Christopher Prieto is a champion pitmaster and the self-proclaimed #BBQNerd. He is the headliner for the second annual Pinehurst Barbecue Festival, Sept. 2-4, 2022 in the Village of Pinehurst in North Carolina. Prieto is of Puerto Rican descent and was raised in Texas, a state synonymous with great barbecue. In recent years, Prieto and his family moved to the Raleigh suburb of Knightdale where he owns and operates the enormously popular Prime BBQ restaurant.

The Paradise in the Pines podcast recently made the journey to visit Prieto at his BBQ heaven to talk about his craft, his passion and ministry for all things barbecue, life as a Food Network star with his recurring appearances on the popular show “BBQ Brawl” and his role, along with six other pitmasters at the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival.

We can attest, we ate like kings after the show recording as all meats, sides and even the killer bread pudding was unmatched and we cannot wait to go back!