Bad Wolf Barbecue ( http://badwolfbarbecue.com ) is an award-winning
bbq catering outfit serving the Toronto, GTA and surrounding areas in
Ontario. (We also have two teams doing ribfests throughout Ontario
and the northern U.S.) We currently have both full-time-seasonal and
part-time job openings for the coming season. If you're reading this
newsgroup, we figure you're interested in the art of "Q"; if you want
to get some experience in its commercial applications, procedures,
equipment & techniques, this could be for you. In particular, it's a
great job as summer employment for university students who enjoy
working outdoors and traveling a bit. Email resumes or inquiries for
more info to the contact address on the site. (A more complete job
description will appear shortly on workopolis-campus.)

The posting of this notice has been pre-approved as non-spam by
members of this group. Thanks for looking!


http://badwolfbarbecue.com Click on "contact us".

On Apr 16, 5:20 pm, bad wolf wrote:
Bad Wolf Barbecue (http://badwolfbarbecue.com) is an award-winning
bbq catering outfit serving the Toronto, GTA and surrounding areas in
Ontario. (We also have two teams doing ribfests throughout Ontario
and the northern U.S.) We currently have both full-time-seasonal and
part-timejobopenings for the coming season.

Well, Mr. Wolf, sounds like an opportunity for a young pup, but some
of us are a little long in the tooth for pocket-money jobs (mixing my
animal metaphors here a little). Maybe you could give me a little of
that practical experience gratis over the usenet net?

Basically, I've been smoking (meat) and bbqing (everything) for a
while - I make all my own sauces, rubs, etc., and I think I've cooked
every cut of pork, beef, chicken, duck, turkey, fish, etc. there is.
Like me, the people I've cooked for go on and on - "I could eat this
every day," "You should open a restaurant," "If you were a woman/man,
I'd marry you." (Yes, I am a woman/man)

Anyway, I have a job, but I always loved the idea of taking my act to
the big leagues; and now, some of my friends have got some money
together and want me to do their dirty work in a real, honest-to-
goodness bbq joint. I know what I'm doing, and it's their money, so I
figure it's a chance to live the dream!

Here's where I need some real advice: I've never done commercial-scale
bbq, and frankly I think I'd prefer the festival circuit to a kitchen,
but we can't pick our luck...Nowadays I use a simple barrel smoker
with offset firebox, completely manual, wood-burning. That's not
going to cut it in the restaurant environment, though. What should I
get that can handle, say, around 100 people (with 80 more on the patio
if the sun's shining)?

Any other pieces of advice/war stories are good, too - thanks.

1-Wood wrote:

(snip)

Here's where I need some real advice: I've never done commercial-scale
bbq, and frankly I think I'd prefer the festival circuit to a kitchen,
but we can't pick our luck...Nowadays I use a simple barrel smoker
with offset firebox, completely manual, wood-burning. That's not
going to cut it in the restaurant environment, though. What should I
get that can handle, say, around 100 people (with 80 more on the patio
if the sun's shining)?

Any other pieces of advice/war stories are good, too - thanks.

I use the same setup: simple Texas-style barrel smoker (CharGriller). Just
bought a Traeger, but I don't have it down yet.

I have no idea other than to tell you what I saw in a little town (Hill
City) in South Dakota. This fella set up a small bbq joint with indoor
seating for maybe 40 or so, and outdoor seating for another 50 or more. He
made his own cooker. It looked like a giant upright refrigerator. Firebox in
the bottom of course, and lots of shelves. His 'Q' tasted very good, good
smoke ring, the real deal. For decorations, he had stapled T shirts from
every bbq restaurant he'd been to all over the walls. He even sold his own T
shirt. I ate there several times last Summer when I was in the area for
Sturgis, and everything was consistently good.

With all your experience I'm sure you'll figure it out and make a whole
lotta people satisfied and comin' back for more. I'm kinda envious of you,
since I'm getting close to retirement, and I'd like to do something like
that, too.

--
EZ
Traeger BBQ075 "Texas"
CharGriller Smokin Pro
Great Outdoors Smoky Mountain Wide Body
CharmGlow 3-burner All-Stainless Gas Grill
Weber Kettle One-Touch Silver 22-1/2"
Weber Kettle Smoky Joe Silver 14-1/2"

On 3 May 2007 14:16:06 -0700, 1-Wood wrote:

On Apr 16, 5:20 pm, bad wolf wrote:
Bad Wolf Barbecue (http://badwolfbarbecue.com) is an award-winning
bbq catering outfit serving the Toronto, GTA and surrounding areas in
Ontario. (We also have two teams doing ribfests throughout Ontario



Well, Mr. Wolf, sounds like an opportunity



you." (Yes, I am a woman/man)


, some of my friends have got some money
together and want me to do their dirty work in a real, honest-to-
goodness bbq joint.


Here's where I need some real advice: I've never done commercial-scale


Any other pieces of advice/war stories are good, too - thanks.



Well, I love talking equipment and I’d be happy to help, but I’d
prefer to know more about your own situation, the physical plant, your
market area, anticipated volume, budget, etc. before making any
specific recommendations. It would also be really helpful to the
conversation if you’d clear up the gender thing. BBQ is still pretty
much a man’s world, and this business of BBQ can be tough on a woman
because a lot of the guys in it seem to think it should stay that way.
That’s cute and endearing in the backyard, but could be painful in the
business world. Something to be aware of, that’s all.

Mostly, however, I was struck by your description of your role in the
enterprise as being the one "to do their dirty work". Tell you right
now, unless you have sole control over the product and have a healthy
(if not majority) equity stake, RUN (do not walk) away from opening a
restaurant. You will end up working longer hours than you ever
dreamed possible for less reward than you ever thought conscionable.
What’s even worse for your soul, you’ll end up having to make more
compromises than you ever thought should or could be made. BBQ tends
to be a personal thing, and it’s nearly impossible to translate it
into a successful commercial enterprise without a singleness of vision
from start to finish.

‘Personal’ implies a real flesh & blood person, usually just one
person, and it pretty much has to stay that way. The public wants and
expects it in this genre. Guy I know had a successful Q joint,
legendary in his city for many years. Some restaurant consultant
types approached him with a franchise/licensing proposal and visions
of multiple stores spreading across the land. Fancying a bigger boat
and more time off to enjoy it, he bought into the idea. They brought
in their corporate interests, with their training manuals and
accounting teams. They had all the recipes, all the techniques from
the original, but it didn’t take long ’fore those lineups started
getting shorter and shorter. Same story behind the continuing
disappearance of really good delis.

Not trying to be discouraging, more like giving a head’s up. I
operated my own restaurants for 30 years and can’t say as I’d ever
want to go back to having a bricks-and-mortar location., figure I’ve
had my share of the stress and long hours by now. You’re probably a
fair bit younger than I am, but you might want to try catering first,
as the typical equipment isn’t much different from what you’ve got
right now in the back yard (just bigger). More importantly, the
required investment is very little just to get going. That way, you’d
have a chance to see if you like the idea of BBQ as a commercial
enterprise without having to take on any investors or partners and
without running up a crushing debt load. If it goes well and you
still find yourself enjoying it, you could probably build up enough of
a stake to consider plunking it down on your own Q joint. You would
then never be doing anyone else’s ‘dirty work’. Good luck!