Rodney Scott (pitmaster)

Rodney Scott (born 1971) is an American chef and whole-hog barbecue pitmaster from Hemingway, South Carolina. In 2018 Scott was named Best Chef: Southeast by the James Beard Foundation, only the second pitmaster to win a James Beard chef award.

Rodney Scott in Charleston, SC

Early life

Scott was born in 1971 in Philadelphia to Roosevelt and Ella Scott.[1][2] He is an only child.[1] In 1972 the family relocated to the Pee Dee area of South Carolina, where the family ran several businesses including a gas station, a variety store, a farm, and a barbecue restaurant.[1][3] At around eleven, Scott first started barbecuing at his parents' business, Scott's Variety Store + Bar-B-Q in Hemingway, South Carolina, where at first the family would smoke a whole hog each week, expanding as demand increased until they were smoking seven or eight hogs a day.[1][4] At 17 he was working for the family business full time.[5][3]

Career

In 2009 the family business was profiled by Southern food historian John T. Edge.[1][5][6] In 2011, Scott took over the family barbecuing business.[1] A sometime customer, Nick Pihakis, told him he was undercharging for his food.[5] In 2016 he and his father quarreled and he left the family business to partner with Pihakis.[3][5]

Scott opened Rodney Scott's BBQ in Charleston in 2017 and in Birmingham in 2019.[1][4] As of March, 2021, a third location was set to open in Atlanta.[3] A fourth location opened in December 2021 in Alabama.

Recognition

In 2018 Scott was named Best Chef:Southeast by the James Beard Foundation, only the second pitmaster to win a James Beard chef award.[7][8] He was featured on Chef's Table in 2020.[4][7] The Washington Post called him a barbecue celebrity.[1] In 2020 he was nominated to the Barbecue Hall of Fame.[9] Texas Monthly called him "a whole hog legend".[10] Daniel Vaughn of Texas Monthly wrote that Scott was "an undeniable master of the pit".[11]

Books
  • Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ: Recipes and Perspectives from the Legendary Pitmaster[1][12]

References
  1. Carman, Tim (16 July 2018). "How a small-town pitmaster turned a dying cuisine into the stuff of celebrity". Washington Post.
  2. Karmel, Elizabeth. "How To Flip A Pig: Stories And Recipes From Legendary Pitmaster Rodney Scott". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  3. "How Rodney Scott Learned To Cook – And Went For It, Whole Hog". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  4. Itson, Patience (2020-08-31). "Catch Rodney Scott in Netflix series Chef's Table on September 2". Bham Now. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  5. Carlton, Bob (2020-07-03). "The story of Rodney and Nick, brothers in barbecue". al. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  6. Raskin, Hanna (19 April 2017). "Review: Rodney Scott's BBQ in downtown Charleston lets the good times, good food roll". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  7. Gordinier, Jeff (2020-11-10). "Woodsmoke and the Woosah: Barbecue Pitmaster Rodney Scott's Lessons on Patience and Adversity". Esquire. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  8. Kaler, Tracy. "20 Minutes With: Chef and Pitmaster Rodney Scott". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  9. "Chef Rodney Scott named BBQ Hall of Fame semifinalist". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  10. Vaughn, Daniel (2017-06-19). "Rodney Scott Ain't Scared". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  11. Vaughn, Daniel (June 19, 2017). "Rodney Scott Ain't Scared". Texas Monthly.
  12. Scott, Rodney; Elie, Lolis Eric (2021-03-16). Rodney Scott's World of BBQ: Every Day Is a Good Day. Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-9848-2693-0.
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