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Guest · The Late Night Restaurant Show

BBQ, Business & Barrels of Laughs

52:00

Chef Essi Tadrus on the smoking techniques behind the pit, why commissary kitchens are the future of barbecue, and how to hold flavour consistent while a concept scales.

Guest
Essi Tadrus

What this episode covers

Essi walks through the journey from his early days in the restaurant business to building a barbecue operation designed to scale — without the flavour drifting as it grows.

  • The smoke. The techniques behind the pit, and why pecan wood over twelve hours produces a result that shortcuts cannot.
  • Commissary kitchens. Why Essi argues they are the future of barbecue, and what that unlocks for operators working in small footprints.
  • Consistency at scale. The hard problem in barbecue: a dish whose quality depends on time and fire, reproduced identically across many locations.
  • Supply chain. How Southern Luv approaches sourcing differently from a conventional pit.

Roughly 52 minutes, and — as the title promises — a good deal funnier than most operations conversations.

Booking & media

To book Chef Essi Tadrus for an interview or podcast, email [email protected] or call (813) 945-2443.