Hey guys I'm just excited and I have no one else who would care. I just booked my first paying gig! I put on a BBQ for my wife's work last week as just a morale boost. It was after hours and on our dime. My wife is a social worker and morale can get pretty low in that field so she thought having everyone over for a BBQ and vent session would be a good idea.

Anyway.. I digress. So I made brisket, pulled pork, ribs, and chicken (I had so much fun) and one of her coworkers approached her yesterday and asked if I was interested in catering. So I now have my first paying gig making BBQ. It is for a small retirement party for her husband. Sounds like she just wants brisket and pulled pork. She offered me $100 on top of paying for all the meats. I took it. I know that isn't very much but getting paid to bbq sounds like a good day to me. I don't have to stay and serve or clean up, just cook the food and hand it off.

Just thought I would share. Thanks for reading.

Good luck.  I did that a few times.  My brother did that a few times, and now has his own food truck (well, trailer actually) for the last 7 years.

BBQ was always a hobby that I had fun doing.  I couldn't see myself doing it as a job as it would take the fun out of having a few drinks and listening to music and having deadlines.  My brother had different circumstances and needed a new job and it has worked out well for him.

Yeah not looking to do it as a job. I think that would ruin it. But getting paid to do something I would do for free sounds like fun to me. Thanks for the good luck wishes. Hopefully nothing goes sideways.

Very nice.

Sounds like a win-win -- you get to practice your que'ing skills and make some money to boot!  Good luck!

Sounds like a win-win -- you get to practice your que'ing skills and make some money to boot!  Good luck!

Thank you. That is exactly what I was thinking.

After eating at Franklin Barbecue (another post) a few weeks back, my daughter sent me a copy of Aaron Franklin's book "Franklin Barbecue - A Meat-Smoking Manifesto" for Father's Day.  A good bit of the book is devoted to how he got started in the barbecue restaurant business.  His start was backyard barbecues and the trial and error process of trying to figure out how to cook brisket.  The main key to his success is he figured out how to scale his cooking process while maintaining the quality.     

After eating at Franklin Barbecue (another post) a few weeks back, my daughter sent me a copy of Aaron Franklin's book "Franklin Barbecue - A Meat-Smoking Manifesto" for Father's Day.  A good bit of the book is devoted to how he got started in the barbecue restaurant business.  His start was backyard barbecues and the trial and error process of trying to figure out how to cook brisket.  The main key to his success is he figured out how to scale his cooking process while maintaining the quality.   

I have read this book and read that part out loud to my wife. When I accepted the offer she quipped "that's how Franklin started"