Columbus B. Hill was a pivotal figure in Colorado’s culinary history. He was a Black man originally from Missouri – and he was possibly the most popular barbecue chef in Denver in the late 1800s. His food was so good that it was served to thousands of people at official functions at the state Capitol.  

But even among hardcore barbecue fans, very few people know his name. And his legacy wasn’t always well cared for. In 1923, Hill was buried in Denver’s Riverside Cemetery without a headstone.  

Denver author and barbecue historian Adrian Miller has been on a mission to change that.

He devoted an entire chapter to Columbus B. Hill in his book Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue. He championed Hill’s induction into the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2023. And last September, he honored Hill with a memorial dedication at his burial site. 

Adrian Miller joined ITN’s Erin O’Toole a few days before that ceremony to share the story of the “best barbecue man in the West.”  

We’re revisiting that conversation as part of In The NoCo’s new Holiday Book Club, which will continue each week this month.

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Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.