. We couldn’t have possibly imagined what THIS would feel like. 

So thank you. For making Red Gum BBQ what it is after 4 years and on its first birthday in our beautiful new home. And thank you to Martin for getting up at all kinds of wicked hours to cook BBQ and drag a pit around and keeping this thing going when I didn’t have the guts to. And for emancipating me. Thank you to Red Gum BBQ – our little gem that continues to challenge and inspire. Happy Birthday to you, you smokin thang. 

A Thanksgiving Tale, from Miami to the Mornington Peninsula

Thanksgiving is all about family. More than Christmas - that's been tainted by rampant consumerism and tales of flying reindeer (don't get me wrong, we love it) - Thanksgiving is about two of Red Gum BBQ's favourite things - family and food. 

The main attraction is the meal. End of story. And our tobacco chewing, Uncle Jimmy's inappropriate swearing. Oh, and women gossiping. When I think of Thanksgiving - I think of chaos. Of Mom or Grandma frantically cooking from the crack of dawn in their search of Southern perfection, surrounded by the other women in the family - while the men folk are firmly planted on recliners in front of the TV - beer in hand, watching the Thanksgiving Day football.  As a child I was just a spectator to all of this - shifting between sitting in on the family gossip, visiting Granddaddy on his recliner (a spot nobody but I was allowed to inhabit) or playing with Cousin Angie - usually wandering off, as children did then, exploring  new paths and creeks in the quaint Savannah neighbourhood, Grandma & Granddaddy called home.  While the hours passed over creaming and roasting, stories of family continued...Aunt Vic's dwindling, precious family heirlooms were lost forever to Cousin Kay.  The sad story of Uncle John, lost in the dead of night, found some days later, dead under a bridge (alcohol can get anyone). There's even a story of an ax-wielding ancestor but we're not allowed to talk about that - no seriously, we're not allowed to ever mention it. In and amongst the doom and gloom, there are conversations about pregnancy, infidelity and divorce. And whether the mash needs more mashing. 

Everyone in position.

Lunch begins peaceful enough - with everyone sharing their reasons for being thankful. Traditionally this goes along the lines of - 'for the food we're eating, for the blessings of health' some mention of God... but as the wine and beers flow the responses become a bit more interesting and a bit more truthful (particularly when blessings are less abundant). Hopefully we make it around the table without someone being genuinely insulted. Unlikely.

The meal is the star attraction. The bird is ceremoniously carved by the elder male - who provides his singular input into the meal. My spot at the table was identified by the mayo jar sitting at the top, ready to put my turkey into a sandwich - an act that provided years of taunting by my brothers (who were professional taunters). I still have an extraordinary love of sandwiches - though have matured in my tastes and prefer gravy and dressing to bread for my turkey. 

On the table is the same casseroles we remember from year after year and that we may only have on this one day. Southern women pride themselves on a casserole and this meal is like the Superbowl of casseroles. The most controversial dish at the James/Cobb Thanksgiving table was Cheese & Peas. A simple dish of baby peas, chopped sharp cheddar, diced onion, mayo and salt and pepper. Served cold. My brother thought it was worthy of its white trash reputation. I thought it was heaven in a salad. I shared the recipe with friends over the years. Some loved, some recoiled. But everywhere Peas and Cheese went, excitement followed. We renamed it on occasion to Petit Pois au Fromage in order to class it up but this just felt fake. Cheese and Peas, I found out later, a classic Southern dish (of course it was, my grandmother and mother always made it) is what food should be. It is simple and real and makes no pretense otherwise. 

Yes. Those are marshmallows.

What's apparent as the day goes on is that family, particularly from those across the wide US political spectrum and alcohol -  should really only get together once a year. And this time is Thanksgiving. When the love that binds us as family, with all of the shared history of lifetimes and generations - is what trumps all. 

And that pie heals all wounds. 

And that turkey, like shrimp, a' la Gump - can reinvent itself in endlessly, wonderful ways. 

And that nobody better eat the last cheese and peas. Or else. 

Today Thanksgiving in Australia looks a little bit different. Martin is intimately involved in Thanksgiving prep - he's the man on the meat, of course. And I'm on casserole duty. A tradition I happily indulge and one that connects me to Mom and Grandma and the Americans at home and abroad, busily pulling together the meal of the year. We still have casseroles, sweet potato with marshmallows and of course, Cheese & Peas. Where we can, we host our own Thanksgiving - or attend one with some expat friends. It's wonderful to now be able to share this with our little Aussie kids - who are learning that they have histories beyond these borders. We share stories of thankfulness and most importantly, take time to gather with friends and family over wonderful food - the trifecta of joy and life that is at the heart of all cultures and that reminds us of what is really important.  Pie.

Our American/Aussie Thanksgiving

Finally - The Build Begins #followthesmoke

Check our our FB live feed from last week where we introduce you to our new home in picturesque Red Hill and take you through the beginning of our build! Please excuse our nerves - live feed! Ack! Keep following us on FB to keep up with the action. #followthesmoke

Martin as Mornington Peninsula Tourism Ambassador (aka: Top Dog on the Pen)

Check our our Pitmaster Owner, BBQ King doing his inspiring thang.

Southern Lovin BBQ Tour 2016 - Goodbye Georgia

I come into Southern Soul a bit later than usual to spend a couple hours finishing up and saying my goodbyes before we leave St Simons Island. I say goodbye to Terrance at the Pit, I will miss him. He makes cooking BBQ easy, and as those who love to cook BBQ know, it’s many things, but easy is not one of them. I spot Griffin, Harrison’s business partner and co-founder of Southern Soul. I want to make sure he gets his T-shirt and I thank him for his hospitality as well. Though I’ve spent more of my time with Harrison in the restaurant, the guys in the kitchen talk to me about Griffin and they believe his networking and marketing genius have been integral to the success of the restaurant. I’ve seen him as he pops into the kitchen sporadically to make dishes like tomato pie and then he disappears again.  I’m intrigued by Griffin’s work as I’ve come to understand how essential this side of the business is, and an element I’ve neglected since starting Red Gum, until recently. For the last 6 months I have made this a focus of my time and have seen the rewards.

Bye Bye Terrance.

Melissa, my wife arrives to take some pictures of me, Harrison, Kitty and Griffin in front of the pits. We’ll use these for marketing purposes but also, I just really want to capture the moment as I have had such a great time. I am planning a Southern Lovin BBQ dinner that I will be putting on when I get back from my US trip. This will have my favourite dishes that I made and ate during my time at Southern Soul and across the South; I have Jason on speed dial just in case I forget something. This will be a ticketed event so stay tuned. After photos I head inside into the kitchen to grab some pics with the crew. They have taught me a lot, not only about BBQ and Southern Cooking but also about their lives in America, their personal insights into the culture and the politics and their experiences of this part of the world and for that I thank them. I’m leaving a little bit wiser and a little bit wider. Far out - I have eaten a lot!

The Southern Soul family + Martin

I would personally like to thank Harrison, Kitty and Griffin for their Hospitality.  At the start of this year I sent an email to Harrison asking if I come and hang out for a week and work in his restaurant, I am so glad I did and that he agreed! He has been so welcoming and willing to share experiences and knowledge. The dude loves to laugh and have fun and you can see that this rubs off on his employees and the experience customers have at Southern Soul. His BBQ is exceptional, the pulled pork is the best I have ever had and his St Louis spares are delicious. I am more determined then ever to try and source quality pork ribs to add to my menu as they are so good. I’m hoping he takes me up on my offer to return the hospitality and visit us in Oz. We’d all be lucky to have him cook for us!

Before I go Harrison sends a text to Bryan the owner of B’s Cracklin’ BBQ in Savannah Georgia letting him know we are going to visit him. Bryan is famous for his whole hog and I am excited to be going to Savannah and to B’s.

Sweet Savannah. 

From St Simon’s Island we to Savannah, a place that holds a special place in my heart. My wife and I visited here years ago, before children. It’s where she spent much time as a child with her grandparents and her love of it and the charm of the place, rubs off on me. It’s a quintessential southern city, with a rich history, beautiful homes, a downtown built around small garden squares and gas lanterns lighting the streets at night.

When we arrive we decide visit Paula Deen’s Restaurant. If you don’t know who she is, she is the Queen of Southern Cooking, google her. I get the Chicken Pot Pie and it’s great. Melissa get’s the Southern buffet, fried chicken, ribs and an assortment of southern sides. It also comes with dessert, she opts for, surprise! The Banana pudding. This is the second day in a row I have had banana pudding. Still love it.

The Brice's 'Secret Garden'

We stay at the Brice, it is beautiful boutique hotel (we seem to find ourselves at one fancy joint per trip, it has become a bit of tradition). We first started doing this when we lived in the UK together as poor students. We visited Austria around 12 years ago and we stayed in the nicest hotel in town for one night. Posh hotel sheets are the best.

After a good night sleep we decide to go for lunch at B’s. It is only about 10mins from Melissa’s grandparents old home so we decide to swing past there first. It was amazing to see the house that Melissa has spoken so fondly off. Next stop B’s. We pull up to the middle shop in a strip mall, I can already smell the BBQ.

We walk in and I recognise Bryan instantly, he’s quite the recognisable cat - tall with long dreads. It also helps that he’s wearing a baseball cap that says owner. He is expecting us and he introduces us to his wife Nikki who is lovely. From what I have noticed of Southern BBQ joints is that they are run by husband and wife teams, Melissa and I seem to be continuing this tradition! I am lucky to catch him as he is off to a meeting this afternoon. Exciting things are happening at B’s and it just inspires me to continue doing what I am doing. I ask if we can go see his Pit. It appears that Georgia is Lang country. Bryan has a monster reverse flow offset out the back of his joint. We head back into the restaurant, exchange t-shirts and he heads into the kitchen to rustle us up a platter, we have St Louis spares, chopped hog, pork sausage, half bird, brisket and sides. I really like his hash, which is like a savoury pork stew over rice. We also got, you guessed it, Banana Pudding! This is now day 3. I must admit Brian’s BBQ is excellent and his Georgia peach mustard sauce is unreal.

Grandma's pool on Amelia Island, Florida. Back to holiday'ing! 

We leave Georgia to head back to Amelia Island and spend more time with family. But I leave with a big smile on my face - the kindness and openness of folk I have met and worked with over here is so uplifting. I’m done blogging for the time being. It’s been an awesome way to document my time and to share it with our BBQ friends and family across the world. I am looking forward to the last week or so of our trip – more time with friends and family, heading south, enjoying summer and more time thinking about how to interject some of this Southern magic into Red Gum BBQ. And on a last note… we’ve got news brewing… looking forward to sharing this with you all, LIVE, soon, on facebook. Keep listening. Peace and Pork to you all! 

Southern Lovin BBQ Tour 2016 - Finding Peace in the Chaos

I wake up this morning at 5:30am, back on the purple pushy and ride to work. I don’t mind riding in the morning as it hasn’t yet reached unbearable temps. When I arrive at Southern Soul this morning Terrance and Q are already hard at it, lighting pits and adding rub to briskets. Jason is inside making mac and cheese. Jason has been my go to person all week for all things southern cooking and is a top bloke. Jason’s shares his approach to Brunswick Stew, Mac and Cheese, BBQ beans, Collard Greens and countless others. You’d think he was born and bred in the deep South and he’s got the drawl to match but Jason was born in San Diego. The boys tell me he runs for mayor of the St Simons every election and there are even bumper stickers with his face on them plastered in the Kitchen. Funny dude.

Terrance & Q starting the morning at the Pit. 

I spend most of my morning making burnt ends. The point of the brisket is removed, cut into about a centimetre cube and is returned to the smoker with beef stock. I prefer this to the burnt ends I have had which is mixed with BBQ sauce. I like my brisket without sauce so this is perfect.

At some point service starts and I find myself pulling butts. I like pulling butts - I get to chat to little Terrence. I struggle to understand Terrence through his thick Georgia accent, but we manage. He asks me lots of questions about Australia and he shows me the Southern Soul method of pulling butts. Southern Soul is famous for its pork and its pulled is the best I have ever tasted. It is not mixed with anything, it is straight-up, soft, smoky pork. Terrence pulls together sandwiches and sides at lightening speed. And as fast as I can pull butts they are flying out the door. This lasts for about 2hrs and I take a break.

Some of the Sweet Southern Soul front of house staff. 

I like to go to see the guys and gals out front for a different view. They like to have fun and you can see that they really enjoy themselves. Not that the kitchen doesn’t have fun – the boys laugh and sing and have a great time but the kitchen is hot and sweaty and filled with sounds of orders being yelled. There are more woman than men out front and I enjoy listening to their lovely, buttery southern accents. I have a good chat to KK who is awesome - she talks to me about music and her travels around the world being a rock star. No, literally she is in a famous band, my friends in the UK are big fans. Once again, small world. Micah worked behind the bar or taking orders and was super friendly. Her boyfriend, who is from Manchester, England, is currently living in Melbourne. She is coming out to visit him and has promised to come say g’day when she lands in Australia.

Terrance in his happy place. 

My favourite spot is out by the pits, it’s peaceful. Maybe it’s that it reminds me of home and is so familiar to me. It can be hectic inside but outside Big Terrance, one of Southern Soul’s Pitmasters is at peace, he is quietly spoken and goes about his business methodically with purpose. It is hot though - a little like a sauna with a fireplace.

Me and Mayoral hopeful, Jason. 

This afternoon I make banana pudding with Jason. This is one of my wife’s favourite desserts so I’m quite familiar with it; it’s been on the Red Gum menu at varied points so I’m thrilled when he makes me my very own individual one. It’s delicious and I’m decided that it needs to be back on the menu when I return home. I decide to leave around 2:30pm. Back on my bike and back to the family. Tomorrow I just have a few hours in the morning with the crew before we head off and leave St Simons Island and Southern Soul BBQ. I’m not looking forward to saying goodbye.  

Southern Lovin BBQ Tour 2016 - BBQ Brotherhood and Boxes of Butts

Oops, I have slept in. That’s O.K. I’m ‘sort of’ on holiday. I open up my computer and answer a few emails and around 10am I get a lift to work. Too hot to ride at this time. I decide today that I am going to spend some time chatting to front of house staff and witness firsthand the hordes of people waiting for and eating their BBQ. Its amazing, people standing in line, names being called. I stand at the pass and watch tray after tray leave the kitchen making its way out to the seating area. I have a good chat to the catering manager about her processes whilst this is all taking place and eventually move back to the kitchen.

The view from inside.

I prep ribs and brisket and take them out to the smokers. Terrence is the main man on the pits, managing what goes on at what time and when things get pulled off. He has been at it for 6 years so knows it like the back of his hand. My job is to run in meat from the pit to the kitchen where I wrap it and place in coolers to rest until it is needed.

At some point I spot Harrison and see him for a chat. He takes me back to the office where Kitty, his super lovely wife is doing the books. We chat about who’s who in BBQ and I am amazed all the folks he knows and how they all started in and around the same time. I know this is the case in Australia but I guess I imagine that the scene in the US is so large that they don’t all connect somehow. The lesson for me is that we are all connected, in this crazy BBQ world. I explain to Harrison my plan for a special return to Oz dinner night back in the US and he shares a few recipes with me.

Boxes of Butts

There is where Q has asked me to mention that he came in on his day off and saved the day. I have never seen a young fella manhandle 30kg boxes of meat so easily. We are currently waiting for a delivery of butts, 30 boxes in fact and am amused that the truck driver, who usually works a different route is surprised about the volume of product Southern Soul is having delivered. I agree! These guys are producing and selling a lot of barbeque! I help move the 30 boxes of butts and 20 boxes of spare ribs inside. We prep 12 BOXES (8 shoulders to a box) of butts before home time. I am tired. Bed.

Southern Lovin BBQ Tour 2016 - Hot as a Pitmaster in Georgia

After I came home from Day 1 from Southern Soul I could think of little else but the tired. These guys really shift serious amounts of BBQ, cooking ribs all day, pulling butts, slicing briskets and serving birds (this is what they call chicken). I spent most of my day prepping meat and making sides. I went home and slept like a baby until my sleeping baby wakes at 2am (that whole ‘sleeping baby’ metaphor is a bit mixed up). This makes waking up at 5:15am a little more difficult but I get up and on the purple push bike because I’m excited to meet Harrison today, amongst others.

 It has been super busy on Saint Simons Island due to the 4th of July celebrations so Harrison has had a Day off on my first day at his BBQ joint. Today he is by the pit bright and early getting ready for what I know will be a busy and hot Georgia day. There's a heat wave here at the moment and about 100 degrees Fahrenheit every day! Makes being at the hot pit a bit sweatier.

Harrison and I hit it off, there is a comraderie between folk who quit their jobs and decide to cook BBQ on stick burners. We share a common love and experience of the gruelling hours and labour that exists in this way of life. We chat and talk about the love of BBQ and the difficulties and the rewards of running your own business. He is a super nice guy, more than willing to share stories and experiences.

 After getting the pits ready for the day’s cook we head inside to prep for service. The doors open at 11am and we better be ready as we will be busy. This morning I make 50 gallons of bbq sauce, Brunswick Stew, prep ribs and brisket. Harrison cooks me up a whole rack of ribs for breakfast. I spend a bit of time observing and writing notes and enjoying some southern hospitality. Today I meet a young fella called Austin who use to live in St Kilda (where the wife and I spent our first 8 years in Australia) and lived in Australia for a number of years - small world.

Family, friends, sleeping baby and Harrison for lunch!

At some point during the day my family and friends arrive and we are treated to a family style feast from Harrison, pulled pork, ribs, brisket, mac and cheese, Brunswick stew and French fries.  They were blown away by his hospitality and of course, the quality of the Q.

Cleaning pits. Mmm... hot.

 After lunch I head outside to clean pits with Trent. Southern Soul share the same philosophy as me around cleaning the pit after every cook. It is so stinking hot here at the moment that cleaning a hot pit is a challenge but the process is interrupted by 4 Apache helicopters flying so low that you can see and wave to the pilots. Crazy. The BBQ joint is next door to an airport so often Air Force pilots whilst getting their air hours up, fly in and grab their BBQ lunch and fly off.

 Around 4:30pm I decide to call it quits for the day and decide to call my wife to come pick me up as the thought of riding the purple beast back home in 100 degree heat is not something I am looking forward to. Tomorrow I’ll spend some time with front of house folk who I’ve had very little time to chat to – looking forward to it! 

Southern Lovin BBQ Tour 2016 - So far so BBQ

I have been in the US now for about 2 weeks after flying from Melbourne via Brisbane, LA and onto Miami, a mammoth trip with two small children.

My wife as a native Floridian, born and raised in Miami, first requested we find Cuban food. So my first meal state side was black beans and rice and grilled chicken – so simple but somehow the Cuban flavours bring it to life and make you come back for more. After spending a couple of days in South Florida we headed to Disney, this part was for the kids but who knew Micky is a Pitmaster?! Disney rocks a Back Yard BBQ, ribs, brisket, pulled pork, fried chicken with all the ‘fixins. It was decent looking BBQ but not quite the quality I’m accustomed to but did get me excited about my travels and all the southern food to come. Ps. Disney World is awesome. At any age.

Shrimp n Grits

Next stop: Amelia Island, Florida. My mother in law lives in Fernandina Beach, a small island community just outside Jacksonville. This is where our southern food adventure begins. This town is not about BBQ but all about shrimp. You see shrimp boats moored in the harbour here, straight outta Forest Gump. My first real Southern feed is Shrimp and Grits. My wife had been trying to convince me of grits for years, unsuccessfully. if you’re unfamiliar – they are cornmeal, a little like polenta, usually drowning in butter, maybe cheese, served warm and usually with breakfast. True Southern food! These grits were nestled under some shrimp, pan-fired in garlic and the winner was the white wine heavy cream andouille sausage gravy. Unreal. Nuff said. Other notable mentions have been the fried shrimp and hush puppies and the staple burgers and hot dogs on the fourth of July.

From Northern Florida, to Southern Georgia and Saint Simons Island and Southern Soul BBQ. We arrived mid-afternoon and decided to have dinner at Southern Soul. I introduced myself to the staff and am told to be there in the morning, 6am. Bring a meat probe, note book and pen.

Southern Soul BBQ lunch crowd on a sweltering summer day.  

For dinner we ordered the St Louis style pork ribs, BBQ beans, mac and cheese, brisket, slaw and potato salad. Just a few things; the toddler is a big eater. Everything was top shelf - especially the ribs - ridiculously good. I go to bed just a little excited. I set my alarm for 5:15 am and jump on my purple beach bike that is at the house we rented and head to my first day at Southern Soul BBQ.

I roll up on my sick new ride and say g’day to my new crew. We get stuck in straight away, the pits are already up to temp. We are burning Oak which has been double split and is sitting outside the restaurant. They run four pits, three Lang reverse flow offsets and a rotisserie smoker. First job is to rub butts (don’t you love BBQ speak?), these get stacked in the rotisserie smoker, then briskets go in the first Lang, ribs and chicken in the second and the third pit is not being used today. I spend most of the morning prepping ribs and briskets. Service starts at 11am and before I know it we are getting smashed but it is a well-oiled machine, with Chef Leo at the pass, Big (that’s his name) slicing brisket and ribs, Terrance on sides, Dan on sandwiches, Joe and I smashing out prep and Q (yes, his name, Q cooks the Que) managing the pits. I spend most of my day answering questions about kangaroos and Australian BBQ.

Me, Pitmaster Que and some burnt ends

I leave at 3pm after picking Leo’s brain about service and hot holding and go home to see the family who have spent the day at the pool, hiding from the 100 degree Fahrenheit heat. Pizza for dinner tonight. Back at Southern Soul, 6 am tomorrow – more from me tomorrow night!