Work hard and have fun doing what you love.
I love Rodney Scott’s story because it reminds me that it isn’t about having your work seen by millions. It’s about doing good work for the sake of doing good work and having a blast while doing it. 💥
The Southern BBQ legend comes from a rural small town in South Carolina. The gas station BBQ shack his dad started began to get noticed for the amount of care that went into the cooking. 🥩 Meat would be smoked very, very slowly over locally sourced pinewood. The work is tough enough that one of his cooks once lost 15 lbs his first week on the job.
While it’s hard work, Rodney also makes sure to have fun doing it. His work uniform is a shirt that reads “Every Day a Good Day” and there’s classic hip hop and R&B bumping the entire time. He takes his playlists almost as seriously as he takes his recipes.
When he noticed people would drive 80 miles from Charleston to go get some, he opened up a joint there. I knew I had to try it. I first heard about his story on The Splendid Table, about how a casual BBQ joint with fast food vibes won a James Beard Award usually reserved for much fancier venues. 🎖 I had to give it a try.
My take? Get the ribs. The ribs reward all the effort that goes into making them.
This has been another edition of #philippeatethat - thanks!