In The Beginning

BBQ Masters was originally formed from a Scripter James 2:26, Which says faith without works is dead, with that understanding , the very first BBQ Masters to be was Born originally called "Out on Faith" Located in DeKalb county Georgia, Located on Wesley Chapel Road. It was at this location that the BBQ Business was tested; the owner Chef Eric quickly realized that it took more than Faith; faith merely being part of it, it required hard work, creative marketing, commitment, focus, and lots of catastrophes, in addition to a boat load of money to be chance.

The county decided to place a two mile median right in front of the restaurant, causing the restaurant to starve for customers, and eventually leading to its demise, just like that! $75,000 bucks gone and the company called out on Faith were out of business and Bankrupt.

In Between

Now out on faith for Real, Broke Busted & Disgusted.

The owner was now cooking BBQ on Street Corners Zigzagging across Atlanta just to stay above water, Perfecting his BBQ Recipes and stacking his cash, refusing to spend it on what others deem the necessities of life. Prideful, Hopeful or shameful, The Chef chose to sacrifice a few things, like not paying his Mortgage or his Georgia power bill, Stubborn & Determined believing that he could do more with his light bill money than Georgia power could, like buy more BBQ Meat to sale, he decided to save his BBQ earnings and slept in his home with no lights for 8 months.

Craving for another opportunity to cut lights on for his soon to be customers Chef Eric believing in himself, experience and his dream to be a successful restaurant owner. Suffering it to be so, he did save up the very minimum he deemed necessary to open up another restaurant.

That James 2:26 Came calling again, Out on Faith the, restaurant 2, the Chef gave a deposit for the location he thought would be successful in Stockbridge, Georgia, However after giving his deposit and jam-packed with excitement to get underway in his newest place, while watching the news that same evening he saw that that very building go up in flames, so did his anger and creative voice sounds coming out of his mouth. And it was not Hallelujah.

Losing faith and very disappointed, he decided to give up on his dream and open up a small computer repair shop, taking over the lease of a good friend, he began the building for a life that he cold shouldered. Miserable and tired he was called up again by that very familiar scripture James 2:26 before the construction was even complete, he found the strength to reposition himself from a Yolanda Adams song "I'm gonna be ready" and "I gotta Believe". So what was to be a computer repair store, essentially became a take-out BBQ restaurant, rebirthed and renamed BBQ Masters.

What a fitting name for a Master Chef, Gone BBQ!

Hungry scared and unsure of his future, he perfected his BBQ by cooking with passion, as if he was making love to every ingredient. With this attitude it yielded customers satisfaction and before the 1000th Brisket was cooked he found BBQ Masters moving to another location in Morrow.

One Year Later BBQ Masters is still opening stores, and his light at home is on. Experience a 25-year tradition of remarkable barbecue. Located in Clayton County.

BBQ Masters is a motivated team of hospitality professionals, dedicated to providing our guests the consistent experience of excellent food in every bite of every menu item at any time on any given moment.

BBQ Masters team members have a fundamental passion for food, a vigorous work principle and a guarantee to avoid shortcuts that could victimize the outstanding quality of our Product.

Every hand is empowered to enforce our quality commitment in an environment where individual and over-achievers are rewarded for their exertions.

BBQ Masters strives for operational competences that assure us a reasonable profit, enabling us to be a generous and socially responsible partner in the local communities in which we live.

We promise to give you finest barbeque dining experience you've ever encountered.
For past 26 years, pit master & legendary certified master chef E.L. Smith has set the standard for premier barbeque in Georgia and across the United States.

Our Pit-Master emerged from a single parent household in Columbus, Ohio. With two hard headed brothers and a precious sister, the young chef at heart was trying to alleviate some of his mother's daily responsibilities and unknowingly he undertook his culinary calling at the tender age of seven. He wanted to bake a pie like the one he saw on "The Flintstones." Nonetheless, the future chef burnt the pie while watching "Three's Company" and later realizing Jack Tripper (television chef), would be his inspiration to becoming a prominent well-respected chef. However, burning the pie challenged the future culinary great and propelled his excitement and determination to be the very best.

His mother immediately decided that an Easy Bake Oven would be a wise investment that would provide the young boy with a creative outlet for cooking and prevent future catastrophes in the kitchen. With this driving passion, the future culinary sensation began creating magnificent gourmet desserts on holidays and special occasions. As a result, he was called upon by many to invent decedent desserts; therefore leading him to establish and operate his own neighborhood dessert stand. This was the stepping-stone, which paved the path for him becoming an entrepreneur and owning his own restaurant today, Barbeque Masters.

As a teenager, the future chef worked under the tutelage of many splendid chefs in an assortment of facilities in Columbus, Ohio such as the Grand Hyatt Regency and the famous One Nation Restaurant. After mastering the basic culinary skills, He decided he wanted to expand his knowledge by receiving formative training at an accredited culinary institution. Graduating with honors from culinary school, defying all odds because the public school system classified him as a special education student, Excelling in all aspects of his life while understanding that failure is success turned inside out and it can only be victorious when you give up and stop trying.

He was determined to walk into his destiny and invalidate those who opposed his tenacity. Ignited with a true passion the Chef had a bigger vision for his life and new that traveling would expand his culinary and cultural education therefore deciding to join the United States Army. He was fortunate to travel extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East thus being exposed to various types of international cuisines.

He received many awards and accolades including:

• Three-time award winner of the Army's "Best Chefs Award" In 1993, his former culinary school awarded him the "Outstanding Alumni Award" a five-time recipient of the Grand Pit Master of the Year Award due to the exquisite savor of his barbeque.
• Became a protégé to a host of prestigious award winning chefs and toiled in five star restaurants both domestically and internationally. Consequently, Chef Credentials made him the obvious candidate to be selected out of 14,000 culinary greats to serve as an executive chef for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, feeding more than 20,000 people daily.
• He took the helm as Executive Chef and made the menu his own by demonstrating distinctive cooking styles to accommodate the various nationalities represented. As a result, The International Olympic Committee awarded him the crystal medallion of excellence for "outstanding performance."
• He has also had the distinct honor and privilege of obtaining seven Executive Chef Titles from various hotels, conference centers, retirement communities, corporate dining facilities, convention centers, and fine dining restaurants. His dedication and genuine love for the kitchen allowed him to continue to push the boundaries and secure the Executive Chef position for the St Louis Rams.
• Taking pride in all that he does, the master Chef has orchestrated culinary feats, including superb banquets served in luxurious surroundings and with undeniable panache. He has thrilled the pallets for world-renowned clients such as Kenny Rogers, Quincy Jones, Ted Turner, Muhammad Ali, former presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush, and Pope John Paul II as well as a host of other celebrities and dignitaries.
• Stepping out on faith with his entrepreneurial aspirations, the Master Chef embarked upon his journey to fulfill his predestined life. Armed with determination, the auspicious Chef, blessed with twenty-seven years of experience is perfectly prepared for his present position as Executive Pit Master and owner of Barbeque Masters.
• His authentic barbeque cooking style and his ability to broaden his cooking repertoire by creating stellar dishes along with his specially patented Formula 2:26 BBQ sauce has granted him the privilege of being voted the best barbeque in Georgia and winning the National Best Sauce Award.
• Formula 2:26 derived from the Chef's principals Out on Faith and acquires substance from James 2:26, Faith without works is dead.
• As a living testimony of this biblical verse, the chef decided to replace the word James with Formula to avoid immature views. Although, Barbeque Masters is the most recent venture for our Culinary Great, in 1998 he started Great Chefs Worldwide, Inc. (GWF) to provide culinary service at its best, operated by professional chefs. GCW, Inc.'s focus is to provide the highest quality culinary services throughout the world.

The Chef is most proud of all his accomplishments and is driven to success. He won't rest until he knows he has achieved all he can. Knowing he is living up to his full potential in life, yet always striving for a higher goal.

Remember too always think good cooking and bon appétit!!!!

The chef has three daughters, in which he wishes one day they will cook for him.

We are a professional barbeque service company dedicated to excellence.

We develop and sustain our BBQ leadership position by engaging and supporting our most valuable and differentiated strength; the competence, commitment and creativity of our people.

We provide world-class Barbeque environments thru restaurants, catering services and festival events for our clients and customers by developing relationships based on service excellence, partnership and mutual understanding.

We create long-term value and capture the greatest opportunity for all Barbeque Masters patrons -our people, clients, customers, communities and families -by delivering the best dag on BBQ you ever eaten on the planet.

Dedication To Excellence is our utmost Mission

Our goal is to provide our customers, the very best in BBQ anywhere; we won't stop at educating ourselves to improve ourselves in the area of Spectacular award winning BBQ.

We our firm believers that there is no such thing as Bad BBQ , just poorly prepared BBQ, We Stand ready day and night to provide it to you. It's our life long promise to you we are your Barbeque Masters

At Barbeque Masters, BBQ authenticity is the core to a great Masterful experience.

We strive to bring you the best traditional barbecue that you will find anywhere on earth. We hope you'll visit us at our restaurant, Catering service or out on the competition circuit worldwide. Then, tell a friend about us and come back real soon!

• 20 time platinum sauce winner - February 2010
• Voted: "best barbecue" 13-times in "the best of georgia poll"
• Atlanta bbq festival winner in every category atlanta bbq - "ribs * chicken * brisket"
• Barbeque was so good they kicked us out of the event because of jealous vendor and restaurants you know. - Asked us who, we will tell?
• Bbq ribs and jazz festival - Winner (Columbus, Ohio)
• Inducted into the bbq masters hall of fame
• "Best ribs in America 2012" - Great chefs worldwide voted:
• "Best bbq in the world tripple crown - 2010, 2011, 2012"
• Inducted into the pit-master great chefs hall of fame in Georgia
• Catering master grand champion - 2008 * 2009 * 2010 * 2011 * 2012
• Seen four world championship Memphis in May
• Our ribs rated: "best ribs in planet" by local magazine
• Top ten things to do in Atlanta
• 64 "first place" awards in 69 competitions
• 32 "grand champion" awards
• Beat the legend that beat bobby flay on the food channel.
• Battle of Atlanta Gold medal
• 1996 centennial olympic Atlanta Georgia - Crystal medallion

BBQ Masters dedication to serving the finest food and ensuring a great dining experience for every customer remain unchanged since the very first day BBQ Joint opened its doors in 2005.