A Career in Brand Strategy, Alongside the Fire

Long before Smoke Fire Grill™ existed, I spent many years as a marketing and brand executive, much of it focused on high‑net‑worth and affluent audiences who don't respond to generic messaging. That background shapes how I approach fire and wine now — not as a hobby I talk about, but as a discipline I bring the same thoughtful approach to that I brought to building brand strategy for major wealth management firms. When I talk about "principles over recipes," that's the same instinct: understand the fundamentals well enough that you're not just copying a technique, you're making a real decision.

A Lifelong Connection to Cooking with Fire

My journey into barbecue began long before my time spent in Texas and North Carolina. I had already spent years grilling and smoking—experimenting, learning, and pushing myself to understand how fire, wood, and smoke shape flavour. Those early years built the foundation of my craft, while culinary school helped to hone that craft with disciplined experience.

Later, while running a country music indie label, is when I spent long stretches in North Carolina and Texas. Being immersed in deep barbecue culture sharpening what I had already been practicing. It pushed me to refine my hardwood and live‑fire cooking and helped me see fire as a primary cooking tool rather than just a heat source.

Humble Beginnings

My first smoker was a Weber Smokey Mountain. I didn’t know what I was doing. My first cook—smoked hamburgers without a grill finish—was a disaster, made worse by the fact that I’d invited guests.

It was humbling, but it taught me something foundational: live‑fire cooking rewards patience, discipline, and understanding.

If I wanted to cook with fire properly, I had a lot to learn.

Becoming a Chef

As my skills grew, I realized barbecue was more than large cuts of meat. I wanted to understand flavour, balance, technique, and how fire fit into a complete culinary experience. That led me to culinary school—where, by chance, my chef instructor was from North Carolina.

The combination of formal training and traditional barbecue thinking reshaped how I approached fire.

Becoming a Leader in Deeper Wine-Pairing Explorations

Culinary school helfped to sharpen and formalize my understanding of flavour, but it also showed me another gap: I could build a dish with real technique, and still not fully understand what was happening in the glass next to it. That gap (and my perpetual curiosity) is what led me to pursue WSET wine and spirits credentials.

What I didn't expect was how directly it would connect back to fire — the same variables that shape a wine (fruit, structure, tannin, the influence of oak) are shaped, in a different way, by the wood and fuel choices behind a live‑fire dish. That connection is what eventually became Fire & Wine and an important part of my unique point-of-view. It is one of my key differentiators.