Shownotes
The conversation in this episode centers on an enlightening and engaging dialogue with Dave Raymond, the esteemed founder of Sweet Baby Ray's. We delve into his extensive experience in the barbecue industry, exploring both his personal journey and professional insights. A significant focus is placed on the importance of integrity and kindness within the barbecue community, as exemplified by Raymond's vision of fostering truthfulness and camaraderie among enthusiasts. Furthermore, we examine the impact of mentorship and the transmission of barbecue traditions to younger generations, highlighting Raymond's commitment to nurturing talent and passion. Ultimately, this episode not only celebrates the art of barbecue but also underscores the profound connections it cultivates among individuals and communities.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Painted Hills Natural Beef
- Sweet Baby Rays
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcripts
Welcome to Barbecue Nation with JT's After Hours conversation that took place after the broadcast ended.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, it's jt.
Speaker A:And this is a special version of Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:It is brought to you in part by Painted Hills Natural Beef, beef you can be proud to serve your family and friends.
Speaker A:That's Painted Hills Natural Beef.
Speaker A:Welcome to after hours here on Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:We've got a real treat for you today.
Speaker A:Dave Raymond from Sweet Baby Rays, master businessman, master of a lot of things, and also hall of Famer, which I so adeptly neglected to point out a few times in the regular show.
Speaker A:So my apologies for that, Dave.
Speaker A:Here in Lightning Round, we do things a little different.
Speaker A:We ask you a lot of.
Speaker B:Okay, so far.
Speaker A:Okay, so far.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I've never had anybody react to that in the Lightning round that way, but.
Speaker A:And we haven't started yet, but we will see.
Speaker A:Anyway.
Speaker A:We ask you a lot of sometimes irreverent, sometimes interesting, serious questions and we just get your take on it.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker B:Maybe, Maybe.
Speaker A:All right, so here's the easy one for you.
Speaker A:If you were declared supreme ruler of Barbecue for one week, what would Dave Raymond, as supreme ruler of barbecue decree?
Speaker B:That all people had to tell the truth and be nice to each other.
Speaker C:Oh, that's a good one.
Speaker A:That's a good one.
Speaker A:You must be referring to people outside of barbecue, though, because the barbecue people usually do that.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker C:So we say, I think barbecue.
Speaker C:Not that we're a bunch of liars.
Speaker C:I think it's about.
Speaker C:We're secretive sometimes.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think it's more about different regions.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm not.
Speaker B:I'm not going to agree with how the guy at Portland barbecues because he's gonna be cooking a lot more fish than I am.
Speaker B:Well, you know,.
Speaker A:That's true.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker B:And down in.
Speaker B:Down Southeast, it's going to be a lot more hog.
Speaker B:In Southwest, it's going to be a lot more beef.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker A:No, it's.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:That's all true.
Speaker A:We've got stuff spread out.
Speaker A:It's a big country.
Speaker A:Dave, what's your least favorite food to cook?
Speaker B:Tofu.
Speaker C:You actually tried it?
Speaker B:Well, I have a barbecue friend that I was helping him cook his company picnic, and he gave me this pile of tofu to put on my grill.
Speaker B:It wasn't on his grill.
Speaker B:This was one of my grills.
Speaker B:I'm putting tofu on.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:So come to understand that.
Speaker B:That you got to use a lot of oil or olive oil or something or you're not going to get any Color on it whatsoever.
Speaker B:Pale looking tofu on the grill, no dice.
Speaker B:Get a little oil on there and works better.
Speaker A:You could also spray paint it and just be done with it.
Speaker A:So that is true.
Speaker A:Dave, if you could work with one of your barbecue heroes, who would it be?
Speaker B:Oh, I'd be up in heaven with my buddy Mike Mills.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker B:Short of that, be right next to my nephew, who is my business partner and.
Speaker B:And in my own way, hero of mine, my nephew is far surpassed me and his dad.
Speaker B:And in terms of being a person and barbecue.
Speaker A:Well, there you go.
Speaker C:I'll tell you, when I met Deuce years ago, I.
Speaker C:There's a few people that stand out in my mind to have a true 100% passion for all things barbecue.
Speaker C:And I'll never forget when I met him, I'm like, this guy is all in.
Speaker C:And you could just.
Speaker C:He was exuding passion.
Speaker C:And it's so nice that you all are working together as a family and continuing the tradition.
Speaker C:It's awesome.
Speaker B:Unbelievable blessing.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:Dave, if you could cook for, then dine with a historical figure that could be alive or they could be gone, who would it be and what would be on the menu?
Speaker B:I'd say I'm pretty proud that we.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:I. I met and I had a picture taken and cooked food for the president and sent food to Air Force One.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So that's up there.
Speaker B:My.
Speaker B:My greatest American history historical person would probably be Benjamin Franklin, and I'd be making him some of them bones.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:If you started all over again in your career, would you do it the exact same way?
Speaker A:And if not, what.
Speaker B:I would say, I would do it the same way insofar as I would absolutely have a business partner.
Speaker B:Michael.
Speaker B:Brian was a great business partner for me in the sauce business, along with my brother, who was less active, but Mike.
Speaker B:Mike and I really ran the company.
Speaker B:And then in the restaurant and catering business, I've had my brother's son Deuce, be my partner, and that has gone amazingly well.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And we like each other on top of it.
Speaker A:That's important.
Speaker A:That's the biggest thing.
Speaker A:Have you ever eaten haggis?
Speaker B:I have had our chefs on two occasions make that for our Scottish pastor at my church.
Speaker B:So in America, you can only get it in cans.
Speaker B:You can't get it.
Speaker B:You can't get it fresh.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And then our chef deep fried it.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So much like my barbecue acumen.
Speaker B:I know a lot about it.
Speaker B:I just.
Speaker B:We have chefs and we have pitmasters, and I'm the grill guy.
Speaker B:I'm not the barbecue guy.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:So, Dave, if you were an animal, what animal would you be?
Speaker B:A cheetah or a deer.
Speaker B:One's pretty, one's fast,.
Speaker A:And the deer better be pretty fast if he's going to get away from the cheetah.
Speaker A:That's true.
Speaker A:That is true.
Speaker A:Do you remember the first thing you ever grilled or smoked or barbecued you personally?
Speaker B:Absolutely, positively, Just about anybody who ever had a Weber grill or some type of grill, I'm thinking this is how they started.
Speaker B:Hamburgers and hot dog, hot dogs and hamburgers.
Speaker B:Then, then, then sausages, steaks and chops, then chicken, then ribs.
Speaker B:Then after that, you get into barbecue and not grilling.
Speaker B:And I mean, if you look at Weber Grills, Big Red Book, or any of their other cookbooks or any.
Speaker B:At one point, I had 200 barbecue and grilling books in our restaurant for people to use.
Speaker B:You can do anything on a grill.
Speaker A:Got it.
Speaker A:So here's a personal question.
Speaker A:Are you.
Speaker A:Are you a hot dog?
Speaker A:Are you a brat?
Speaker A:Are you a poly guy?
Speaker A:And do you stick with the Chicago tradition of no ketchup?
Speaker A:Which is absolutely fine with me.
Speaker A:So give us your.
Speaker A:Give us your take on those.
Speaker B:I'm a mustard and onion Jimmy's hot dog stand kind of guy.
Speaker B:I'm a Johnny's beef kind of guy.
Speaker B:And I'm a ribeye and St. Louis rib kind of guy.
Speaker B:And not a strip steak or baby back rib kind of guy.
Speaker A:Okay, very good.
Speaker A:If we put your skills to music and Leanne was going to come dance with you, what would the music?
Speaker B:Well, as it turns out, a lot of people, a lot of my friends have barbecue books, but I'm the only guy I know of that has a barbecue seed CD.
Speaker B:So I've got 20 barbecue songs on my CD.
Speaker B:And the.
Speaker B: e, I would say, is we to this: Speaker B:All of our managers sang parts in that song.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So, so that would be my favorite song.
Speaker B:And then I wrote words to the NFL football Faith Hill when she was doing Monday Night Football.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:I wrote.
Speaker B:I wrote lyrics to that.
Speaker B:And the title of that is I've had Barbecue Everywhere, man.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker C:I still have your CD you signed.
Speaker C:Yes, I still have it.
Speaker A:On a scale.
Speaker A:I don't have one.
Speaker A:Maybe Dave will send me one.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:Okay, I'll email you my address.
Speaker B:I got about 3,000 of the 3,500 still left.
Speaker A:I got it.
Speaker A:On a scale of 1 to 10, how much barbecue.
Speaker A:Do you eat on a regular basis or you and your wife or whoever sits down at the table with you?
Speaker B:I'm probably about a.
Speaker B:A three or four now, but during my.
Speaker B:My working days, I was grilling 250 days a year.
Speaker A:Got it.
Speaker A:Are you boxers or briefs kind of guy?
Speaker B:Tidy.
Speaker B:Whiteies.
Speaker A:What's your favorite movie?
Speaker A:That always tells people.
Speaker A:That tells you a lot about people when they.
Speaker A:You tell them what their favorite movie is.
Speaker B:My wife and I would.
Speaker B:Would.
Speaker B:Would both say Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:What does a fantasy day for Dave Raymond look like away from the business.
Speaker A:Away from the business.
Speaker B:Being with friends and family and.
Speaker B:And doing some of the cooking.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And doing not all of the talking.
Speaker A:So if we put your skills to music, not Leanne dancing, but just your skills to music, what would that music be?
Speaker B:1.
Speaker B:One of the songs that best describes barbecue.
Speaker B:I have the Sound of Music to two barbecue lyrics.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:If you could erase one mistake from your past, what would it be and why?
Speaker A:Just one.
Speaker A:Just one.
Speaker A:You only got to get rid of one.
Speaker B:I wouldn't be able to say on air.
Speaker B:That's what I would say.
Speaker A:This.
Speaker A:This.
Speaker A:This part of.
Speaker A:This part of the show goes over the Internet.
Speaker B:I would say on air.
Speaker B:I would like to say that.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:That I wish I could be a more loving and compassionate and kinder and understanding spouse to my wife, and she means more to me than anything in the world.
Speaker B:And it's just baffling to me how we're not more considerate of each other.
Speaker A:Well, that's.
Speaker A:That's true.
Speaker B:I mean, sadly.
Speaker B:It is.
Speaker A:It is.
Speaker A:It is true.
Speaker A:How much joy do you get for working with.
Speaker A:For lack of a better term, the inner city kids?
Speaker A:I know you're.
Speaker A:That's big.
Speaker A:We talked about it in the regular show.
Speaker A:Do you.
Speaker A:But is that like a real.
Speaker A:A real bright shining light to you to help younger people like that?
Speaker B:Kind of.
Speaker B:Insofar as when we sold the business, the one thing I said was, I don't ever want to forget where I came from.
Speaker B:And I think almost anybody that knows me whatsoever knows that I'm the same guy that I've always been, probably to a fault.
Speaker B:And if I could comment on.
Speaker B:On joy real fast, I. I'm reading a book some.
Speaker B:My.
Speaker B:My.
Speaker B:My wife's aunt died a few days ago, and two days before that, she sent a book to me and the Book of Joy, and it was written by the Dalai Lama, Bishop Tutu, and the guy that authored the book.
Speaker B:And then a few pages into the book, it said another way you could look at this book.
Speaker B:It was by a Catholic, a Buddhist, and a Jewish.
Speaker B:And, and again, the title of the book is, Is Joy to learn about Joy.
Speaker B:So, so that, that, that, that to me is the kind of joy we all want to have that incorporates humanity.
Speaker A:What, what would you say was your success to failure ratio when create stuff to dishes and things to emphasize sweet baby rays.
Speaker A:Back when you owned the business, I mean, you said you had chefs, you had people, you had, you worked on.
Speaker B:Teams, you, my brother the chef, and my nephew is a chef.
Speaker B:And that, and then we hired chef.
Speaker B:But, but, but I would answer that question by, by, by saying again, as I'm a little bit older, I'm more retrospective, but, but not impossible, that in both business and life, I could have been wrong close to half as much as I've been right.
Speaker B:And I like to think I'm on the other side, on the good side of making decisions a little bit more.
Speaker B:But why I say that is when we're in the sauce business, I was changing brokers from one broker to another broker, and I really liked the one broker.
Speaker B:We were leaving, and I said to him, well, if anything happens, this new broker will be back in a second in a heartbeat.
Speaker B:And his response to me was, no, you won't.
Speaker B:You'll find, you'll find some way to make things work.
Speaker B:Work.
Speaker B:And I think that was one of the truest things that, that has been told to me in my life.
Speaker B:That, that, that even when we're wrong, lots of times we figure out how to make those things work.
Speaker B:So, so you may not really know that you were wrong because things worked out.
Speaker B:But, but so, so, too, too hard for me to say.
Speaker B:I, I, I, I know that I am as human as anybody.
Speaker B:And, and because of how I grow up, grew up, and who I am, I'm much more susceptible to making mistakes than other people because I make thousands of more decisions than other people.
Speaker B:You know, I learned how to say I'm sorry, I'm wrong decades ago.
Speaker B:And, and that has carried me a long way, not being afraid to make decisions.
Speaker A:Okay, well, here's the decision that you would have to make if you were in this situation.
Speaker A:What would be your last meal on death row?
Speaker B:Johnny's beef, Jimmy's hot dog, or my, my nephew's baby baked ribs?
Speaker C:There you go.
Speaker A:Okay, last question.
Speaker A:Dave, this is your chance.
Speaker A:What would be your message to the world?
Speaker A:Be Dave Raymond special message.
Speaker A:You can say anything you want.
Speaker A:To the entire world, what would it be?
Speaker B:Have faith and try to love all others.
Speaker B:Not others, but all others.
Speaker A:I like that.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Dave, Raymond, thank you for being with us.
Speaker A:Ms. Leanne, thank you for being with us.
Speaker C:Thank you so much for taking the time.
Speaker C:You're so busy.
Speaker B:Hey, can I just tell you one second how much I've always appreciated Leanne's friendship.
Speaker B:When, when she first came to Chicago, I walked into her restaurant with a little bouquet of flowers.
Speaker B:I remember she's been nice to me ever since then.
Speaker B:And she's been a great influence on Chicago barbecue people.
Speaker B:We had like 190 people at our big restaurant one time, and we were talking about service, serving the common good.
Speaker B:And I was talking about it, and Leanne was the first person that stepped up and said that we should listen to this guy and we should.
Speaker B:We should go along, we should help.
Speaker B:And then I've been on a couple of bus tours with her, and she's a very, very fine young lady.
Speaker A:Yes, she is.
Speaker C:I appreciate it.
Speaker A:Yes, she is.
Speaker C:So much of you.
Speaker C:I miss seeing you.
Speaker C:We gotta see each other one of these days.
Speaker A:And she's a pretty dang good fisherman, too.
Speaker A:I don't know if you knew that, Dave.
Speaker A:So we do that.
Speaker A:Anyway, we will be back next week with another edition of After Hours here on the Nation.
Speaker A:We thank you for listening.
Speaker A:Go out there and remember our motto here.
Speaker A:Turn it, don't burn it, and be kind.
Speaker A:Everybody take care.
