B
BQWOM E N
ON
FIRE
Meet nine ladies, from pitmasters and cooks
to entrepreneurs and teachers, lighting a new spark
in Southern barbecue cultureBY ROBERT MOSS
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBBIE CAPONETTOFEBRUARY 2019 / SOUTHERNLIVING.COM
70BARBECUE HAS LONG BEEN PORTRAYED AS A GUY THINGONE OF
the manliest of manly pursuits. Whether it’s cooking whole hogs on an open pit or smoking ribs on a
backyard grill, it involves primal, dirty, and dangerous things: fire, soot, sharp implements, and mounds
of meat. ¶ But plenty of women are drawn to that fire and smoke, too, and they’re increasingly shaping
the future of barbecue. They’re opening restaurants, launching mail-order businesses, and bringing
home trophies (and prize checks) from big-time competitions. By teaching and mentoring aspiring
cooks, they’re helping to groom the next generation of entrepreneurs. ¶ And these women are right
back there in the soot and smoke of the pit house too. They’re stoking the fires, shoveling coals, and
tending the meat as it cooks. “The entire industry of barbecue is starting to shift,” says Diva Q’s Danielle
Bennett, who competes on the professional circuit and teaches cooking classes. Amy Mills of 17th
Street Barbecue agrees. “The men do overshadow,” she admits. “I’m kind of saying that as a fact. But a
lot of things wouldn’t be happening in the barbecue scene without the influences of some pretty
amazing women.” Here are nine who are making their marks on the South’s culture.