My passion for food started when…

I was a little boy watching my grandfather BBQ in the backyard. I was always very attentive and always asked a ton of questions, maybe too many sometimes. But he would always have a smile on his face and a vodka martini in hand and show me how it was done. It continued throughout my teens and early 20s, working at a small bar and grill in St Louis MO, called Cousin Hugo’s where I redefined my career path and decided to become a chef. With great mentors like my grandfather Buddy Hartrich, Tommy Bahn — owner of Cousin Hugo’s, and Chef Mike Winkler, I was on my way to working for some of the top companies in the world such as the Hilton, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Disney Cruise Lines, Wolfgang Puck Catering, and Ritz-Carlton hotels. Now I have taken all that experience here to Jamaica and opened Bigg’s BBQ Restaurant & Bar, living out my wildest dreams as a restaurant owner.

I have been in the business for…

19 years. I started as a busboy, worked as a dish washer, prep cook, sauté cook, lead line, assistant sous-chef, sous-chef, executive sous-chef, executive chef and corporate chef. So if there is a job in a restaurant, I have done it for sure.

My larder must-haves are…

anything and everything I can get my hands on. I love to cook and create, so give me a basket and watch me work. I remember when I first arrived in Jamaica I was given ‘Tinkin Toe’ and custard apple — they were a challenge to work with but lots of fun.

What keeps me passionate about food is…

Passion for anything in my mind is LOVE, and I LOVE what I do… my stepfather Bill once told me if you love what you do in life you will never work a day in your life, I tend to agree… I never feel that I am at work when I am at Bigg’s!

Jamaica is a great food destination because…

the spice palate is amazing here. Jerk is so unique and original it sets the Caribbean and Jamaica apart. So when we came up with the idea of Bigg’s BBQ we did it around jerk, where we do amazing jerk chicken, pork and lobster, then combined them with my specialty of BBQ and added St Louis, Kansas City, Memphis and Texas styles to create a new and exciting restaurant for the Hip Strip.

We could be even greater if…

people realise that Jamaica is safe, fun, exciting, beautiful, and adventurous. Get out of the resorts and enjoy the REAL Jamaica, the REAL Jamaican people and everything Jamaican … Out of Many, One People!