From Chef to Curriculum Creator: The Journey Behind the Northern Barbecue™ Method
How I Built a Live-Fire Barbecue Learning Program by Accident
Most people engage with barbecue through repetition. They cook the same dishes, refine the same techniques, and eventually settle into a comfortable rhythm.
My path was almost the opposite. I’ve always been driven by curiosity — not just about food, but about the systems behind it. I wanted to understand why things worked, not just how to repeat them.
That instinct is what eventually led me to culinary school, and it’s the same instinct that led me down a path towards building what would eventually become the Northern Barbecue™ Method. Not a brand. Not a persona. A curriculum.
A Cook Who Wanted to Learn, Not Perform
Before Northern Barbecue™ had a name, it was simply a personal challenge I created for myself: learn as much as possible about how people around the world cook with fire. Not to imitate, but to understand. Not to recreate dishes, but to study the principles behind them.
I wasn’t interested in becoming a specialist in one regional style. I wanted to explore:
how different cultures manage fire
how they treat ingredients
how they use hardwood, charcoal, and open flame
how technique expresses identity
And I wanted to do it in my own backyard with the ingredients and tools I had (or could get).
That curiosity became a driving force. Then a practice. Then a method.
Beef brisket.
The Moment I Realized Something Was Missing
As I learned more, I noticed a gap in the world of barbecue education.
People were generally being taught:
recipes without context
techniques without principles
“hacks” that were either silly or simply repackaged cooking fundamentals
shortcuts that looked great and entertaining in a 30‑second video, but weren’t repeatable in real cooking (at least not in a meaningful way)
There was no structured way to learn live‑fire cooking that I could find. No curriculum. No framework. No path from beginner to confident barbecue cook.
Everything was personality‑driven, not principle‑driven.
And that’s when it clicked: if I wanted to keep learning, I needed to build a system. And if I needed that system, others might want it too.
Why Culinary School Mattered More Than I Expected
I enrolled in culinary school early on in my barbecue timeline because I realized that I was pretty good at cooking big hunks of meat (brisket, pulled pork, ribs and so on), but I didn’t really know much else beyond that (at least not in any formal way). I wanted to expand my knowledge about cooking principles and structure, and so chef school seemed to make sense.
Culinary school didn’t just teach me technique — it taught me how to think about technique. It gave me the language and structure to articulate what I had always felt intuitively:
Cooking is a craft. Craft is built on principles. Principles create confidence. Confidence creates creativity.
That mindset shaped everything that followed.
The Northern (aka Canadian) Perspective
People often assume “Northern Barbecue” means “cold‑weather barbecue.” It doesn’t. Winter is simply one of the four seasons I cook in — not the identity of the method.
The “Northern” in Northern Barbecue™ is about perspective, specifically what I see as a unique Canadian perspective:
multicultural
globally aware
curious
open
grounded in fundamentals
shaped by living in a place where traditions intersect
I was once quoted as saying something that really captures the essence of Northern Barbecue™ in my context:
“What makes Canadian barbecue unique isn't a dish or a food type, it's a perspective — our global cultural perspective and awareness. In fact, that is exactly what inspired me to create the Northern Barbecue Method (and to name it that).” — Chef Mike Belobradic
The Northern Barbecue™ Method also reflects the Canadian work ethic that I grew up with (and that I applied to barbecue): learn the fundamentals deeply, then use them to explore the world through fire and food.
Paella over hardwood heat.
From Practice to Curriculum
Over time, my approach to global fire cooking became more structured. I researched regions, studied techniques, sourced ingredients, and treated each summer cooking season as a focused learning project. I intentionally looked for things that would make the next stage more challenging and complex than the last one.
What began as a personal exploration into global fire cooking evolved into a repeatable process — one that built skill, confidence, and cultural understanding.
Eventually (after 10+ years of doing this), I realized I wasn’t just learning. I had built a curriculum.
A framework that can help a cook to learn:
how to manage fire
how to understand the various types of hardwood heat
how to control variables
how to think like a cook (not a follower)
how to explore global traditions with respect and curiosity
The Northern Barbecue™ Method is the result of that work and that time. It is a principles‑driven approach to live‑fire cooking that helps people move beyond repetition and into mastery.
A Method for People Who Want More Than Recipes
The Northern Barbecue™ Method isn’t about a signature dish or a regional style. It isn’t a collection of recipes with some editorial fluff. It’s about giving people the tools to cook with intention and it’s an increasingly challenging pathway to real skills enhancement. Best of all, it’s self-guided. You’re not racing towards an end, you’re taking your time to appreciate, learn and grow.
The Northern Barbecue™ Method is for cooks who want to understand, not just imitate. For people who want to explore, not just repeat. For anyone who wants to build real skill — the kind that lasts a lifetime.
It’s the curriculum I wish existed when I started. And now, it’s the one I’m proud to share.
By Chef Mike Belobradic
Founder of the Northern Barbecue™ Method