Chef Aaron Mizrahi is an authority on live fire cooking as well as an authority on all meats.
He is a Creekstone Farms Premium Black Angus Beef International Brand Ambassador, Corporate Executive Chef at Grupo Almos and Chef at Mizrahi Meat Authority.
Jamie was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri—”The BBQ capital of the world”— and spent his high school years working for one of the best BBQ restaurants in that city. Upon graduation, he joined the Navy and was always on the lookout for great BBQ throughout his travels across the U.S. and abroad. Jamie took his insatiable love and talent for food and became a professional competitive eater (personal best: 318 chicken wings in half an hour). With his winnings, he opened Bear’s Smokehouse, in Windsor, in 2013. Soon after, he entered another contest sponsored by the web-hosting company GoDaddy, in which finalists pitched business ideas to racecar driver and firebrand, Danica Patrick. Jamie’s idea won and he used the prize money to expand his BBQ empire which is continuing to grow through new partnerships like the UConn Huskies and the Hartford Riverfront Recapture organization. Soon to open his 4th location, his restaurants use a staggering 25,000 lbs of meats a week. His goal is to elevate Hartford in the eyes of BBQ aficionados everywhere. Jamie is committed to a mission of giving back to the Connecticut community and making it a better place to live.
Andy Groneman has been part of the BBQ world for 23 years. A second generation pitmaster, Andy started his BBQ journey learning the ropes of competition BBQ in the early 1990s. From there Smoke on Wheels was born, whose trek has taken him from coast to coast and through our borders to Canada, Mexico, and Australia.
Andy has hundreds of awards at all levels, for grilling, smoking, and outdoor cooking. In addition to over 25 Grand Championships, and 2 perfect scores in Kansas City BBQ Society events some other notable accolades:
In addition to instructing classes you can also find Andy on celebrity judging panels, local television stations as an expert during for food segments, and cable television as well. Most recently as a BBQ mentor & expert on MasterChef | Australia. Also seen in two episodes of Travel Channel’s “ BBQ Crawl” (Season 2). Many clips are available on YouTube, Vimeo, or in the streaming sections of TV Station Websites. Look for us!
An accomplished instructor, in addition to private engagements, Andy teaches all over the country and world – from food demonstrations, or beer/wine pairings to 2 day intensive competition cooking classes. Andy has led classes & demonstrations at:
Andy teaches over 50 classes annually, including his monthly classes in the Teaching Kitchen of All Things BBQ in Wichita, KS.
