Variety is the spice of life! Get to know GrillGrrrl contributors a little better by reading their bios below. If you would like to contribute to GrillGrrrl.com, please drop me a line at robyn.medlin@gmail.com with article ideas.
Jesse Black: temperature expert, writer and cook extraordinaire.
Jesse Black; Chef and Temperature Expert: ”From the time I could walk I was in the kitchen. When I was four I taught my aunt how to make jello, at 11 I was working (under the radar) for my dad in the family restaurant and by the time I was 24, I was the General Manager of a 72-year-old Mexican restaurant in the heart of San Antonio, TX.
A few years later I followed my wife to Utah where I became the Culinary Manager for a high-volume Italian restaurant chain. While working full-time in the kitchen I was also cracking the books at Utah Valley University. Most people who go to school for as long as I did are called doctors, but my passion was in something altogether different. I graduated with a BS in Communications (emphasis in Public Relations) and moved out of the restaurant and into the temperature biz.
My background in restaurants, coupled with a passion for outdoor cooking, landed me with ThermoWorks – a company specializing in professional temperature tools, and home of the Super-Fast Thermapen. There I am the Public Relations guru and Social Media magnate.
When I’m not slingin’ thermometers, I’m at home hanging out with my wife and three kids. I try to cook outside at least once a week (even in the dead of winter) and experiment with new recipes and ingredients as much as I can; and when I’m not cooking, I’m writing about cooking. Go figure!”
Dillon Black- Competition BBQ Buff from “Bubba and Son BBQ”, Communications Grad and Newest Contributor to GrillGrrrl.com:
Dillon Black, newest GrillGrrrl.com contributor
In my family we have always gathered for celebrations around food, but more specifically BBQ! My father, a 20 year veteran of competition BBQ, and myself started our own competition BBQ team in the summer of 2007 called Bubba & Son BBQ. In the BBQ world my father has always been called Bubba (we are still trying to figure out why…) and you can guess the rest.
I am the 2012 graduate of Western Carolina University with a degree in Communications and am working as a salesman for my father’s small distribution business. I currently reside in Hickory, NC, with my girlfriend of five years, Amy and our yorkiepoo, Rosco and cat, Casper- whom all enjoy their jobs as taste-testers.
You can follow our competition team on facebook (www.facebook.com/bubbasonbbq ). If we are going to be near a town near you, I would love to meet and talk with you more about BBQ or anything really! Feel free to email me with blog ideas or questions at bubbaandson@gmail.com
Michelle Lara: Foodie, Writer and Newest Contributor to GrillGrrrl.com:
Michelle Lara is a foodie, writer and newest contributor to GrillGrrrl.com
I’m a Brooklyn native who now lives in South Florida with my husband and our two children. I started my professional career in fashion merchandising and production in New York.
In 2009, when we moved to South Florida I got a job at The Palm Beach Post as a web producer for their entertainment site and caught the writing bug. While at The Palm Beach Post I chased gourmet food trucks, interviewed James Beard award winning chefs and profiled local chefs and foodies including Grill Girrl, Robyn Medlin.
I was a foodie before that was an officially coined term. While I’m nowhere near chef status I am adventurous in the kitchen and have never met an empanada I didn’t love.
What you’ll find from me on Grill Girrl: A new spin on Robyn’s tried and true recipes in a new feature called “Grill Girrl Take Two”.
Neil Gallagher, founder and Pitmaster of the Too Sauced To Pork BBQ Team.
Neil Gallagher- Founder & Pitmaster, Too Sauced To Pork BBQ Team:
Neil Gallagher grew up in New Orleans and Memphis and knows good food and good BBQ! He is the newest contributor to GrillGrrrl.com- sharing his knowledge of Grilling and BBQ as the founder and Pitmaster of the Too Sauced To Pork BBQ team that competes at “Memphis in May” also known as “The Superbowl of Swine”.
Blake Marcum: Certified BBQ Judge and Team Member of Sweet Swine o’ Mine Championship BBQ Team :
Blake Marcum, BBQ judge and Sweet Swine O’ Mine Championship BBQ team member.
Blake Marcum is an eight year competition BBQ competitor who has been a certified MBN judge for one year. This native born Southerner from Memphis, TN believes that Memphis BBQ is the only way to do BBQ right, but appreciates the styles that have been made popular in other parts of the country. His motto on all things Q is simple: “Low and slow, sweet with heat, muddy like the Mississippi River… now THAT is BBQ!”His passion for the creativity and his competitive nature have been the driving force behind the success he had as co-captain of the Too Sauced To Pork BBQ team for 7 years. He recently joined the Sweet Swine O’ Mine Championship BBQ team, who were the 2009 Memphis in May Grand Champions. Blake plans to actively compete and judge throughout the year and always reminds people of the reason he does it: “The friends I make at every competition and the feeling of family among competitors is truly something to cherish and enjoy. It’s why I keep coming back for more.”
