BBQ Therapy

 JANICE SMELLA: WHAT IS A CHAMPION STILL CHASING? | SMELLAQUE — Part 2

VIDEO + AUDIO EPISODE — RECORDED AT THE AMERICAN ROYAL 2026

Sometimes one conversation isn't enough.

Janice Smella of SmellaQue returns to BBQ Therapy for Interview 2 of our conversation, recorded at the American Royal in Kansas City.

This time, we're not going back through the résumé.

We're talking about where Janice is right now.

After more than a decade of competition barbecue, multiple Canadian BBQ Team of the Year championships, major American competitions, and years of experience behind the smoker, what does a veteran championship cook see differently today?

What has experience changed?

What has gotten easier?

What has actually gotten harder?

And perhaps the biggest question:

What is a champion still chasing after they've already accomplished so much?

In this conversation, Janice takes us inside the mind of an experienced competition cook.

This conversation gets past the trophies.

Because once you've reached the highest levels of competition, improvement isn't always about making dramatic changes.

Sometimes it's about finding one more percent.

One better decision.

One better bite.

One better cook.

And sometimes it's about knowing when to leave something alone.

Janice also shares a message for the person standing at their first competition, looking at teams like SmellaQue and wondering if they'll ever be good enough.

This is a conversation about experience, evolution, pressure, perspective, and the hunger to keep getting better.

Recorded from the American Royal.

Janice Smella. SmellaQue. Interview 2.

This is BBQ Therapy.

🔥 LISTEN. LEARN. GET INSPIRED.

Subscribe to BBQ Therapy for more conversations with the people behind the smoke.

🌐 BBQ Therapy Podcast: www.bbqtherapypodcast.com

#BBQTherapy #JaniceSmella #SmellaQue #AmericanRoyal #AmericanRoyal2026 #CompetitionBBQ #CanadianBBQ #BBQ #Barbecue #Pitmaster #BBQPodcast

🔥 JANICE SMELLA OF SMELLAQUE — THE MINDSET OF A CHAMPION | Interview 1

This episode has some Video issues midway through due to internet connection issues during the recording.

On this episode of BBQ Therapy, Tavis Bryant sits down with Janice Smella of SmellaQue, one of the most accomplished teams in Canadian competition barbecue.

SmellaQue has been competing since 2014 and has been named Canadian BBQ Team of the Year five times. But behind those championships is a story about discipline, family, obsession with the details, international competition, and the constant pursuit of getting better.

In Part 2, Janice takes us inside the journey that built SmellaQue.

We talk about:

🔥 Where Janice's passion for cooking began
🔥 When cooking became competition
🔥 Finding the identity of SmellaQue
🔥 What it means to be the "obsessive-compulsive" cook
🔥 Competing alongside family
🔥 How SmellaQue evolved over more than a decade
🔥 Staying hungry after winning championships
🔥 Becoming Canadian BBQ Team of the Year for the fifth time
🔥 Taking SmellaQue from Canada into major American competitions
🔥 The American Royal
🔥 Jack Daniel's World Championship
🔥 Houston's World Championship Bar-B-Que Contest
🔥 What Janice learned from Texas barbecue
🔥 Canadian BBQ vs. American BBQ
🔥 The mindset required to compete at the highest level

This isn't just a conversation about trophies.

It's about what happens after you've already proven you can win.

How do you stay hungry?

How do you continue evolving?

And what does it take to balance competition barbecue with a career, a family, and everything else life demands?

This is Interview 1 of the conversation with Janice Smella.

This is BBQ Therapy.

🔥 LISTEN. LEARN. GET INSPIRED.

Subscribe to BBQ Therapy for more conversations with the people behind the smoke.

🌐 BBQ Therapy Podcast: www.bbqtherapypodcast.com

#BBQTherapy #JaniceSmella #SmellaQue #CompetitionBBQ #CanadianBBQ #BBQ #Barbecue #Pitmaster #BBQPodcast

What does it take to build championship barbecue—and keep getting better after you’ve already reached the top?

On this episode of BBQ Therapy, Tavis Bryant sits down with Brandon and Toya Norman of Memphis Original BBQfor a conversation about competition barbecue, marriage, military service, business, championship sauce, catering, and the mindset behind consistent performance.

Brandon spent 23 years in the United States Navy, eventually becoming a Chief Petty Officer. But his journey after the military led him deep into the world of competition barbecue alongside Toya.

Together, Brandon and Toya have built Memphis Original BBQ into a respected competition team and BBQ business.

Their résumé includes winning the 2017 Memphis in May World Championship Sauce Competition and finishing 3rd Overall in the 2025 KCBS Master Series Rib Team standings.

But this conversation goes well beyond the trophies.

Brandon and Toya talk about how barbecue became more than a hobby, how they built Memphis Original BBQ together, and what it's like being husband and wife, teammates, and business partners.

We also go deep into their approach to competition ribs.

What do they look for before the cook begins? How do they know when to make an adjustment? What happens mentally as turn-in approaches? And what separates a good competition rib from a great one?

Then we go back to 2017 and the sauce that earned Memphis Original BBQ a world championship.

Where did it come from? What were they trying to create? And what did winning that championship actually mean for the business?

We also get into their catering operation, the differences between cooking for judges and cooking for customers, and one philosophy that says a lot about their approach to barbecue:

“If you own the pit, you’re the pitmaster.”

That leads to a bigger conversation about equipment, technique, experience, and why the person behind the cooker ultimately matters more than the cooker itself.

This is a conversation about barbecue—but it’s also about partnership, discipline, consistency, and building something together.

For anyone interested in competition BBQ, ribs, sauce, catering, or simply understanding what happens behind a successful BBQ team, there’s a lot to take away from this conversation.

This is BBQ Therapy.

Listen. Learn. Get Inspired.

🎙️ Hosted by Tavis Bryant
🔥 BBQ Therapy Podcast
🌐 www.bbqtherapypodcast.com

#BBQTherapy #MemphisOriginalBBQ #BrandonNorman #ToyaNorman #CompetitionBBQ #KCBS #MemphisInMay #BBQPodcast #BBQBusiness #BBQRibs

The Barbecue World Cup is planning to bring 100 teams to Las Vegas with a $1 million prize on the line. That's a big vision for competition barbecue, and it has the potential to make a major impact on the BBQ world.

But there are questions that need to be asked.

In this episode, Tavis Bryant of BBQ Therapy Podcast steps behind the microphone to talk openly about the upcoming Barbecue World Cup. No guest. No interview. Just an honest conversation about the questions surrounding an event of this size.

How is the event being financed? What will the spectator experience look like? What are the competition rules and judging standards? How will teams qualify, and will competitors have a fair opportunity to participate?

Most importantly, what could this mean for the future of competition barbecue?

This isn't about hoping the event fails. Quite the opposite. I want to see it succeed. But when an event promises 100 teams and a $1 million prize, there are important questions worth discussing.

Let's talk about it.

BBQ Therapy Podcast
Listen. Learn. Get Inspired.

Visit: https://www.bbqtherapypodcast.com

What do you learn when your first competition barbecue contest ends with you near the bottom of the results?

For Aaron Huentelman, you come back and get better.

On this episode of BBQ Therapy, Tavis Bryant sits down with Aaron Huentelman, a competition pitmaster, founder of Go Big or Go BBQ, Competition Meat Director for Mister Brisket, and Great Lakes BBQ Association board member.

Aaron's barbecue journey has taken him through nearly every side of the competition BBQ world.

He started with family influences, professional restaurant experience, and a Christmas pork shoulder cooked on a charcoal grill. Then came his first KCBS competition in 2014—and a finish that could have convinced him to walk away.

Instead, he came back.

That journey eventually led to major competition finishes, a Grand Championship at the Dayton BBQ Rodeo, the creation of Go Big or Go BBQ, and his current role helping competition teams find and select the meat they rely on before they ever fire up their smokers.

In this conversation, Aaron takes us through the entire journey.

We talk about his grandparents and the story behind “Go Big,” the lessons he learned from professional kitchens, what his first competition taught him, and what changed between finishing near the bottom and eventually finding success on the competition circuit.

Then we go deep into the business side.

How do you turn a sauce or rub idea into an actual product? What does it take to launch a food brand? And what happens when you launch a new business just before the world changes?

Aaron also breaks down his work with Mister Brisket and what it means to serve as Competition Meat Director.

What makes a competition brisket different? What are teams looking for in chicken? How important is consistency? And what should cooks understand about selecting their meat before the cook ever begins?

This conversation is about more than meat.

It’s about learning from failure, building something from the ground up, understanding the details that matter, and finding new ways to contribute to the barbecue community.

From the smoker to the business side to the meat sitting on the cutting board, Aaron Huentelman has experienced competition barbecue from just about every angle.

This is BBQ Therapy.

Listen. Learn. Get Inspired.

🎙️ Hosted by Tavis Bryant
🔥 BBQ Therapy Podcast
🌐 www.bbqtherapypodcast.com

#BBQTherapy #AaronHuentelman #MisterBrisket #GoBigOrGoBBQ #BBQ #CompetitionBBQ #KCBS #BBQPodcast #BBQBusiness #BBQPitmaster

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What happens when the uniform comes off—but the mission doesn’t?

On this episode of BBQ Therapy, Tavis Bryant sits down with Ty Cobb, Matt Johnson, and Al Herro, the three veterans behind the Triple Threat Vets Podcast, for a conversation about military transition, purpose, service, resilience, and the power of listening to other people's stories.

Triple Threat Vets has built a platform around long-form conversations with veterans, active-duty service members, first responders, entrepreneurs, authors, leaders, and people from all walks of life.

With more than 150 episodes behind them, these three veterans have heard hundreds of stories about service, sacrifice, transition, success, failure, and finding purpose after the uniform.

In this conversation, we go beyond simply asking what it means to leave the military.

We talk about what happens to your identity when the structure and mission you've known for years suddenly change. We discuss the challenges of civilian life, finding purpose, building trust with guests, and what three veterans have learned by sitting across the microphone from so many different people.

We also talk about the craft of interviewing—how you get someone to open up, the difference between asking questions and actually listening, and the moments when an interview becomes something completely different than you expected.

And the conversation takes on an even deeper meaning when we discuss the Danny Dietz World Championship, the importance of competing in an event that honors a fellow service member, and what it means to carry Danny's name into the BBQ world.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE:
• Life after the military
• The challenges of transitioning to civilian life
• Finding purpose after service
• The origins of Triple Threat Vets
• Building a podcast around authentic conversations
• What more than 150 interviews have taught them
• The difference between interviewing and listening
• Building trust with difficult or guarded guests
• Lessons they've learned from veterans and first responders
• The challenges of running a podcast behind the scenes
• Their most memorable conversations
• Resilience and the common threads between people's stories
• The Danny Dietz World Championship
• Honoring a fellow service member through BBQ competition
• Service, sacrifice, purpose, and what comes next

This episode steps outside the traditional BBQ conversation, but the connection is still there.

Because whether you're standing behind a smoker, serving in the military, building a business, competing, or simply trying to figure out what's next, the same questions come up:

What is your next mission?

What have you learned from the people around you?

And what are you going to do with the next chapter?

Join us for a conversation with Ty Cobb, Matt Johnson, and Al Herro of Triple Threat Vets.

This is BBQ Therapy.

Listen. Learn. Get Inspired.

🎙️ Hosted by Tavis Bryant
🔥 BBQ Therapy Podcast
🌐 www.bbqtherapypodcast.com

#BBQTherapy #TripleThreatVets #Veterans #MilitaryVeterans #VeteranPodcast #DannyDietz #DannyDietzWorldChampionship #BBQPodcast #VeteranStories #LifeAfterService

How much do you really know about the history of American barbecue?

Most of us know the regions.

Texas.

Kansas City.

Memphis.

The Carolinas.

We know the meats, the sauces, the smokers, and the traditions.

But how many of us actually know the people and cultures that shaped the barbecue we know today?

On this episode of the BBQ Therapy Podcast, I sit down with Jim Auchmutey, award-winning journalist and author of Smokelore, for a deep conversation about the history, culture, people, and stories behind American barbecue.

Jim has spent years researching barbecue and talking with pitmasters, historians, families, and communities across the country.

And what he discovered is that barbecue history is about much more than food.

It's about America.

We begin with Jim's career as a journalist and explore what first drew him toward barbecue history. We talk about his grandfather's influence, the questions that led him into this research, and the moment he realized that he wasn't simply researching a food tradition—he was uncovering stories about people, identity, culture, and American history.

We also explore the stories that almost disappeared.

Why do we remember barbecue regions so well but often forget the people who built those traditions?

How does a journalist separate family stories and barbecue folklore from documented history?

And what happens when the story you've been told for generations doesn't quite match the historical record?

Then we get into some of barbecue's biggest debates.

Who invented barbecue?

Does barbecue actually belong to one region?

Which cultures and communities deserve more recognition?

And why is trying to identify a single person or place as the "inventor" of barbecue probably the wrong way to understand its history?

Jim also explains why barbecue has such a unique ability to bring people together.

From family reunions and church events to neighborhood gatherings and competition BBQ, barbecue has always seemed to create an environment where people sit down, talk, share stories, and connect.

We discuss why that happens—and why people may remember who they shared the barbecue with long after they forget exactly what they ate.

The conversation then moves into modern barbecue.

YouTube.

Instagram.

TikTok.

Television.

Celebrity pitmasters.

Competition BBQ.

Has technology helped preserve barbecue traditions, or has it changed the culture in ways we don't fully recognize?

Jim also shares his experience as a historical consultant for The American Barbecue Showdown and what television can—and cannot—capture about barbecue culture.

This is not simply a conversation about how barbecue is cooked.

It's a conversation about where barbecue came from, who shaped it, why those stories matter, and what we risk losing if we forget them.

Because behind every smokehouse, family recipe, competition pit, and backyard cookout is a story.

And Jim Auchmutey has spent years finding those stories.

🔥 This is BBQ Therapy.

Everything BBQ. The smoke. The stories. The people. And the history behind the pit.

Subscribe to BBQ Therapy Podcast for more conversations with the people preserving, shaping, and evolving the world of barbecue.

Join the conversation:

💬 What's one thing you thought you knew about BBQ history that turned out to be wrong?

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Todd Johns didn’t just win the American Royal. He built a legacy.

In 2009, Todd Johns and Pork Pullin’ Plowboys won the American Royal Open Grand Championship—one of the defining moments of his competition BBQ career.

But winning the trophy was only part of the story.

Todd went on to build Plowboys BBQ, create some of the most recognized rubs in barbecue, enter the restaurant business, cook at Arrowhead Stadium, work with Yoder Smokers, and help shape the barbecue industry in ways that extend far beyond the competition circuit.

On this episode of the BBQ Therapy Podcast, we go behind the trophies and the products to talk about what it actually takes to build something that lasts.

Todd takes us back to his early days after moving to Kansas City, discovering barbecue, competing with Pork Pullin’ Plowboys, and learning through the losses that eventually prepared him for the American Royal.

We talk about the moment he became the 2009 American Royal Open Grand Champion, what winning actually changed, and why success can create an entirely new set of challenges.

Then we get into the business behind Plowboys BBQ.

Todd explains how a competition BBQ side project became a legitimate business, how Yardbird came to life, the development of Bovine Bold, Sweet 180, Jerk, and Fin & Feather, and what he learned about building a brand that people trust.

We also explore the restaurant chapter, including what it was like taking Plowboys BBQ from competition tables into the restaurant world and eventually into Arrowhead Stadium.

And then comes reinvention.

After years of competition, product development, and entrepreneurship, Todd found another path with Yoder Smokers. We discuss how his perspective on barbecue has changed, where he sees the industry going, and what today's younger pitmasters can learn from someone who has spent more than two decades inside the business.

But ultimately, this conversation isn't about rubs, smokers, restaurants, or trophies.

It's about obsession, risk, reinvention, failure, success, and legacy.

If you've ever wondered what happens after you win, this is the conversation.

Because the championship may be the moment everybody remembers.

But building something that lasts is the real test.

🔥 This is BBQ Therapy.

Everything BBQ. The smoke. The stories. The people. And the lessons behind the pit.

Subscribe to BBQ Therapy Podcast for more conversations with the people shaping the world of barbecue.

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**sorry for the Audio Issues outside event**

What does it take to turn a family recipe into one of the most recognizable names in barbecue?

On this episode of BBQ Therapy, Tavis Bryant sits down with Dave “Sweet Baby Ray” Raymond at NBBQA’s Nashville Fire & Flavor for the story behind the name, the sauce, and the business.

Before Sweet Baby Ray’s became a nationally recognized barbecue brand, it started with family, a nickname, a love of barbecue, and a sauce that would eventually make a major impression at the 1985 Mike Royko Ribfest.

Dave finished second out of hundreds of entries—and that moment helped reveal that the sauce might have a future far beyond the backyard.

But creating a great sauce is only part of the story.

Dave talks about the importance of branding, relationships, passion, execution, belief and recognizing an opportunity when it appears. He also shares what he learned about turning a barbecue product into a business and building a brand that could stand on its own.

In this conversation, we go beyond the bottle and get into the business of barbecue.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE:
• The story behind the “Sweet Baby Ray” nickname
• The family origins of Sweet Baby Ray’s
• Chef Larry and the importance of family
• The 1985 Mike Royko Ribfest
• How a second-place finish changed the trajectory of the sauce
• Building a recognizable BBQ brand
• Why branding matters in the food business
• Turning a product into a business
• Belief, passion, execution, relationships and luck
• Knowing when to hold on and when to let something evolve
• Protecting a brand for the next generation
• Dave’s perspective on the Sweet Baby Ray’s legacy

This conversation is about much more than barbecue sauce.

It’s about recognizing an opportunity, building something people remember, and understanding that a great product is only the beginning.

Recorded at NBBQA Nashville Fire & Flavor.

This is BBQ Therapy.

Listen. Learn. Get Inspired.

🎙️ Hosted by Tavis Bryant
🔥 BBQ Therapy Podcast
🌐 www.bbqtherapypodcast.com

#BBQTherapy #SweetBabyRays #DaveRaymond #BBQ #Barbecue #BBQSauce #BBQBusiness #BBQEntrepreneur #NBBQA #NashvilleFireAndFlavor

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What happens when barbecue becomes bigger than the pit?

On this episode of BBQ Therapy, Tavis Bryant sits down with Famous Dave Anderson, founder of Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que, for a conversation about barbecue, entrepreneurship, branding, success, loss, and finding your way back to the thing that started it all.

Dave’s barbecue journey began with a childhood love of ribs in Chicago. That passion eventually led him to open the first Famous Dave’s restaurant in Hayward, Wisconsin, in 1994. From there, he built a barbecue brand that grew far beyond a single restaurant and became nationally recognized.

But building a major brand comes with a price.

In this conversation, Dave talks about the early days of Famous Dave’s, what he understood about branding, the challenges that came with rapid growth, and what happens when the business you built becomes much larger than you ever imagined.

We also get into the personal side of entrepreneurship.

What does success cost? What happens when you lose control of something you created? And after everything you've experienced, what keeps bringing you back to barbecue?

Recorded during the NBBQA Nashville Fire & Flavor event, this is a conversation about much more than barbecue. It’s about building something, protecting a vision, dealing with change, and understanding what really matters when the smoke clears.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE:
• Dave Anderson’s introduction to barbecue
• The origins of Famous Dave’s
• Building a national BBQ brand
• The importance of storytelling and branding
• Growing from one restaurant into a much larger business
• The challenges of protecting your original vision
• The personal cost of entrepreneurship
• Success, setbacks and resilience
• What barbecue means to Dave today
• Lessons for anyone trying to build a food or BBQ business

This is BBQ Therapy.

Listen. Learn. Get Inspired.

🎙️ Hosted by Tavis Bryant
🔥 BBQ Therapy Podcast
🌐 www.bbqtherapypodcast.com

#BBQTherapy #FamousDaves #DaveAnderson #BBQ #Barbecue #BBQBusiness #BBQEntrepreneur #NBBQA #NashvilleFireAndFlavor

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