The Barbecue Hall of Fame Class of 2019 was revealed on The BBQ Central Show, a live podcast that has become a cherished part of the BBQ industry.
The American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame 2019 Inductees are:
- C.B. Stubblefield, Stubb’s Bar-B-Q, Lubbock and Austin, TX. Pitmaster, business owner, restaurateur. Deceased.
- Wayne Monk, Lexington Barbecue, Lexington, North Carolina. Pitmaster, restaurateur. Living.
- John Bishop, Dreamland BBQ, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Pitmaster, restaurateur, media. Deceased.
The huge news was announced by the American Royal Association on a special Wednesday afternoon edition of The BBQ Central Show, the longest-running, and by many accounts, best BBQ podcast online.
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The American Royal gave the exclusive news to The BBQ Central Show because Greg Rempe devotes his time week after week to “spreading the good BBQ word,” said Emily Park, manager of the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame, on The BBQ Central Show live.
When there’s BBQ news, you hear it first on The BBQ Central Show.
Barbecue Hall of Fame Details
Since 2012, the American Royal Association has overseen the Barbecue Hall of Fame — voting in three new members to the Hall of Fame each year. Nominations can be made for anyone who has had an important impact on the live-fire cooking industry, whether a pitmaster, business owner or media personality like Greg Rempe.
Out of around 80 nominations, there were 50 unique names nominated, Emily Park told Greg Rempe live on The BBQ Central Show. It takes hours of discussion for the nominating committee to whittle down the list of nominees to nine semi-finalists, of which three were chosen in 2019.
“We go through rounds, we get the list from 50 down to 40, 40 down to 30. It’s a little painstaking because it’s hard to say this person has impacted more than this (other) person,” the Barbecue Hall of Fame representative said. “There’s a handful of people who get nominated every year,” she added.
Greg Rempe is one of those, as his fans have been known to message the American Royal Association to tell them that the audio show host is just as important a figure in the industry as a chef or restaurant owner. What matters is making an impact, and Greg Rempe does just that. The exclusive announcement made by the Barbecue Hall of Fame on The BBQ Central Show is proof.
Behind the Smoke: The BBQ Central Show
Not only did Greg Rempe, host of The BBQ Central Show, break the exclusive American Royal news, he also had two of the Barbecue Hall of Fame Finalists on standby to potentially go on the air just in case they were chosen. After years covering the ins-and-outs of the BBQ and grilling scene, Greg Rempe has earned the respect of other legends in the industry.
So when Greg Rempe asked Meathead Goldwyn and Aaron Franklin if they’d take his call, the answer was, “for you, I would.” Neither Aaron Franklin or Meathead were picked to be in the BBQ Hall of Fame for 2019, but you can bet you’ll see their names pop up as nominees in future years.
There’s a vitalness of The BBQ Central Show, which has been a constant source of entertainment and news since the mid-2000s. When you get an invite from Greg Rempe, it’s best to take him up on the offer. His audience is as devoted as any you’ll find and they’ve stood alongside Greg Rempe for more than a decade as he explores the BBQ industry. You get a “Rempe Bump” in your audience when you appear on The BBQ Central Show.
The impact of the audio medium, such as with podcasting, on helping a brand connect with an audience is well-established. As you’ve heard on Behind the Smoke: BBQ War Stories, the power of digital media, especially audio like podcasting, comes from how strongly your audience connects with the material in that format. It’s the same with social media. The more time you spend actually engaging with your audience the more they will keep coming back.
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Along with the live announcement made on The BBQ Central Show’s website, Facebook and YouTube pages, social media was a flurry the day of the announcement with word of the Hall of Fame news. Many accounts, both large and small, shared posts about The BBQ Central Show’s exclusive news on Instagram and Twitter, using dynamic marketing materials designed by Behind the Smoke Media. Behind the Smoke and The BBQ Central Show are part of a big BBQ podcast family, who have banded together in support of each other and the Podcast Movement.
Greg Rempe is so entrenched in the BBQ and grilling life that he’s even been nominated for the BBQ Hall of Fame, though he has yet to make the shortlist of nominees that are announced publicly. Like Aaron Franklin and Meathead (he goes by just “Meathead” now) Greg Rempe’s time will come too if enough people vote for him online.
You can help make that happen by nominating Greg Rempe for the Barbecue Hall of Fame. It’s pretty easy to do and will have a big impact. Especially if you share it on social media and tag #bbqcentralshowHOF.
Barbecue Legends
One of the 2019 entrants into the Barbecue Hall of Fame is still living: Wayne “Honey” Monk. The other two are deceased: John “Big Daddy” Bishop and C.B. Stubblefield. The stories of the Barbecue Hall of Fame members might be diverse but they share a common theme of passion and dedication for the craft of barbecue.
Here’s a closer look with details from the American Royal Association.
Wayne Monk
While Wayne Monk certainly qualifies as a business owner, it’s his role as a pitmaster of the Lexington style that makes him critically important to the history of barbecue.
Since opening in 1962 when he was only 26, Wayne Monk has set the standard that practically defines North Carolina barbecue; Lexington is recognized as a specific style, and the best example of that style is Monk’s restaurant.
The restaurant, and Mr. Monk, have received endless accolades from every publication that writes about Southern barbecue: Southern Living, USA Today, Garden & Gun, Our State magazine, The Charlotte Observer, even Craig Claiborne in the New York Times. In 1983, Monk even catered a barbecue dinner for seven heads of state, including President Ronald Reagan, at a G7 Summit in Williamsburg, Va.
Wayne Monk is a part of the barbecue family tree: He worked for Warner Stamey himself, considered the godfather of Lexington-style barbecue. He defines the very role of North Carolina pitmaster.
John “Big Daddy” Bishop
John “Big Daddy” Bishop was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on October 15th, 1921. He spent much of his professional life working as a brick mason, but over time felt compelled to open his own neighborhood business. He initially settled on the idea of starting a mortuary, but all that changed with a dream. It was in that dream that God told Mr. Bishop to open a restaurant on the land in front of his home and to call it Dreamland. Mr. Bishop obliged and in 1958, he and his wife – Miss Lillie – opened Dreamland in the Tuscaloosa neighborhood of Jerusalem Heights.
Miss Lillie — a fantastic cook — initially served everything from fried fish to cheeseburgers. However, it was their hickory-smoked ribs that quickly went from a local favorite to a national sensation. To keep up with demand, the Bishops soon whittled down their menu and began serving only ribs, white bread, and potato chips. The rest, as they say, is history.
Since Mr. Bishop’s passing in 1997, Dreamland has expanded to ten locations, is often ranked as one of the country’s top BBQ spots and is on the bucket lists of BBQ enthusiasts the world over. Despite its growth, Dreamland still stays close to its roots, using the same techniques and recipes John Bishop and Miss Lillie perfected six decades ago. His photo still hangs in every restaurant, employees still proudly share his story, and the community he began serving back in 1958 still reveres his name.
C.B. Stubblefield
C.B. Stubblefield is the creator and founder of Stubb’s Legendary Bar-B-Q Sauce as well as the famous restaurant “Stubb’s” originally opened in Lubbock, Texas and now situated in Austin. He was a pitmaster, a business leader, and a chef of everything barbecue.
C.B. Stubblefield, known as “Stubb” got his first chance to cook for the masses as a mess sergeant in the last all-black regiment of the Korean War in the U.S. Army, transforming his mess hall into the first incarnation of Stubb’s Bar-B-Q restaurant. After his tours of duty in Korea, Stubb moved to Lubbock, Texas where, in 1968, he christened Stubb’s Legendary Bar- B-Q. It was here where he was urged by friends and patrons to sell his signature sauce. So using old whiskey bottles and jam jars, Stubb began hand-bottling his sauce for sale, corking each makeshift container with a jalapeño.
Today, Stubb’s heritage lives on in his renowned sauces, marinades and rubs, continuing to make people feel good all over the world.
About the American Royal Association
The American Royal World Series of Barbecue will return to the Kansas Speedway, September 12 – 15, 2019. The event brings together world-renowned pitmasters and barbecue enthusiasts from across the country and around the world to compete for the title of Grand Champion in both the Open and Invitational contests. For more information about this year’s event, visit www.AmericanRoyal.com/bbq.
Woven through the history of Kansas City since 1899, the American Royal provides opportunities for youth and adults from around the country to compete in our Livestock Show, ProRodeo, Horse Shows, and the World Series of Barbecue. These events allow the American Royal, a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization, to give over $1 million annually for youth scholarships and support agriculture education
programs. In 2018, over 101,000 attendees attended American Royal events generating over $60 million of economic impact.
To learn more about the American Royal visit AmericanRoyal.com.
