Our Pitmasters & Chefs

Mississippi native Melissa Cookston is a seven-time world barbecue champion and a celebrated chef with a deep passion for cooking and barbecue. She makes frequent appearances on national cooking shows and stars in the Netflix show “Barbecue Showdown.” Melissa also owns the Memphis BBQ Company and The BBQ Allstars, a BBQ superstore selling a variety of sauces, oils, rubs, seasonings, grills, smokers, and more.  She is the author of two cookbooks, “Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room” and “Smokin’ Hot in the South,” and the founder of the World Junior BBQ League, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to nurture young minds by providing events that teach important skills of leadership, teamwork, and work ethic.

As our Prairie Fresh ambassador and a Barbecue Hall of Fame inductee, Melissa shares her amazing insights and recipe ideas for making delicious mealtimes at home.

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Whether it’s serving up delicious food at his restaurant, Slap’s BBQ in Kansas City, or competing on the television show BBQ Pitmasters, Joe Pearce has perfected his fall-off-the-bone tender recipes that are worth falling over.

We’re excited to have pitmaster Joe Pearce, a Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue reserve grand champion, share his favorite backyard recipes for Prairie Fresh® pork with all of us.

With humble roots and the visions of Brad Orrison, Brooke Orrison Lewis and their family, The Shed BBQ and Blues Joint has grown from an offbeat takeout shed to a nationally recognized barbecue destination. Located in Mississippi, The Shed features live blues musicians, delicious barbecue and an unforgettable experience.

The Shed’s three-time Memphis in May World Championship competition barbecue team has been equally successful, with awards spanning meats, sauces and coleslaw categories.

Before Chef Jean-Paul made his way to New York to be the chef he is today, he sat around a dinner table with his family eating biscuits and mayhaw jelly in the heart of Louisiana. That’s where he learned the traditions of southern cooking and the ability a good meal has to bring people together. And inside of a little seafood shack in the bayou is where his career took shape. Boiling crawfish and crabs in a spicy broth eventually led him to France, California, Atlanta, and St. Thomas. Chef Jean-Paul is setting a new standard with his cuisine.

When he’s not serving up delicious barbecue, Chef Matt Abdoo is showing you how on NBC’s TODAY or even making a guest appearance on Food Network programs, such as “America’s Beat Bobby Flay,” “The Kitchen” and many more. Matt got his start in the culinary world in upstate New York where he would roll meatballs with his Italian-American Lebanese family. This passion for food brought him to the Culinary Institute of America where he graduated as valedictorian. Today Matt is not only a classically trained fine-dining chef, but also an award-winning pitmaster —  having earned first place at the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest nine times across seven categories. Matt is the executive chef and partner of Pig Beach BBQ which brings mouth-watering barbecue to Queens, N.Y., West Palm Beach, Fla., and Louisville, Ky. As Matt himself puts it, “Life is a lot like food, it is what you make it!” And we thank Matt for making life so delicious!

Since starting his journey into competitive barbecue in 2012 as head pitmaster of Gettin’ Basted, Brad has secured a remarkable series of victories, including grand champion at the 2021 Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue, member of the Memphis in May World Barbecue Cooking Contest grand champion team, reserve grand champion at 2019 American Royal World Series of Barbecue®, and KCBS Team of the Year in 2021, 2020, and 2018. In the commercial world of barbecue, Brad’s endeavors now encompass a range of highly successful businesses, such as the popular Gettin’ Basted BBQ Restaurant, Downing Street Pour House, and Mythical ‘Wich. With his passion, expertise, and entrepreneurial spirit, Brad continues to make a lasting impact in the food world.

Prairie Fresh is proud to partner with Richard “Fergie” Fergola of the decorated Fergolicious BBQ team, a KCBS competition team out of Gardner, Kan. Fergolicious’s juicy, delicious barbecue is a perfect combination of hard work and method mastery. This combination brought Fergolicious BBQ to TV sets all across the country on “Barbecue Country,” Food Network’s “Chopped: Grill Masters,” Food Network’s “BBQ USA” with Michael Symon, and “Destination America’s BBQ Pitmasters.”  A 2021 KCBS World Invitational BBQ Contest Champion with more than 35 Grand and Reserve Championships under his belt, Fergolicious BBQ knows how to create fiery flavors that are always more than delicious, they’re fergolicious!