Pig Island Farm and Chef Festival
A legend in the cider world, Eden Ciders’ Eleanor Leger — along with her husband Albert — has been bringing the world of fermented apples together in countless different ways. Whether through epic collaborations, local support or unique tasting experiences, the team at Eden has shown that their heart and soul belong to the community.
Born in Texas and raised on her dad’s daily BBQ, Pure Grit BBQ’s chef Emily Hersh has been a pitmaster-in-training since birth. But before committing to her culinary career, she had been struggling to find peace with food, until she decided to go vegetarian and become a professionally trained plant-based chef. Ever since, she has been working on combining her upbringing and culinary expertise to serve everyone awesome BBQ — that just happens to be vegan and gluten-free.
Born in Seoul, raised in Jersey and grew from the influences of Texas, chef Robert Austin Cho and his BBQ at Kimchi Smoke simply refuse to be boxed into any region. He breaks down boundaries and definitions by marrying everything on the menu from Chonut to Chominican rice, while adding to them a uniquely Korean flavor profile. This journey in the food world has also been a surprising way for him to reconnect with his Korean heritage and receive acceptance as an American.
A Newark native and a North Carolina’s god son, chef Jesse Jones has his own inventive way to spice up southern cuisine. Whether it be his professional culinary training, his grandmother’s secret recipes, or his big aunt’s storytelling lessons, chef Jesse will be serving you flavorful southern BBQ with a side of smiles on his face. This year, he’s coming back to Pig Island to regain his Sexiest Dish award in 2020 and take over the coveted trophy with the most surprising recipes.
A Michelin-starred chef with years of experience in Thai cuisine, chef Therdtus “Tony” Rittaprom from Zabb Pu Tawn in New York Upper East Side hopes to serve you the most authentic Northern Thai food. Winning the Most Innovative Award at Rib King NYC with his Gaeng Hung Lay Ribs, he hopes to feed more customers BBQ the Thai way, using Thai techniques with a little less spice than what he eats himself.
You can find Zabb Pu Tawn at 1584 First Avenue in New York City. They were both at our Brisket King and Rib King event.
BBQ Buddha is the award-winning brand that focuses on making BBQ products that are free of additives, artificial flavors, and colors – or as founder Ray Sheehan likes to say – he’s making sauce and rubs that have “all the flavor without the junk.” On the eve of launching his latest cookbook, Ray talked with us about his journey, being a certified BBQ judge, and how the Big Green Egg he won as champion of FKP’s inaugural Sauce King NYC led to the publication of his newest cookbook.
