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As a barbecue chef, food-truck maven and dyed-in-the-wool smoker, Shannon Ambrosio has an appreciation and a respect for the Southern tradition of smoking low and slow. But as a native New Yorker, he'd like to speed the process up a little. And that's the approach he tries to impart to the Southern pit masters he meets in his Tuesday Cooking Channel series "Big Bad BBQ Brawl." "I don't do a straight smoke," Ambrosio explains. "You know, Southern barbecue pit smoking usually takes a really long time. You know, that's kind of the idea – you get to sit around, hang out and do a lot of other stuff. But me being from New York and from Brooklyn, I had to think of a way to speed up this process. So me being a trained classic chef – you know, I have a degree in the culinary arts – I started incorporating a lot of these techniques that I learned in school to develop my own style and learn how to do this smoking process a little bit faster than what normally is done." In the half-hour series that premiered last week, Ambrosio and his crew head to locales in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia to put his Northern barbecue skills to the test against his Southern counterparts and exhibit the expedited techniques he's developed over years of trial and error. And he's come to find out they're not necessarily interested in them. "I don't know necessarily that they want to know so much about what I'm doing as much as they want to know why I'm doing it," Ambrosio says with a laugh, "which I love because for me, a lot of the experiences I get from those people, the pit masters from the Southern region, they're very traditional and they're pretty much always focused on staying with what they've been doing. And me, I'm always thinking unexpectedly. I'm always thinking what could it be and how could I make it, not so much better, but just make it different." What book are you currently reading? "I'm just finishing up 'A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life,' Brian Grazer's book. I really love his philosophy on curiosity and I guess it relates a lot to me because I'm curious about many, many things and that's what pushes me to investigate and try things. I'm the John Dewey guy. Practice, practice, practice then application. What did you have for dinner last night? "I live the real chef 's life sometimes, so last night, let's be honest, was takeout (laughs) ... ." What is your next project? "First of all, I love the show and I can't wait to get back on the road because traveling and cooking and getting to experience different cultures and lifestyles to me is everything. ... My next project I'd like to work on is probably developing more of a product line behind what I do. Getting the mass market to understand barbecue my way." When was the last vacation you took, where and why? "I love to be out West. I have friends in Wyoming and I love to go there. A buddy of mine is a true-to-life cowboy, breaks horses, the whole nine yards and he's amazing. He's one of he best silversmiths in the western side of the United States. He's amazing and I love to go out there and visit with him as much as I can." Ambrosio makes low and slow a little faster on 'Big Bad BBQ Brawl' Shannon Ambrosio BY GEORGE DICKIE Page 8 June 13 - 19, 2016 (574) 533-2151 • ext. 304 114 S. Main St. • Goshen When You Need Envelopes, Business Cards or Letterheads Call • Carpet • Vinyl • Ceramic Mon.-Fri. 8-5 • Sat. 9-1 65669 US 33 East • Goshen 642-4770 TOLL FREE 1-877-642-4770 Area's Largest Selection of Remnants Large Inventory of Carpet, Laminate, Vinyl, and Luxury Vinyl Tiles! OEC Super Buffet 4024 Elkhart Rd Goshen IN 46526 Tel: 574-875-1298 Elk Lunch Monday-Friday 11am-3pm Adult $7.25 Children 2 years old $1.99 3-6 years old $3.50 7-10 years old $5.00 *Saturday Lunch $7.75 Dinner Monday-Friday 3pm-9:30 pm Adult $10.75 Children 2 years old $2.99 3-6 years old $4.50 7-10 years old $6.00 *Sunday Dinner Price ALL DAY $10.75 SENIOR DISCOUNT 10% PRICE On or Off - Site Catering All Occasions Dine under the glow of gas lanterns Breakfast and Lunch Meals also available Open Tuesday through Saturday DON'T STAY DON'T STAY … IN THE DARK. CALL 574-533-2151 OR 800-487-2151 ext. 393 TODAY ! Start your newspaper subscription today and see the light. Stay up to date on all the latest business, entertainment, sports, local news and more!

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