Page 17 - DEC2019 BBQNEWS DIGITAL

Brenda Janvrin
True Smoke BBQ Rochester, MN
Day & BBQ Job: True Smoke BBQ – it’s a Food Truck with a Twist! It gives me an opportunity to do what I love every single day like it is my first day all over again.
My Motto? “Shoes are overrated” Everyone deserves a SINderella Story because dreams can come true.
How did you get started in BBQ? I started with my teammate in the pro circuit back in 2013 when he got “BBQ Pit Masters” fever. We didn't have a clue as to what we were get-
ting ourselves into; it started off as a hobby traveling the USA and finally into Canada. I was his assistant in the finer details of the competitions, but my favorite part was the socializing. I ab- solutely love BBQ folks. They are truly the salt of the earth and make you feel like family.
Award you’re most proud of Winning? 1st place People’s choice Ribs in Canada and took Reserve Grand at that contest overall in August of 2017.
Best BBQ Secret You’ve Learned? You can’t please everyone. As long as you do something with all your heart, be pleased with yourself and the right people will come along.
Who is your BBQ Mentor? I worked hard to learn to cook with great insight from people like Mike Thompson, Travis Clark and the boys (Randy & Fuzz) from WhiteWater BBQ. I didn't realize how much you pick up just by being around BBQ all the time and assisting.
What’s one thing you never BBQ without? My cutting board. It was made by an old neighbor I
had and I treasure it.
Kristen Spain
Machete Boys BBQ St. Paul, MN
Day Job: Information Technol-
ogy
BBQ Job: Competition Team
Team Motto: More Fireball!
How did you get started in
BBQ? I’ve always enjoyed BBQ.
In 2016, I became a certified
KCBS judge and judged a cou-
ple seasons. In 2018, I was
asked to help out the Machete
Boys BBQ team for one compe-
tition. They were short a cook
and I was promised a signature for my judge’s log. I’ve been on the team ever since!
What award are you most proud of Winning? Backyard Team
and continuing to learn new tasks. I can roll kale for boxes, but I’d rather clean chicken over that job any day.
Who is your BBQ Mentor? David
Ellis, Pit Boss, Machete Boys BBQ
Claire Driessen
Shark Consulting St. Paul, MN
Day Job & BBQ Job: Restau- rant Consulting & MN BBQ So- ciety Board
My Motto? Always Move For- ward. Even Sharks drown if they go backwards.
How did you get started in BBQ? I had the great opportu- nity to take Old Southern BBQ from a concept and grow it into five restaurants, catering, and a retail sauce line. Along the way I met some amazing BBQ legends and joined the MN
of the Year for MN in 2018. [note: the year I joined the team and 1st place Ribs as a Pro team in 2019.
],
BBQ Society Board to fuel the passion for BBQ in MN!
What’s your favorite thing to smoke? Brisket. It’s a labor of love, but when you nail it...wow. Just wow.
Best BBQ Secret You’ve Learned? If you want to compete in BBQ, become a KCBS judge.
What’s one thing you never BBQ without? My phone. I take pictures of everything and the timestamp on the photos gives me an actual timeline because there isn’t time to write everything down. And the memories are awesome!
Amy Kuhn aka Hot Momma!
Hot Daddy’s BBQ Mora, MN
Day Job: Administrative Coor- dinator
BBQ Job: Competition Team What is your Motto? When you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine!
How did you get started in
barbecue? My husband woke
me up @ 3:32am one morning
from a dream saying he
needed to build a smoker. That
was ten years ago. He drew up
a design for one and we built the smoker with our three daughters that winter. We had some family barbeques with the good ole’ po- tato sack races for the kids. Family and friends said, it was so good that we had to go try a contest. We did some backyard rib
contests and did really well. So, then it started, you have to do a KCBS contest, and cook all four meats. We are now going on our fourth year in pro-division and love it! Our daughters love it! We love the memories it’s created for us as a family. We have met a lot of amazing people along the way.
What award are you most proud of winning? Our first 180 in Brisket at Minnesota in May 2019.
Best BBQ Secret You’ve learned? Only put the best in the box. What’s one thing you never BBQ without? My Husband!
Best BBQ Secret: Test cooks or competitions...write that sh*t down before you forget it! And win or lose, remember it’s all about making food friends and enjoying great BBQ.
Secret to your Team’s Success: Leveraging everyone’s talents
DECEMBER 2019
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