Latest / BBQ Therapy / Chef Phillip Dell | Multi-Talented

Transcript

Chef Phillip Dell | Multi-Talented · BBQ Therapy

0:00
If we're not having fun, we're dying.
0:02
Do your best to get yourself out of your own mind.
0:06
Surround yourself with people that are helpful and friendly
0:10
and encouraging, and get rid of the negativity.
0:15
And sometimes to get rid of the negativity, you got to get rid
0:17
of something of yourself. Come to realization that you're
0:22
a jerk. If you are, then somehow snap
0:26
out of that and try to just have a better life.
0:30
Bango Ham BBQ, Bango Ham BBQ, Bango Ham BBQ, Bango Ham BBQ
0:36
BBQ. Ever notice how the sound of
0:40
sizzling meat and the smell of smoke can silence the noise of
0:43
the world? Now that's BBQ therapy.
0:46
If the fire moves you like, subscribe, share and help spread
0:51
the message because growth, like good BBQ, takes time and
0:55
patience. Welcome to your therapy session.
1:00
Welcome to another episode of the BBQ Therapy Podcast.
1:03
My name is Tavis Bryant and on today on BBQ Therapy we're
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joined by a culinary force, a CHOP champion, a world class
1:12
educator, a competitive power lifter, and one of the most
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inspiring pit masters on the West Coast.
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From Saturday mornings filled with cooking shows instead of
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cartoons to perfect scores at the Jack Daniels and food Truck
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fame, Chef Phillip Dale has lived one incredible BBQ
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journey. Welcome to the show chef.
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I got one rule, make yourself at home.
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How you doing today? Thanks for having me.
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No problem, no problem. And for those that don't know, I
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met Chef Dale at Memphis and May when I was in the Willingham
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area and me and my wife was invited in.
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So we got to meet a lot of people in there.
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That's how we connected and we have a very interesting story,
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so I would like to share that with everybody to show more
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about him as well as show more of what the BBQ community can
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achieve if they put their mind to it.
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Regardless of what they go through, if they just stay
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positive and keep trying it, they'll come out on top.
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First question, let's rewind back to your childhood.
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A lot of people know you. Most kids were watching
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cartoons, but you were locked into chefs like Martin Yan and
2:22
Justin Wilson, who I remember. Justin Wilson, what do you
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remember most about these Saturday mornings that kind of
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lit that culinary fire that stood out to you?
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Other personalities were definitely the first thing that
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caught my attention. The other thing is they always,
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a lot of times they would tell a story during their
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demonstrations on television. And the history really got me
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going. But I always, people always ask
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me if I read books and if I'm going to read a book, it's a
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biography or it's some way, it's something I'm going to learn.
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It's something to that effect. And a lot of those shows, that's
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what that was. And it so it wasn't just about
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the food specifically that they were cooking.
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It was about the history of the food that it was cooking.
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And that could be even if it was just macaroni and cheese with
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hot dogs, it was a childhood memory of that particular person
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on television. And it just attracted me.
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It was something interesting. That's good 'cause it's people
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just see stuff, but they don't know the origins of it.
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Like they just look at a piece of steak on the plate, but they
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don't know the origin of the meat, what type of beef or how
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the animal was raised and all that stuff and have a curiosity
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of how it got from point A to point Z.
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So it it's definitely interesting and far as that age
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to good to have a that caught your eyes so you can start early
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learning and getting knowledge, which puts you ahead of the
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curve for you to go into the culinary field.
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So you say you were making four course meals by the age of
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eight. What was there a specific moment
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when your family realized that you weren't just playing around
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and you were becoming a chef? My SO, My mom always tells
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everybody that I was born with a spatula in my hand.
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My mom used to cook a lot when I was growing up.
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She used to bake a lot when I was growing up.
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And I just was very attracted to that.
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I used to hang out in the kitchen, always a lot of help
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with my mom. And then I remember one time my
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my sister and I, we were going to be in the doghouse.
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Let's just put it out of the way.
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It was. We had a list of chores that we
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did not do or we didn't do some of them or whatever.
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And I'm like, OK, I got to make sure we have dinner on the
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table. But instead of making something
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just simple, I made an Italian meal.
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I did a salad, I did the bread. I did like everything from
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scratch, the sauce and everything.
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And I was 8. And I remember my mom coming
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home and was blown away first of all, that I had cooked the food.
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But I think when I made back up a little bit, so I used to cook
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like breakfast in bed and that sort of thing.
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But the eggs were birds. I used to just French toast was
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not good or whatever. But at that moment where I
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started doing those four course meals for the family and it
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didn't taste like there wasn't anything off about it.
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They were like, you're going to be a chef.
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That's amazing at that age because I my my daughter's 9 and
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I'm scared to let her use the microwave most times.
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There was a, my grandparents lived my, my dad's folks lived
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on a Lake Huron. And even when I was on the lake,
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on the beach, I was always playing in the dirt or the sand
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in the rocks and the pebbles and stuff.
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And they're like, what are you building?
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Then? I'm like, I'm building a bakery
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baking cookies. And I would make like cookies on
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cookies with the sand and the dirt and everything else.
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And they're like, yeah, you've completely written your life.
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That's where you're going to be going.
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So did they encourage that? Were they buying you books or
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anything like that or letting you practice or?
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Oh absolutely. My.
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They love that actually. And then the family and friends
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and everything. Anytime I had a birthday or
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something, they would get me something food related cookbooks
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especially. Any time we we would go to a
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store, I always wanted to go into the magazine section and
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look at Bon Appetit and Gourmet and any of the other magazines
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that had to do with food laws there.
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So they were very encouraging. Bought me my first apron.
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Actually, my mom made me an apron.
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She was a professional ceramist and she's very good with
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painting and that sort of thing. And she had made me a Chef
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Philip Dell apron. And then we would go camping and
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I was there like you want to help us with the food?
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And it just, I think it was, I was definitely born.
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That's excellent, especially they encourage you and it boosts
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your confidence and pushes you further along into the what you
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want to do because a lot of times, sometimes parents try to
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steer you into what they want instead of what you want to do
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and see what you have an interest in.
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So that's good that they supported that and encourage
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that and push you into that. Tell us about some of the pig
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roasts that you deal with your grandpa and your uncle.
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How did those family gathers shape your early relationship
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with BBQ? So I want to say right around
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the time I was 8, my mom said, hey, you're going to go spend
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some time with grandpa and the whole month of August And I was
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like, wow, that's a long time away from you.
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I was only 8, what am I going to do?
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And I was blessed to have both my grandparents nearby that area
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down there. And because I lived about four
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hours away from my grandparents, so it was always a treat to even
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see them. And they asked me to go down
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there. But I didn't know anything about
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the pig rose. I wasn't, I might have known
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about it, but I wasn't really like into it.
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And they're like the whole time I was down there, our job or my
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job was to help get ready for it.
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And it's when they first started it out, there was only like 19
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people. And when it ended, there was 400
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people, over 400 people and they had purchased more property and
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my uncle and my grandfather. And So what they would do is
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they would, they built a cinder block pit and they used to do
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them on a spit. So part of my job was to make
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sure that the spit or that everything worked properly and
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prep the, the pit itself, that sort of thing.
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And then from the, we would, as I got older, so even in, I don't
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remember it in when I was 8, but I think when I was 9, I actually
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went to the farmer at the very beginning of the month to choose
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which hog we were going to get and so on and so forth.
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So I, I was involved with the entire process.
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We made it a big deal, though there was always, when it came
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to the actually cooking itself, there was 2-3 days.
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And my grandfather, my uncle always made sure that I was part
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of that so that I would learn how to do it and learn the
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process and be involved. And they knew that I wanted to
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be a chef to begin with. So they knew I was into it.
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And then the, we used to sleep underneath the stars and it was
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a, we'd start the fire like a day before and get the block and
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get the cinder blocks hot. And just the whole process every
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I can still picture literally everything about it and the I
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still remember all the meals that we used to have like the
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night before, before the hog went on the cooker and staying
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up all night basting it and 1 funny story.
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And this one it always gets a lot of people is my grandfather
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had a very awesome sense of humor.
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And so he used to tell people the best corn in the world is
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the one that shoved up the pig's Yahoo and up his butt.
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And so he'd take it one step further.
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He'd do that. But then he would put like,
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potatoes and carrots or not carrots, corn, potatoes.
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And he would take sausage that was on the rope, sausage and
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stuff it inside the hog and then tie it back up.
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Because there was always somebody, usually a husband and
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wife or even just a nice lady, would go up to him and be like,
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oh, is the pig ready? Is the pig ready?
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Is the pig ready? And he goes, you know what?
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Let's find out. So he'd stop the spit.
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He'd cut the belly, which really was just the time, right?
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And all that stuff would fall out.
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It would freak people out that thought it was intestines and
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potatoes and all the things that the pig had eaten.
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I still remember that to this day.
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And by the way, that is the best corn because it's got pork fat
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dripping out of the entire time. So when y'all got up to 400
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people, how many pigs were y'all cooking at the time?
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So what they would do is they would do one pig, but then they
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would get steam, they would get half a cow and it blossomed into
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something even bigger. Oh, wow.
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Oh, cool. All right, let's move on to at
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the earning your degree at Johnson and Wales and winning in
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the Midwest BBQ circuit, your life took a hard turn.
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How hard was it to be away from everything that you loved?
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And how did it feel to return in 2013?
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So in 2001 my daughter passed away and ultimately I was pretty
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wrecked as you can imagine. And in 2005 I stumbled for a few
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years. My wife and I had separated and
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eventually got divorced, but we had separated.
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So when in 2005 when I moved to Las Vegas, I decided that I need
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to work on me. And while BBQ I was always still
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like reading or watching or the all the different shows,
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pitmaster shows and stuff, they were just starting.
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Like they hadn't even really started.
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The Food Network would have some and I would still get a little
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bit of a fix there and if a buddy had a grill going or
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something, but I really just needed to focus on me.
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And it wasn't until 2013 during after I had one chopped that my
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wife and I were we had just purchased a home by my new wife
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and we had just purchased a home.
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The backyard was a clean slate and we were shopping around for
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an outdoor kitchen equipment and that sort of thing.
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And when I walked in to this one place, the guys, hey, we're
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having a professional team come here.
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And that was in 2013 to teach class.
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And if you purchase this stuff, I will pay for you to take that
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class. And I was like, great, that
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sounds awesome. So couple days later, literally
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just a couple days later was when that class was and it was a
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2 day class. I showed up, the teacher knew
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who I was, but I didn't. We had known, we had known of
13:07
each other, but I didn't know him personally and he and his
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wife. And then when I got home that
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night, my wife looked at me. She goes.
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So when's your first contest to summarize that question that I
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had a lot of me to fix before I went back into that because I'm
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an all in or not guy. Focus on being all in and.
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You came back with a vengeance and refined your BBQ to please W
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West Coast Palace. What was the process of
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rebuilding your flavor profile look like?
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What did that look like? So when I started in competition
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barbecue in 2001, Kansas City BBQ Society that the game was
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completely different. A lot of people would do whole
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chickens and put in pieces. It was totally different than it
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is now where a lot of everybody is doing individual pieces and
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so on. And there of course there were
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some of those teams that we didn't know what they were doing
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and they were winning. Now we all know what they were
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doing. But so luckily for me, I had the
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opportunity to be to take that one BBQ class.
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So I got to know right away the new way, and that was one way
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that I was able to help that learning curve.
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But I still didn't know what judges wanted to taste.
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I was still cooking what I wanted to cook.
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I still was doing all the flavor profiles that I like and all the
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ones that I used to market or the ones that I had on the
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market or whatever. I wanted my stuff to win and so
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on and so forth. But it became more of a is it
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too detailed? As a chef, we like to do things
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very complex in most cases. Now, the technicality about
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everything, the methods might be very simple, but we like to
15:01
depth. The flavor is, I take that all.
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I take depth for flavor, and everything is very flavorful.
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It's yes, salt and pepper is key.
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All right, That is the true seasoning.
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But I like things to actually be memorable.
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I don't like the term mediocre. All of my flavor profiles back
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then when I first started were complex.
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So what I started to do is just simplify them a little bit and
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it didn't take me much, maybe a few more years.
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I think 2015 is when I started to really start doing well
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again. I was doing OK in 2013 and 14 in
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2015, but it wasn't until right around 2016 that I blossomed, I
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guess you could say, and had the epiphany of what it's really
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going to take to win these competitions, OK.
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And many pet pitmasters stay in one lane briskets or ribs.
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But you bought pastry, nutrition and bodybuilding into BBQ.
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How did all these disciplines intersect in your cooking style
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today? When I first started losing the
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weight when 20, when I moved to 2002 thousand and five to Las
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Vegas, I weighed 217 lbs, had a 44 inch waist and over the
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course of about 17 months I lost close to 100 lbs and over 30%
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body fat. During that process I developed
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my own program of taking the foods that I really love to eat
16:26
and transforming them into healthier versions without
16:29
anybody knowing the difference. So that is to say that if I
16:32
wanted a cheeseburger, I made a nice very flavorful juicy
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cheeseburger, but I made it much healthier.
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And when I would have friends and family over, I would still
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make those items, but not tell them that I made it healthier
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until after they were done eating.
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And then I would let them know, hey, did you enjoy your food?
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And be honest? And when they would say, oh,
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it's great, blah, blah, blah, whatever that I or if they said
16:55
but didn't, but I would then say, I've transformed this
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recipe to a healthier version. And did you know the difference?
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They're like, not at all. Oh, did you do that in a
17:06
hamburger though? So the very first thing you
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would do is the type of beef that you're using and the, and
17:15
everything from cut to the, to get the most flavor to downright
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the type of fat that's in it and ratios of the fat.
17:24
Everybody kind of, I can't say everybody, but a lot of people
17:27
poo poo like the 96% where it's 96% lean.
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But the truth of the matter is as long as you know how to cook
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it, it's just as good as the one that's 8020.
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People always say fat is flavor. They're not wrong.
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But there comes a point when you're able to take the flavor
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of the meat itself and make it shine more than the fat, if that
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makes any sense. Because BBQ is such a huge thing
17:53
for me and desserts and everything else I've done, like
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you said, I've done it all. The I just have such a passion
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for food in general where I just want to try to make it a
18:04
healthier version to see if it'll work.
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I had the opportunity to take cheesecake and I was in a clean
18:13
eating magazine and American Heart Association competition, a
18:18
nationwide competition and I won the competition making a
18:21
cheesecake tartlet using goat cheese.
18:24
Goat cheese is better for you because of saturated, the type
18:27
of saturated fats in it versus cow's milk and so on and so
18:31
forth. The protein content that the
18:33
receptability that the proteins actually do for your body, like
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it's not just about every single component has its purpose.
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So I don't know if that answers your question or if it's more
18:48
than you wanted to know, No. It's fine.
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I'm learning something so I know somebody else is too, so that's
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good. So what brought that change when
18:57
you felt yourself overweight? Was the doctor told you you had
19:00
to lose weight or you just woke up one day and said I got to get
19:02
better? So I was taking a shower and I
19:08
opened up the curtain and I don't know why builders do this,
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but if you ever notice, there's always a mirror in front of you.
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And I had two rolls going over my waist and I remember grabbing
19:22
it and going, this is disgusting.
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Right then and there. I made I made it straight.
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I cut out all refined sugars. I got rid of my soda.
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I used to drink soda like it was going on with style.
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Man, the amount of water I drink now is what I used to drink it
19:38
soda. And so I I drink When I was
19:41
competing and doing bodybuilding and powerlifting, I was drinking
19:44
about two gallons of water a day.
19:46
Right now I'm probably more about a gallon, but I was
19:50
drinking realistically about two gallons of Coca-Cola and it
19:54
wasn't diet Coca-Cola. I cut all that out, started just
19:58
watching everything that I wanted to eat, and then
20:00
remembered the fact that I had taken nutritional science and
20:04
done a bunch of nutritional classes in school, both in high
20:07
school, junior high, and in college.
20:10
And then I just started transforming everything.
20:13
Oh, wow, that's excellent. That's excellent.
20:16
That's a success story there. Let's talk about the Jack
20:19
Daniels where you got a perfect score.
20:22
What did you cook to get that perfect score, and what does it
20:25
mean to you to be recognized at that level after you come back?
20:29
So it was a dessert. It was a pumpkin cheesecake with
20:33
a ginger crust. Let's see, I'm trying to
20:36
remember caramel and and then pecan crystallized pecans.
20:41
Oh, and it was also topped with Maple cream, but like a
20:45
Chantilly cream or a whipped cream.
20:47
The to hear, first of all, to hear your name at the Jack and
20:51
any shape or form is like cerebral because again, I had
20:55
gone back to from 2001, always wanted to get to the Jack and
21:00
then taken that hiatus for so long and then to get back into
21:04
it and then to finally make it there.
21:06
To hear your name and I heard my name three different times at
21:10
that contest during awards. And to hear a perfect score in
21:15
any category is just, it's the whipped cream on top, man.
21:20
It's unbelievable. And then I remember we were
21:24
sitting in the back and I remember I jumped out of that
21:26
chair so fast. My nobody, everybody, my wife
21:29
couldn't keep up with me. My friend that was there with
21:31
me, Chris, he couldn't keep up with me.
21:33
I was gone. And I just shout out there, but
21:36
I remember going down the aisle where the people were and they
21:39
were clapping. And I remember some of all those
21:41
people that the mentors and the people that I was idolized when
21:45
I was younger and everything, including some of those chefs I
21:49
used to watch on TV, turning around, clapping, cheering me on
21:55
as I'm going down there. And then I had a couple of them
21:58
send me a message saying because they had known me from back in
22:02
2001 and how far I had come. They were like, that was
22:07
something special right there, man.
22:10
It's a feeling you, it's hard to describe.
22:13
I'm getting chills talking about it.
22:15
It is I'm. Getting chills hearing it
22:19
because it's, it's not something that you just go sign up for and
22:22
enter. It's something you #1 had to be
22:24
invited to in order to get there.
22:27
And you're competing against the best of all all over the USA
22:33
that people, there's one and you're competing against them.
22:37
And to have your name called out over all of them, I know it's an
22:41
excellent feeling just being there, period.
22:45
Exactly. Yeah.
22:47
So are you cooking by yourself or are you with the team?
22:49
Or how did it go? So it's my team, but I have so
22:53
back then at that particular contest, we were, it was me, my
22:57
wife, my friend Chris, and then my parents drove down from
23:01
Michigan to be with us as well as some family friends.
23:05
I skipped out to today, my SO, my wife and I, we were the team
23:11
basically for almost all those from 2013 until about 2020.
23:17
It was always my in 2021, it was always my wife and I.
23:21
And then yeah, I guess you could say until 20, getting my day
23:24
thrown 2023, so up to 2023. And then there is a competition
23:30
television show, BBQ Country and I had the opportunity to be a
23:35
stand in for one of the chefs that was mentoring one of the
23:38
contestants couldn't make that. She had to, they had to move
23:41
some things around and she had to change direction.
23:44
And so they asked me to come in and then be his mentor.
23:48
And Jason Haling is his name, Plump Rump BBQ was is the name
23:53
of his team. And we became such good friends
23:56
during that. He and his wife and his son,
23:59
they're just really fantastic people.
24:02
And we would just, he lives in Arkansas, I live in Tennessee.
24:06
So we were just talking back and forth and I asked him one day I
24:10
was like, Hey, do you want to go to a contest with me?
24:11
And he's, oh, that sounds great. And that was, I want to say it
24:14
was 2023. And we did that in October.
24:17
And he's now basically my main teammate in life.
24:20
My wife is my teammate, but in BBQ, Jason.
24:24
And then my wife and Lori will come every once in a while.
24:27
Jason's wife as well. We would love it if eventually
24:30
we could get all four of us there, but that happens maybe
24:33
once a year. Yeah.
24:34
That's cool. That's cool that you found
24:36
somebody that you can teach as well as willing to learn and go
24:40
out there and have fun cause it's a good experience.
24:44
And since I've been out there, I've met a lot of people that
24:47
hey say, hey, you can come out here and watch me in my truck
24:50
and stuff like that. And it's an honor there like you
24:53
folks like I think almost every year.
24:55
So you folks don't know me and they just inviting and friendly
24:58
and nice. That's what I mean.
25:00
That's how we met because I got invited in the tent because I
25:03
literally met Paul that Sunday before Memphis and May.
25:11
And when I went to the restaurant, that's when he said
25:13
hey, if you up there, I mean stop by and come in.
25:16
So that's How I Met him and got connected.
25:20
So I definitely appreciate everybody in the BBQ community
25:24
just welcome in friendly like that.
25:26
It's definitely something I will always brag on as I say, 'cause
25:32
other people, I hate to say it and nothing like the BBQ
25:34
community. I figured somebody to prove it,
25:37
but they can't. But barbecue community is
25:40
something special and I always brag on it and I say it's not
25:45
perfect, but it is. But it's awesome to me.
25:48
That's just my experience. Let's switch off over to the
25:51
television. You competed on Food Network,
25:53
Chop Cutthroat Kitchen and Fire Masters.
25:56
What was the most intense moment that you had in front of the
26:00
camera at all your TV appearances?
26:02
Intense, I would say probably chopped, mainly because I have
26:07
no feeling in my right arm. They were in my right hand.
26:10
I learned basically a couple days before that that I had a
26:13
pinch. I have a pinched disc in my neck
26:15
and I had no feeling in my right hand whatsoever.
26:18
I would say the most nerve wracking part of the program
26:21
during that filming was during the first round and appetizer I
26:26
had during the filming. I had discovered that I had no
26:30
feeling in my hand, but I didn't realize that until I went to go
26:33
move a pot and the pot started to fall to the ground and I
26:37
grabbed it with my left hand before I hit the ground.
26:41
It was at that point where I just, I had to give it to God
26:46
and let him guide my hand because I again, I didn't have
26:48
any feeling. So that was probably the most
26:50
intense and the most nerve racking.
26:52
All the other ones I cut through a kitchen.
26:54
If you've seen the episode, I was strapped to this dude, it
26:56
was like 6-6 foot 4 or 6 foot 8 or something and it was crazy.
27:03
But The thing is that after being in the food industry for
27:06
so long, a lot of things get thrown at us while we're cooking
27:09
online and everything that you just have to go with the flow
27:12
and so cutthroat kitchen. But it wasn't.
27:14
And then fire masters, that was awesome.
27:18
That was so much fun. I all three of them were fun,
27:21
but fire masters was great. It was all outside and we became
27:24
good friends with the the two chefs that were cooking with me
27:27
that day. And the weather was terrible.
27:29
We were freezing and the wind was blowing and we were trying
27:32
to keep our plates down. And it was fun.
27:34
It was intense, but I just had a lot of fun.
27:39
I know itself, especially a cut through kitchen, it's it's wild,
27:43
but those that haven't seen it, it's it's wild.
27:47
I think I seen you fire masters. I probably didn't since I didn't
27:51
I know you now I can probably go back and recognize you.
27:53
But and then when y'all compete and then at whoever wins out of
27:58
there has to go against the expert or something like that.
28:01
Usually one of the judges. Oh yeah, one of the judges at
28:04
the end. OK, yeah, I remember that.
28:07
Yeah, I'll be honest, I I didn't win that program, sabotage
28:11
myself. It was totally my mistake.
28:16
OK, so let's move on to Fusion Bistro.
28:20
It blew up fast. Cookie Channel features multiple
28:23
awards. Best food truck in Vegas.
28:26
What was the original vision behind Fusion Bistro and how did
28:29
you keep up with that pace? So the original design or the
28:35
original vision for it was my entire life.
28:38
I've always wanted to be the best.
28:41
Who doesn't? I like to take challenges and go
28:45
against the rules. In terms of a lot of food
28:48
trucks, there's one person told me that there's classifications
28:51
of food trucks. There's the the old fashioned
28:53
Roach coach. I got to stop doing this quote
28:56
thing. There's the Roach coach, there's
28:59
the burger truck or the specific truck, corn dogs, burgers,
29:03
fries, whatever. And then they said that then
29:06
there's your food truck. And I asked them, I said, what
29:10
do you mean by that? And they're like, you're at
29:12
another level, man. They're like your food is like
29:16
going to a four-star restaurant. They're like your your burger
29:21
was ground New York strip and rib eye.
29:23
And I know a lot of state tourists listening to this right
29:25
now are going, dude, why'd you do that to a perfectly good rib
29:29
eye? The truth is burger in general
29:33
is usually the trimmings of the XYZ.
29:36
Let's be real. Did I take a whole rib eye and
29:38
just Chuck it into the grinder? Maybe a little, but not mostly.
29:44
We were using homemade bread and everything's made from scratch
29:48
on the truck. Nothing was made off site and
29:51
then brought on. And it was like legit.
29:54
And so we always just wanted to take that experience to the
29:57
people. I didn't want to have a
29:59
permanent location. I had already done that before.
30:02
I wanted to just be able to basically be a rolling
30:05
restaurant and bring you the fine dining experience to
30:09
wherever you may be. So be it your wedding or your
30:13
birthday party or just feeding your staff and so on, that's
30:18
good, that's good. So how did you come up with the
30:22
name? So I've always, I love fusion
30:26
food. I like taking foods from other
30:29
areas of the country, bringing them onto 1 plate.
30:31
I always tell people that we may not get along politically in the
30:34
world, but we can think of, we can get together on one plate or
30:38
at the dinner table. And that's how fusion started.
30:41
But then the Bistro part was actually, I'm going to give the
30:45
nod to an attorney that my wife used to work for and I work
30:50
with. And because I was a bodybuilder
30:54
and a world champion power lifter is you're a beast.
30:57
You're a beast in the food, you're a beast in the gym, and
31:01
you're just a beast in general. So they're like, it's got to be
31:05
Beast Row instead of just Bistro that.
31:09
Makes sense. Speaking of that, switch to the
31:12
bodybuilding. So I'm going to read this.
31:14
This says you decided to take on bodybuilding and in your first
31:18
year competing you finished top five and six shows and competed
31:23
as part of Team USA 2007 in Greece and October 2010 you won
31:30
the title of world champion for the deadlift in your weight
31:34
class. How did you get into
31:36
powerlifting? So when I was a bodybuilder, I
31:40
was going through different programs, either it would be
31:43
like a hypertrophy where there's more reps strength training.
31:46
And there was one section where we got into some deep strength
31:51
training. And one of the trainers at my
31:53
gym just happened to notice my style and everything.
31:57
And he wanted he you're carrying on a conversation and he's, hey,
32:00
do you mind if I coach you for a little bit?
32:02
And I was like, sure. And so that was where the seed
32:06
got planted. I didn't think I ever really
32:08
wanted to do that, but there's something very gratifying being
32:12
able to take three, £400 off the ground.
32:17
My, during my training programs. I would like, I do rack dads,
32:22
they're called rack dads where you're in the, you're in a rack
32:25
and you're not taking it off the floor, You're taking it more off
32:29
of a different level and it works different parts of your
32:32
muscles in your back and in your arms and your forearms and so
32:35
on. And I, if I remember correctly,
32:37
my highest during that period was 7/20 and at the, and my
32:42
weight at that point was about 140.
32:45
So that's a lot. Now, taking it off the floor is
32:50
a different story because you're using every single muscle in
32:53
your body to be able to lift something like that off the
32:55
floor. But once you're the first time I
32:57
did that, man, the adrenaline just started rushing and I'm
33:00
like, OK, this is awesome. I want to do this.
33:02
And then because I do everything over the top or I try to do
33:05
everything over the top, I'm like, OK, I can't just work out
33:08
in the gym. I got to compete.
33:10
It's I'm sure my wife would love it if I'd stop competing and
33:13
BBQ. But the truth that I love
33:15
competing, I love the people, and it doesn't matter if I was
33:19
bodybuilding or powerlifting or BBQ, that's just how I'm
33:24
made-up. Yeah, it's definitely cool.
33:28
What parallels do you see between strength sports and BBQ?
33:32
Is there a mental edge that connects both worlds?
33:37
I would say definitely anytime you're competing, you have to
33:39
have strength mentally first of all.
33:42
And then depending on the type of competition, you definitely
33:45
have to have the strength physically because it's taxing
33:49
because even just the mental game, if it's not strong, it'll
33:55
beat up your body. And so you really have to be
33:59
come into harmony on both of those ends.
34:01
A friend of mine, Sonny Moody, she, she works out wherever she
34:03
goes. And I was doing the same thing
34:05
and we would do workouts right outside the trailer just to stay
34:08
strong and stay fit and everything else.
34:11
It's we still have a really great time, but it helps you get
34:14
through those moments where if you're having a breakdown, you
34:18
can get through them. Yeah, it's definitely good
34:22
having an outlet that you have. But yeah, I saw her.
34:26
She's in shape. So I was on Instagram the other
34:30
day. I was like, wow, she's in shape.
34:33
Many of our listeners are everyday backyard barbecues and
34:36
starting out in comps. What advice would you give
34:39
someone who's dealing with failure or burnout, whether it's
34:42
BBQ or in life? Have fun.
34:45
A lot of people throw that around, but the truth is that if
34:47
we're not having fun, we're dying.
34:49
Do your best to get yourself out of your own mind.
34:54
Surround yourself with people that are helpful and friendly
34:57
and encouraging and get rid of the negativity.
35:02
And sometimes to get rid of the negativity, you got to get rid
35:04
of something of yourself. Come to realization that you're
35:09
a jerk. If you are, then somehow snap
35:13
out of that and try to just have a better life.
35:17
When I was going through the death of my daughter, I gained a
35:22
ton of weight during that time period and I was miserable.
35:26
And I would do the late nights and I would do the order a whole
35:30
pizza and finish that baby off and have a 12 pack of Coca-Cola
35:34
or a few beers. But there comes a point in your
35:36
life where you just have to come to grips that if you want to be
35:40
happy, it's your choice. There are two things that can
35:46
make you happy immediately, God and yourself.
35:52
Everything else is extra. That's.
35:55
True 1000% that's a good answer. Also, could you give a few tips
36:01
for someone that's wanting to get in the food truck business
36:05
since your experience? So make sure you're very fit,
36:11
make sure you can handle the heat.
36:12
And I mean that in in all senses that you can imagine because it
36:17
gets very hot in a food truck. And it doesn't matter what kind
36:24
of business you're in, if it's a food truck or restaurant or
36:27
being the Xerox man, you have to have a good plan and you have to
36:31
have enough money to get you through the down times.
36:33
And then food trucks, there could be a lot of downtime
36:37
depending on whether there's a lot of things that you just you
36:40
have 0 control over and choose your plan wisely in terms of
36:46
what kind of truck do you want. And by truck, truck or trailer,
36:49
OK, pick your menu, pick, know exactly what you're going to
36:53
have and then build out your trailer or truck based on that
36:59
menu to help maximize your profits.
37:02
Because let's face it, basically try to make it to where you can
37:06
run that thing with one person because there will be a day when
37:10
you're the only person on that truck.
37:12
And so it just, it will happen. It is just, that's the way it
37:15
works. That's how life works.
37:18
But just make sure your, your, your business model is something
37:22
that you can maximize your profits.
37:24
Definitely make sure that you're doing things properly according
37:28
to all the the different rules in your city, state, counties
37:31
and so. On All right, that's good
37:34
information. Let's switch it over to what
37:36
you're doing now. Now you're helping people now
37:38
find homes and real estate. What drew you to that new
37:42
chapter and does it still connect with your lifelong
37:45
passion of serving others? So my dad, I grew up, even when
37:50
I was growing up, my parents would buy a home and then they
37:53
would do some remodeling and whatever.
37:55
And so I got in. I was always around it.
37:57
I'm very observant person. I was observant from a very
38:00
young age and I used to just watch what they were doing.
38:04
And then my dad was in the title business for 58 years before he
38:08
retired and my, and he opened up a company Dell Abstract Title or
38:13
Dell Abstract. And then my mom got into it and
38:16
she was into it for 20-30 years. My, so I was again always around
38:21
it. During the time of my divorce, I
38:23
helped run my dad's company and got in.
38:26
So I learned a lot of facets to that and what it takes and what
38:30
the insurance and outs of Closings and so on.
38:33
And then my we have a lot of relatives in my family that are
38:37
in the industry and have been in the industry forever.
38:40
Basically that was their first job and in their last job.
38:43
And then we talked about the TV part of things.
38:46
When I was growing up, looking at food shows and stuff, the
38:50
other types of shows I looked at were interior design, flipping
38:54
houses, construction stuff, handyman things, stuff like
38:58
that. I've been in the food industry
38:59
36 years and I've beaten my body up pretty well over the years
39:07
and just in general. And as I get older, it's
39:10
reminding me of that more and more, how things have to be a
39:13
certain way if I'm going to stay alive.
39:16
So doing I love being a chef, absolutely love it.
39:23
People always tell me that when I walk into a room, I'm talking
39:25
about food. I light up the room.
39:26
Unfortunately, my body can't take that beating every day
39:29
anymore. So I had to come up with other
39:31
ways to where I could still help people because when I lost all
39:34
that weight, I was helping people eat better, one bite at a
39:36
time. This time I want them to dream
39:39
it, find it and love it. And I want people.
39:44
I want to see that smile on their face when they get their
39:47
home for the very first time. I want them, I want to see the
39:50
kids smile on their face when they get to purchase the home
39:53
that they lived in their entire lives.
39:56
I want to be able to help that person that is living on the
39:59
street who thinks they can't get a home.
40:02
I want to put them in touch with the right people, the truth, and
40:06
I want people to be happy. For years I was doing it with
40:09
food. Now I get to do it with
40:11
something that's even, I guess you could say even bigger.
40:14
Purchasing a home is one of the very, it is probably in most
40:18
cases the largest transaction you will ever have.
40:22
And so I want people to trust me in getting them through that
40:25
process so that they can live out their dreams in the home of
40:29
their dreams. And sometimes that's the first
40:32
house they ever purchase and that could be the 15th house
40:35
they ever purchase. So in general, I just, I love to
40:40
see people smile and I love helping people.
40:45
I want everybody to not have such a frown on the face all the
40:48
time. And I can hear certain people
40:51
saying right now, we would love to see your smile more and more.
40:54
And it's true, I'm still human people, but seeing out seeing, I
40:59
can't begin to tell you how just cool it is to see somebody go
41:03
from not owning a home or thinking that they can own a
41:06
home and putting them in the touch with the right people to
41:09
making sure that they find that House of their dreams.
41:12
Yeah, that's excellent, because when I was living in a rented
41:18
house, I stayed in an apartment and I was renting a house and I
41:21
was on the fence. Like, man, I can't, I don't even
41:24
know if I can buy a house or not.
41:26
And then the the right real estate agent makes a difference
41:30
because there's a person that truthfully tell you if you can
41:34
get it in that. And lady I ran across, she had
41:38
went to my church and stuff like that.
41:40
And I talked to her and said, you'll be surprised at what you
41:44
can get. So I got with her and next day I
41:47
was a homeowner and it was like, wow, you said it.
41:50
I'm sitting in the house looking around like, I can't believe I
41:52
was able to get this on my own. And folks be surprised of what
41:56
they can do. You just got to go across the
41:59
right real estate agent to help them moving the House of their
42:03
dreams and be realistic. Also, 'cause it was a starter
42:07
home and didn't work my way up. And once I got married, once I
42:10
got married, I was able to sell that house to someone else that
42:14
never had a house and they'll be that was their starter home.
42:18
So it felt good to me 'cause I told her I worked with that same
42:21
real estate agent to sell the house and I told her I wanted
42:24
her to find someone that had never been in the house before
42:28
to give them an opportunity to live in the house.
42:32
And when I got married and stuff and sold the house, I left them
42:36
a washer dryer. I left the refrigerator was
42:38
pretty because I live by myself then all it was pretty much just
42:41
brand new. So I'll give them an opportunity
42:45
to get a head start and start a hitting the curve when moving in
42:49
the house and not having to worry about buying stuff like
42:52
that. But it's, it's a great feeling
42:53
and especially when you got somebody working with you and on
42:57
point and know what they doing and not trying to upset you on
43:01
something that you can't afford and you get messed up and stuff
43:03
like that. But it's the definitely this, it
43:07
feels great when you achieve something like that and have
43:11
somebody that's happy for you getting a home and stuff like
43:14
that. So it's definitely good that
43:17
you're doing that. It's, it's wonderful that you're
43:20
still connecting with people and, and still as a community
43:23
also because you get to meet different people from all over
43:26
the place and stuff like that and make connections beyond the
43:30
real estate. Because once you make that
43:31
connection, they're going to always go back to you because,
43:34
OK, he helped me. Now he going to help me sell the
43:36
house. He going to help me get my next
43:38
house. You're going to make me until I
43:41
get there forever home. So that's right, you're doing
43:44
that. You're going to wrap it up with
43:46
a couple more questions. Looking back at the kid who
43:48
watched cooking shows on Saturday morning.
43:51
Who would you tell him now if you could speak to him now be?
43:54
Nicer to your body. That was a good answer.
43:58
Final question, what does BBQ heal in your life?
44:04
Honestly, it brings me back to center a lot.
44:07
I spend a lot of time around a BBQ pit and by BBQ I'm going to
44:11
put it in into that whole spectrum of if it's got flame
44:16
and I'm able to cook on it, it's a BBQ.
44:18
I'm going to, I'm going to go that route, OK, so I, I can have
44:22
the most stressed out day in the world, but if I fire that up,
44:25
just the smell alone will calm me down.
44:27
And so it, it brings me back to center.
44:29
And then once I'm able to do that, then I always I talked to
44:33
Jesus a lot around the smoker. I started something a while back
44:37
called Bible Q and getting some brothers together or females,
44:41
ladies as well, couples, whatever.
44:44
And we just fire up a pit and talk around the smoker.
44:47
And I used to tell me it was my sanctuary, which is a place that
44:50
I love to just come back to zero and enjoy it and think about all
44:59
the things you know. Definitely tranquil and forget
45:02
about all your problems and just relax and enjoy what you do.
45:09
All right, That's all the questions I have.
45:11
I have a game that I play at the end.
45:13
It's called team meet tournament bracket where I match different
45:18
meats that you cook on the grill and I put them in a tournament
45:20
bracket and you just pick which one you choose to eat.
45:24
Matchup #1 Is hot dog versus smoked Bologna A.
45:29
Hot dog. OK, next matchup, smoked ham
45:33
versus hamburger. Oh.
45:36
No, my uncle ruined me with that because a good ham steak is so
45:42
good. I'm gonna go burger.
45:45
I'm gonna go burger. Yeah, all.
45:46
Right, next matchup, Beef ribs versus lamb.
45:52
Beef ribs. OK.
45:55
Next matchup is smoked Turkey versus steak.
46:00
So the former me would say steak, the new me would say
46:04
Turkey. All right, next matchup is
46:09
brisket versus pork ribs. No pork ribs, yeah.
46:17
Next match up, smoked chicken versus burnt ends.
46:21
Oh man, you're brutal. Burnt ends.
46:26
OK, next match up, pork chop versus BBQ shrimp.
46:31
Pork chop. OK.
46:33
Next match up is sausage versus pork belly.
46:38
Sausage. OK.
46:40
Next round is hot dog versus burger.
46:44
Burger, OK. Next match up is beef rib versus
46:49
Turkey. Beef ribs.
46:53
OK, next match up, pork ribs versus burnt ends.
46:58
Pork ribs. OK.
47:01
Next match up is pork chop versus sausage.
47:05
Can it be any flavor sausage? Yeah, you can be any flavor.
47:08
I've got a couple. I've got Bill Dumas, Bill Dumas,
47:11
the sausage sensei, and oh shoot, oh, oh, his name is
47:16
escaping me. I'm so sorry, buddy.
47:18
They are the sausage kings in my opinion.
47:20
And grubs, James Grubs, they're the sausage kings.
47:25
And they can take any food group and make it into a meal, into a
47:28
sausage. So I'm going to go with sausage.
47:32
All right, Final four, you got hamburger versus beef ribs.
47:37
Burger. Oh, wow.
47:41
And you got pork Rios versus sausage.
47:46
OK. And finally, you got hamburger
47:49
versus pork ribs? Pork ribs.
47:54
I have, I have so many memories with pork ribs.
47:56
I grew up, my mom used to boil them.
47:58
OK, I know. But there was, there's a place
48:03
for that. There's a lot of ancient, I
48:06
guess you'd call them ancient methods of quote UN quote,
48:10
braising the ribs before they hit a grill or whatever.
48:12
And they're flavorful. There's ways to get flavor in
48:14
there, but I remember my dad and they had some, my parents had
48:18
some family over, excuse me, friends over and my dad was
48:22
grilling. My dad wasn't really always on
48:25
the grill cooking, but he was on the grill with his buddy and
48:28
they were having a good time. And I remember the flames being
48:30
so high that it almost got the house on fire and they were
48:36
charred, but man, they were still good.
48:37
I don't I remember sitting around.
48:40
We used to take ribs camping and sitting around a campfire just
48:45
gnawing on that bone and non on that bone and they weren't
48:48
falling off but it wasn't fall off the bone ribs, it didn't
48:50
matter. It just, I just, I don't know.
48:53
I have so many memories of the ribs.
48:56
It's good the pork ribs is your winter and therapy session is
49:01
over? Do you have anybody to promote
49:03
or shout out or give them your information in case they're
49:06
looking for a house? Sure.
49:08
All throughout my BBQ journey, I've got a number of companies
49:12
that are sponsors, but they're also just companies I really
49:16
believe in. It's not always about the
49:17
product, it's about the people behind the product.
49:19
Royal Oak Charcoal and the entire family of Royal Oak
49:22
Charcoal is huge. There's a lot about them.
49:24
I could say Yoder smokers change the game on pellets, man.
49:29
I know there's a lot of people that poo pellets.
49:31
They are not. The pellet cookers are not the
49:35
Easy Bake Oven, OK, and there's a whole lot I could talk about
49:39
that too, but I won't Who's your daddy BBQ sauce?
49:43
That stuff is incredible. All of their products are
49:46
fantastic. I have won a lot of awards.
49:48
Willingham's BBQ all the way back to John Willingham.
49:52
There's a lot of history behind that and the fact that I've been
49:55
able to team up with them on a friendship level and as an on
49:58
team level and cook with them at Memphis in May is a huge deal
50:01
for me. There's a company called Mojo
50:03
Bricks. They got me started when I was
50:05
doing like Gravity Feed programs and stuff.
50:09
Fred Gross, he hustles it, man. He's doing good stuff.
50:12
The JDQ BBQ. Joshua DeWitt, fantastic.
50:17
Heath Ryles, I use all his product.
50:18
I'm not sponsored by Heath, but I love his products.
50:21
They got me across the finish line when it came to 2017.
50:25
We had five grand championships that year and I'm going to go
50:28
ahead and say that a lot of it had to do with two things.
50:30
Three one got 2 Yoder smokers with the YS 1500 and Heath Riles
50:36
injections. I mean they were back then he
50:38
was with a different brand, but if they were his formulas and
50:41
fantastic. Let's see who else am I missing?
50:43
Oh spring them out with Farms chicken.
50:46
They are the game changer period.
50:48
They will take a backyard, a first Comer in the kitchen and a
50:54
master all around the world at the BBQ pit.
50:57
It'll take your chicken game to a completely the other level and
51:00
they are incredible. Trying to think if there's
51:04
anybody else. I apologize if I'm missing
51:06
anybody, but they I have a lot of supporters that don't even
51:11
want me to mention them. They know who they are.
51:13
I'm blessed to have them and I appreciate them all the time.
51:16
The encouragement of my followers, Chef Phillip Dell and
51:20
the BBQ Asylum are my Instagram, Facebook, I have Chef Phillip
51:24
Dell, YouTube is Chef Philip Dell presents and we're trying
51:28
to work on getting some some more video content.
51:31
People are loving my videos and they're trying to get me to do
51:33
some more of that and I, and I'll be honest, I love that.
51:36
So I would love to do some more of that.
51:38
From a real estate perspective, I started with Exit Realty and
51:43
my broker is phenomenal. Shelley Gregory has really
51:47
opened my eye as to why this industry and helping other
51:50
people, what it means to be a better person and putting other
51:54
people first because it's not about you.
51:56
It's about building those relationships.
51:59
And I want people to know that we actually, we as Realtors
52:03
really do want the best interest for you.
52:06
And we take it to heart. I can't legally sell you a home,
52:10
but I can get you through that process.
52:13
This isn't car sales. I can't say, hey, this is the
52:16
house for you. You have to choose that yourself
52:19
because it's your house. But we can make sure that you
52:23
have a smile on me at the end of the day, and I'll try to get you
52:26
through that program. Exit Realty Refined in Gallatin,
52:29
TN is, in my bias opinion, the best brokerage.
52:34
I knew I was going to join them as soon as I walked in the door
52:38
and I interviewed with quite a few of them before I decided and
52:42
Exit Realty was the one I wanted.
52:44
We wish you good luck into that. And oh sorry, one more can't
52:49
forget. I can't believe I didn't do this
52:50
first. But I have to thank my wife.
52:52
Yes, she she puts up a lot of my crap and she really does.
52:59
She is a gift from God from the very beginning.
53:01
That's excellent. I want to thank my wife too.
53:03
She she holds it down while I do these ain't nothing like having
53:06
a partner that supports you and push you forth in which you want
53:10
to do so. I definitely thank my wife and
53:14
thank your wife for allowing you to be here.
53:17
So I definitely appreciate you coming on and sharing some of
53:21
your time and giving your story like that.
53:23
So definitely, I know it will help people out there.
53:26
And like I said, I wish you all the success in the world and you
53:31
definitely can't wait to meet you again and stuff like that.
53:33
But until then, we'll see you next episode.
53:37
Everybody, you have a good day. We just wrapped up another
53:46
session of BBQ therapy. Remember, stay patient, stay
53:49
passionate and keep that fire burning.
53:52
Hit subscribe, share the good smoke and pay the secretary on
53:56
your way out. Have a blessed day.