Watch Three Pitmasters Relish Over the Importance of Black Barbecue Culture

 In 2021, Kingsford launched its Preserve the Pit® fellowship program, an initiative celebrating and fueling the future of Black barbecue. Kingsford continues to invest in Black barbecue culture by kicking off its second year at Memphis in May in the downtown district of Memphis, Tennessee. There Kingsford did it for the culture and paired six promising pitmasters with an assortment of mentors who will help them bring their business and barbecue to life. 

It’s summertime, the living is easy, and barbecue season is on deck. But before you fire up a bag of hot, flavorful coals, take a trip with Kingsford to Memphis, Tennessee to celebrate Memphis in May, one of the biggest international barbecue cookout competitions, and meet three of Kingsford’s six 2022 Preserve the Pit® fellows: Cameron Brooks of Brooks BBQ and Chicken in Fort Wayne, IN; Terrance “Perm” Nicholson of Zilla’s Pit BBQ in Old Hickory, TN; and Tim and Rashida Marshall of Soul Pit aka RaRa’s Home Cooking & Catering in Stone Mountain, GA. 

Each fellow has a different background and a different story to tell, and each tale is as captivating as the food they create. 

Cameron Brooks

Cameron Brooks comes from a factory town where his grandmother established the family business out of a food truck in 1966 (talk about being ahead of her time). Fifty-plus years later, Brooks is running that business, but in a much bigger truck. 

Terrance “Perm” Nicholson

Motivated by his father and uncle, Perm wants the world to experience his cooking and see his recipes and restaurant as part of his legacy—because eating at his place isn’t just about the food, it’s about the community, support, and familial feeling that comes with it. 

Tim and Rashida Marshall

Stemming from Stone Mountain, Georgia, the Marshalls opened their business to help feed the community by delivering food around their area during the pandemic, but what started as something small has branched into a profitable business fueled by their secret sauce.

Watch part one of this year’s Preserve the Pit® documentary and learn about the importance and impact of Black barbecue.