News

With TLC's new season of BBQ Pitmasters just a few weeks away, John Markus, TLC's pitmaster head-honcho, let it slip that there would be a new host in the second series.

Kevin Roberts. who is also known as the "Food Dude", has also been on over 100 national tv shows including  The Today Show, CBS’ Early Show & being a regular on Better T.

The celebrity chef was also a Top Ten Finalist on The Next Food Network Star, and on top of that, he is also the owner and Executive Chef at San Diego’s award-winning East Village Tavern & Bowl, which one of the city’s hottest new downtown urban sports bar.

Kevin was brought up by a single-mother who worked in restaurants in LA, and became involved in the restaurant business in his younger years. With plenty of trial & error and with the help of his mother and grandmother, Kevin taught himself to cook at the age of 8 as an act of “self-preservation.”

To quote Roberts, “It was either cook or starve…”

TLC BBQ Pitmasters new host - Kevin Roberts

His acclaimed cookbook, Munchies, is targeted towards the starving struggling to find quick, simple and tasty alternatives to the campus dining halls and fast foods. With recipes like west coast wings, tater tot hash and cinnamon roasted grapefruit, Roberts’ book expresses the sentiment that there is more to cooking than complex recipes and expensive ingredients.

With Kevin's undeniable knowledge of the restaurant business, as well as being a popular national TV chef, his expertize will come in useful as he hosts the second season of TLC's BBQ pitmasters which will be airing during August.

TLC have just announced the pitmaster judges who will be overseeing the second series of BBQ pitmasters which will air in August 2010.

Following on from the success in the first series, season 2's format will change considerably according to TLC's John Markus, who is busy spreading the word about the new show which brings with it a whole new selection of competitors.

Season 2 will also feature three judges, one of whom is a face that everyone will remember from season 1, none other than the Georgia raised and self-proclaimed BBQ king himself, Myron Mixon, of Jack's Old South.

Accompanying Myron on the judges panel are two distinguished personalities who are genuinely chalk-and-cheese to one another in terms of their background; Art Smith (celebrity chef), and Warren Sapp, a defensive tackler in the NFL who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders, and has since shed his shoulder-pads in favor of a BBQ apron!

TLC BBQ Pitmasters Season 2 BBQ Pitmaster Judges

Myron Mixon

Jack’s Old South and BBQ Pitmaster from Season #1

Warren Sapp

Superbowl Champ & BBQ Enthusiast

Art Smith

Celebrity chef and award winning author of Back to the Table and Kitchen Life

TLC BBQ Pitmasters is back for a second series - Here is your chance to catch up!

For those of you who haven't seen season 1, you can catch up with the competitors in season 1 of TLC's BBQ Pitmasters, and see how exciting and hotly contested the competition was.

News of the competiting teams in BBQ Pitmasters 2 will be released soon.

There is always something new to learn when it comes to Q, and sometimes going back to the beginning and starting over with some things we do is an important part of the learning process.

In these two video clips, FastEddie reveals two important aspects of organization; how to get your workstation organized, and how to prepare for a BBQ competition - complete with checklists and tips to make your life easier.

FastEddies Competition BBQ Tips Part 1

This video will show you how to go about creating your own BBQ Work Station.

FastEddies Competition BBQ Tips Part 2

In this clip, Richard shows you how to get yourself organized for a BBQ competition.

Myron Mixon made an appearance on the Late Late show with Craig Ferguson, with hilarious results.

"Chuck and silk the corn?", Ferguson exclaimed, as Myron prepared some good old fashioned seasoned corn, with parmesan.

Jokes and hilarity abound through the show, Myron's sense of humor coupled with Ferguson's wry comments made for an entertaining show that showed off some great looking food.

Fans of TLC's BBQ pitmasters will also be pleased to hear that season 2 of the series will be heading onto the screen mid August.

Myron Mixon on the Late Late show with Craig Ferguson Part 1

Myron Mixon on the Late Late show with Craig Ferguson Part 2

TLC BBQ Pitmasters Season 2

Myron Mixon was one of the judges in season 1 of TLC's BBQ pitmasters, and may possibly make a showing in season 2 which will make for even more entertaining viewing if he does.

TLC will be releasing the names of the teams who will be participating in season 2 shortly.

With the BBQ season starting in earnest, just a few short months away, we have put together a list of the most humorous and popular BBQ gadgets for 2010. Remember that while some these fine additions to your inventory of BBQ utensils will not neccessarily improve the quality of your food, you will have a great time at the grill.

Let's begin the countdown of 2010's top BBQ gadgets, starting with ..

Firewire BBQ Skewers

If you like nothing better than barbequed kebab in the sunshine then the Fire Wire BBQ Skewers are just the tools for you. These ingenious skewers make grilling meat easier than ever on even the smallest barbeque. Because they're cables (and particularlybendy) you can drape them over the grill any way you want, saving plenty of room for bigger things like steak and sausages.

For the truly technically talented, these Firewire skewers are NOT compatible with any currently available PC form factor.

The Firewire skewers won't burn endlessly like wooden skewers, and to boot, they are durable, fun to use, and will last a great deal longer than their wooden counterparts.

So grab yourself some BBQ Firewire Skewers and cook yourself some great tasting kebabs in the best way possible.

Check out the impressive video clip of them in use below.

The Condiment BBQ Gun

Dirty Harry once said, "Do you feel lucky, punk?".

Well your hot dog rolls and burgers certainly will once they have been given a large calibre shot from the BBQ Condiment Gun.

Equip the gun with either the red or yellow bullets (containers for your favorite BBQ sauce), and take careful aim at your tasty target, and slowly squeeze the trigger.

Your rolls and meats will be gunned down with a relentless stream of sauce, much to the delight of your guests.

The best news is that you don't need a license to carry one, though some people may question it if you decide to carry it outdoors loaded with Tony Roma's. The choice is yours. Grab your sauce-shootin' BBQ condiment gun fast padré.

"Do You Smell Something Burning?" BBQ Apron

Every BBQ chef needs a little help from others from time to time, and this time around you can save yourself the trouble of having to ask people whether the beef brisket has turned into an ice-cube sized chunk of carbon.

Strong contrasting colors set off this BBQ masterpiece it is emblazoned with the undeniably helpful instruction "Do You Smell Something Burning?".

Now you can take your mind off of that worry, and get on with the serious stuff.

Time to get your BBQ apron on, and get cooking!

The BBQ Sword

It is often quoted that the pen is mightier than the sword. It doesn't apply in this case, infact, the question actually should be, "Is The Sausage mightier than the Sword?"

Every meat musketeer needs one of these finely balanced swords, each one of which has been lovingly made to complement every grill chefs arsenal of BBQ utensils.

This perfect pork prodder will aid you in ways that you haven't yet imagined, and guests will watch in awe as you slice through the air with the grace of Dartagnan.

So firmly grip your BBQ sword, your sausages and your sauce, and make each BBQ an adventure to remember (or forget!).

Remote Control Beverage Buggy

When walking to your guests is simply a journey too far, let the beverages make their own way by your own command.

By using the radio controller, you can effortlessly guide your desired drinks to their destination with a minimum of fuss and spillage.

With gas prices on the rise, your mind can be put at rest by knowing that the running costs of this vehicle is remarkably inexpensive, requiring the use of a few small batteries.

This is surely a very small price to pay for driving your beer (and guests perhaps), to geographic distraction.

As with the BBQ Condiment gun, the remote control beverage buggy requires no license, though it may require some modification if you intend to drive it on the road.

Strap yourself in and take your remote control beverage buggy for a test drive.

Following the huge success of BBQ Pitmasters season 1, where the show averaged out around 900,000 viewers, with male viewing figures doubling at the seasons end, TLC have even grander plans for the series second outing which was announced two days ago.

As viewers will already know, the format of season 1 was docu-reality style, with each episode following the trials and tribulations of the 7 competitors. Series 2 will be significantly different as it the show willl transform into a competition-based format that will feature several new competitors, who are currently being selected to appear in the show.

There will be a weekly competition held at various venues throughout the country, where the culinary wizards will be entering their Q into hotly-contested cooking categories with the weekly winners facing off against each other in the second season's finale.

According to TLC's officials, it may also feature some of the first season's original competitors, such as Tuffy Stone and Jamie Geer, who would no doubt add their own distinctive style to the show, during the events that lie ahead for the competitors who are currently being selected for the series.

If you would like to be considered for entry into TLC's BBQ Pitmasters series 2, teams can send through their audition tapes/DVDs which must be under 5 minutes long. This is your opportunity to sell TLC on your team, and those who are selected will be included in the new TV series.

Teams may also send in their audition file or ask questions by directing communications to bbqpitmasters AT originalmedia.com or via mail to Lindsay Freed c/o Original Media, 38 E. 29th St. 8th FL. NY, NY 10016.

TLC's BBQ Pitmasters Season 2's shoot schedule runs from April 30 - June 27, and will be aired later in the year.

If you have seen the recently aired, TLC BBQ Pitmasters, you probably know him as the “rookie” that looks more like a rock star than a barbecue cook.

If you saw the first episode, you may know Paul Petersen as the unfortunate guy that broke down on his way to the first competition and then fell asleep in the middle of the night while his BBQ pit went cold.

Perhaps you know him as the star who Johnny Trigg took under his wing in an effort to end the lacklustre results that he had acquired in the BBQ pitmasters competition.

One thing that you might not be aware of  is the fact that Chef Paul Petersen is a classically trained chef from the Culinary Institute of America in NY.

His credentials don't end there, Paul was also a drummer in a rock band back but these days he is more at home in the kitchens and on the competetive BBQ circuit.

Paul is an outstanding chef, and he has graciously made available his very own smoky BBQ rib recipe that you can find over on TLC's site.