The Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast

BBQ Events Australia like to do things differently to everybody else. Right from the start they've looked beyond the traditional business models within the BBQ industry and have sought to innovate at every opportunity. Jason Linto and his team are responsible for bringing several big name BBQ celebrities from the US to Australia, to share their wisdom with us. Two of those names include Harry Soo...

Nawaf Refai, owner and head pitmaster of 2 Smokin Arabs would have to be one of the most gentlemanly fellows in the Australian BBQ scene. Known as Raf by his friends, he was bitten by the BBQ bug several years ago, and what started out as a casual toe-dip into the competitive BBQ scene has evolved into so much more. Raf has gone all-in with his food truck - 2 Smokin Arabs and has grown the busines...

Ever wondered what a virtual BBQ festival would look like? In this episode of the Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast I'm giving you a look at how the 2020 Virtual Mike Carney Toyota- Townsville BBQ Battle went down. It was a full day of BBQ, live music, crosses to sponsor sites and more. We were literally jumping in and out of peoples' back yards, from Melbourne all the way up to Townsville.  Thi...

Heavy Kettle Smokers hail from New Zealand, and considering how much they love BBQ over there, the nickname of 'The Land of the Long White Cloud' seems fitting. Daniel Tate is the team captain of the competition BBQ team 'Heavy Kettle Cookers'. His passion for BBQ is overwhelming, and he's competed at almost every competition ever held in New Zealand. His passion has been recognised by some big na...

Smoky Pastures BBQ are an award-winning competitive BBQ team based in South Australia. Tom Damin is the team captain and Pitmaster. He just also happens to be an expert in Agriculture and Primary Production. Whilst the year has been quiet with regards to BBQ competitions, Tom and the rest of the lads from Smoky Pastures BBQ have not been resting on their laurels. They have headed into the lab, and...

The Townsville BBQ Battle was a highlight of the 2019 BBQ Competition Circuit - and I'm not the only one to say so. It was the perfect combination of sunny Queensland weather, a beachside location, and an incredibly warm and welcoming public. In fact, on a per capita basis, the Townsville BBQ Battle had a better turnout than any Festival I've been to before. Quite the feat for a debut event.  But...

Meatstock founder, Jay Beaumont, is a fan-favourite amongst the BBQ scene in Australia and New Zealand. Not only is Jay the founder of Meatstock, the largest and most successful BBQ festival in both Australia and New Zealand, but he's also one of the co-founders of the Australasian Barbecue Alliance (ABA) - the organisation responsible for kicking off the competition BBQ scene in both countries. M...

Bush Cooking has won the National Barbecue and Grilling Association's award for Best Website for the last three years, which is an extraordinary achievement. Saffron's passion for cooking with fire and her technical prowess earned her the recognition of the NBBQA, resulting in her being appointed as Executive Director. Well, her time there has recently finished and in this interview we discuss wha...

This episode of the Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast is something very different to anything we've done before. In this Episode, I interview Jim Fuller, the founder of FABLE. FABLE is a mushroom-based meat substitute, backed by Heston Blumenthal and is set to take the world by storm. I'm not gonna lie - I was super skeptical. But I was also intrigued. It's not every day that a BBQ podcast is co...

In this episode of the Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast, we dive into the deeply complex world of butchery. That's right, we're chatting with Scott Evans, owner of East Blaxland Butchery in western Sydney, Australia. Scott and his team sponsor many of the hottest teams on the competitive BBQ circuit, in NSW and beyond. But we'll get into that later. In fact, not only has his passions for low'n'...

Anju Khanal is undoubtedly one of the pillars of the BBQ community in Townsville, Far North Queensland. Not only is she the team captain of FNQ's first ever all-female BBQ team, she's also co-owner of the very popular Townsville Barbecues Galore. She literally lives BBQ 24/7. Her passion for BBQ is so strong that now only is her Barbecues Galore store the #1 sales leader for Traeger in Australia,...

Another podcast that was also recently recognised by the National Barbecue and Grilling Association's Annual Excellence Awards was the BBQ Beat Podcast. Kevin Sandridge is the host and does a fantastic job covering the BBQ scene in the United States. Similar to the Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast, the BBQ Beat podcast has episodes that are deep dives with industry experts as well as LIVE episo...

The thing about BBQ is that it brings people together. We all know that. Matt Staunton especially knows that. That's why he's brought Kids Que Nation to Australia. If you're not familiar with KQN, it's a competition BBQ body from the United States that is only for kids. They have competitions similar to Steak Cookoff Association competitions with trophies, a ladder and a championship round in Texa...

The Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast is turning 100! In this episode, Mrs Smoking Hot Confessions, Bree, interviews your host Ben to take you behind the scenes of Smoking Hot Confessions. In this episodes we get into Ben's background, what lead him to BBQ, and how Smoking Hot Confessions was formed. We get into the various milestones that SHC hit throughout its growth, how those milestones were...

Graeme Stockdale, the man with the magnificent beard is our special guest this week on the Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast. Graeme is the pitmaster of Pit Crew BBQ and the Stockpot Kitchen in Lismore, author of 'Red Hot & Smoking', founder of Big Red's Rubs & Sauces, and you've undoubtedly seen that hilarious Baywatch spoof video they did to announce the opening of their restaurant!  In this E...

Cairns. It's a long way away. In far north Queensland, it's a good three day drive from Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland. But you know that's not going to stop BBQ'ers from getting it done! And that's definitely the case with this week's guest, Drew White from Cairns BBQ Company. Starting from his own garage, Drew has built his dream into a reality, founding Cairns' first dedicated low'n's...

They say it's not what you know, but who you know. And that's certainly been the case for Dan Ryan of Gryphon Smokehouse . Dan is one of the originals of the Australian BBQ scene with his career in the smokey arts starting over a decade ago. Starting with one Weber Smokey Mountain, Dan has dedicated himself to studying the art of barbecue and has built Gryphon Smokehouse from the ground up. He now...

Steve Allan of Smokin' Steve's BBQ joins me in the Confessional for this episode of the Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast. Steve had a ripper of a year in 2019, finishing 5th of the KCBS Australia ladder. Hailing from the city of Perth in Western Australia, Steve has been a part of the BBQ scene over there since its inception. And his experience shows in his results.  In this episode, we get int...

Our special guest in this episode is Dan White, captain of the legendary Country Boys BBQ. Dan and his team are known for two things - winning BBQ competitions, and travelling huge distances to get there. The last time I met up with Dan in person was at the Townsville BBQ Battle. I flew there. Dan drove 1600km in each direction! In this episode we catch up on how his 2019 season went and what his...

Dan Barret is about as close to BBQ Royalty as it gets in Australia. As the one man team 'Big Smoke BBQ', Dan has risen through the ranks on the competition BBQ scene and now travels around the country, and the world, absolutely dominating on all fronts. In 2019, Big Smoke BBQ finished 4th on the KCBS Australia ladder, which is already very commendable, but when you find out how many KCBS competit...

Grillas in the Mist most definitely need to be on your list of teams to watch. Originally a two man team and now a husband and wife team, Grillas in the Mist charged through 2019 to take out The Invitational, Australia's first world invitational, which has set them up beautifully for their future. In this full episode of the Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast, Wookie fills us in on their backstor...

Big Boy BBQ are big in the Australian BBQ scene and it's obvious to see why. The brainchild of pitmaster Lance Rosen, Big Boy BBQ is just one piece of his multi-pronged take on the BBQ industry. Firstly, there's the Big Boy BBQ Competition BBQ team, which is usually Lance running solo, at KCBS competitions all over the country and in the United States. Then there's the Big Boy BBQ restaurant, the...

In this episode of The Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast, I pick the brains of Jye Healey, the captain / not captain of the multi-championship winning BBQ team Smokeface Grillahs. These lads are absolutely at the pointy end of the ladder, finishing 3rd on the Australasian Barbecue Alliance ladder in 2019 and 2nd in 2018. They have competed around Australia, New Zealand, and the United States and...

In this episode of the Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast, I chat with Nathan Armstrong, captain of the Smoke N Daggers BBQ team. Smoke N Daggers BBQ are still comparatively young in the world of competition BBQ. They have completed a grand total of ten competitions, yet in 2019 managed to finish number 2 on the KCBS Australia ladder! Here, we chat about how they got into competition BBQ, where t...

Rollin Smoke BBQ is one of the biggest names in the Australian competition BBQ scene. They are also one of the longest competing teams, and in that time, they've proven themselves to be nothing if not consistent. If you see Rollin Smoke BBQ at a competition, you know they aren't going home without at least three trophies.  Lukas Armstrong is the team captain of Rollin Smoke BBQ, and this is his se...