Kell Phelps - National BBQ and Grilling Association
Kel Phelps joins JT and Leanne on Barbecue Nation to discuss the upcoming NBBQA conference at The Shed in Mississippi, taking place from January 15th to 18th. The event promises to bring together barbecue enthusiasts and professionals for a weekend filled with competitions, networking, and learning opportunities. Kel shares insights on the changing landscape of the barbecue industry, emphasizing the importance of adapting to new trends and the challenges faced by smaller restaurants in a competitive market. The conversation also touches on the significance of incorporating live fire cooking experiences into events to enhance attendee engagement. As the discussion unfolds, they highlight the need for continuous learning and collaboration in the barbecue community to navigate current economic challenges and to foster a vibrant culinary culture.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Barbecue News
- NBBQA
- Krispy Kreme
- Painted Hills Natural Beef
- Heritage Steel
- BNB Charcoal
- Peg Leg Porker
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcript
It's time for Barbecue Nation with jt.
JT:So fire up your grill, light the charcoal, and get your smoker cooking.
JT:Now from the Turn It Go Burnett studios in Portland, here's jt.
Speaker B:Hey, everybody.
Speaker B:Welcome to the nation, Barbecue Nation.
Speaker B:I'm JT along with my co host for another year.
Speaker B:She signed on.
Speaker B:Oh, my God, I did.
Leanne:And I did not get a raise.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:Well, as soon as I get one, you get one.
Leanne:Okay.
Leanne:Deal.
Speaker B:Okay.
Leanne:Right.
Leanne:No.
Speaker B:What are you, Howie Mandel?
Speaker B:Deal.
Speaker B:No deal.
Speaker B:What is it?
Speaker B:Anyway, we're coming to you from our respective Turn It, Don't Burn it studios.
Speaker B:As always today, our special guest is Kel Phelps from Barbecue News magazine, but also the proprietor, partly of the proprietor, I know, who does all the work, but she's off camera right now of working the nbbqa.
Speaker B:Yeah, they've got a big event coming up.
Speaker B:We're gonna start off with that.
Speaker B:Anyway, welcome, buddy.
Kel Phelps:Man, Always, always great way to kick off a new year.
Kel Phelps:Hanging out with you guys.
Speaker B:I know.
Leanne:I feel like I haven't seen or talked to you in a while.
Kel Phelps:It has been a while.
Kel Phelps:I think we did this at the.
Leanne:Royal and I didn't see at the Royal, so maybe that's what I'm missing.
Speaker B:Yeah, we did that storm show on.
Kel Phelps:The way there and then I got there and we flooded and I was swimming around trying to keep everything.
Leanne:Well, you should be good with water now.
Leanne:He should be.
Kel Phelps:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Did you.
Speaker B:Speaking of water, not that we don't want to talk about barbecue, but did you see the videos from London yesterday?
Leanne:No.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:It's been raining like hell and the rivers come up.
Speaker B:Guess what else come up and come out?
Speaker B:Rats.
Speaker B:They had these rats that were as big as ponies running around there.
Speaker B:And I'm like, why doesn't somebody just stand out there and go, thunk, thunk, thunk, you know, in the rat problem.
Speaker B:But they didn't ask me, so.
Kel Phelps:Wow.
Speaker B:I'd do it for them.
Speaker B:But anyway.
Speaker B:Okay, you've got your shindig coming up here, the 14th or the 15th through the 18th down at the shed.
Speaker B:So my first question is, are you going to be able to keep Brad in line?
Kel Phelps:Man, I've been knowing Brad since they were in a.
Kel Phelps:A 10 by 10 shed with a couple of picnic tables out in front of them.
Kel Phelps:And when we met, he was dumpster diving, I mean, on a daily basis to start collecting stuff for the shed.
Kel Phelps:Man, there's no keeping that kid straight.
Kel Phelps:He and I know he's 45 years old now.
Kel Phelps:Something like that.
Kel Phelps:He's.
Kel Phelps:But no, no, that straight.
Speaker B:No.
Leanne:Very active.
Speaker B:He's very active.
Speaker B:He's a lot of fun, though.
Kel Phelps:He's always, always a lot for the party.
Kel Phelps:No doubt.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Brooke kind of stands there and goes, huh, what can I do?
Speaker B:You know, he's my brother.
Speaker B:He's my brother.
Kel Phelps:Brains behind the operation is Brooke, and Brad's just the instigator and hot man.
Kel Phelps:No doubt.
Speaker B:And I think.
Speaker B:I think Mama Shed, she kind of stands back and she's got these little invisible strings and she goes, pull, pull.
Speaker B:I think it does that.
Leanne:Yeah, that'll be good, though.
Leanne:That'll be good to have the convention down there, don't you think, man?
Kel Phelps:You know, we put a lot of.
Kel Phelps:A lot of thought and a lot of effort into trying to create something that is a two for one deal almost.
Kel Phelps:You know, we always.
Kel Phelps:There's a signature series of events that happen early first of the year, and MEBQA conference has always been early on in the year.
Kel Phelps:So that number one, we try not to compete with too many other events, but it allows people from way up north, where those guys are closed down a lot for the winter.
Kel Phelps:It allows them a chance to come and learn and teach and share what they do, which is what me big QA is all about.
Kel Phelps:So, you know, as the last few years, you know, we've just.
Kel Phelps:It's been harder and harder to draw a big bunch.
Kel Phelps:So we just decided, hey, listen, instead of one big event, we're going to do a couple of smaller regional mini conference meetups, whatever you want to call them.
Kel Phelps:And this is the very first one at doing that.
Kel Phelps:It allows people who are in the region to come and not travel across the country.
Kel Phelps:And also, you know, there'll be close to 200 teams there at the Shed, so it allows us to play with those guys and vice versa.
Kel Phelps:Our bunch gets to come and play down at the Shed at the showdown there as well.
Leanne:So there's a competition involved as well?
Kel Phelps:Oh, yeah.
Kel Phelps:Oh, yeah, of course.
Kel Phelps:Always.
Kel Phelps:The Rhinestone Cowboy Cook off will be there on Friday and then the Shed showdown is a huge deal on Saturday with a double sea, a huge Bloody Mary showcase like none other.
Kel Phelps:You've never seen all the videos of that.
Kel Phelps:That's.
Kel Phelps:That's something to witness there then.
Kel Phelps:So they also do a turkey category, but all the winners from the different categories at the end of the night as they're announced, they get to go against celebrity chefs who show up on and they all cook on the same grill, pulling out of A pantry, and they have a showdown grand champion there at the end of the night.
Kel Phelps:So it's very, very cool.
Kel Phelps:Cool, cool experience, for sure.
Speaker B:So I like it.
Speaker B:I like it a lot.
Speaker B:I noticed that you have different.
Speaker B:And the picture behind me is when Leanne.
Speaker B:Leanne and I were in Fort Worth with you guys.
Speaker B:That's where that picture is from.
Kel Phelps:Absolutely.
Speaker B:But you got a.
Speaker B:A good.
Speaker B:You've got Meathead, you've got Harry sue, you've got Carrie Pringle there.
Speaker B:You've got a couple other ones.
Speaker B:I can't think right off top of my head, what.
Speaker B:What can people expect from them?
Kel Phelps:So just kind of sum it up.
Kel Phelps:Somebody asked me early on a couple days ago, what is mebqa and what.
Kel Phelps:What is this conference?
Kel Phelps:What's it all about?
Kel Phelps:I said, man, you know, just to sum it up real quick, MBBQA is all about trying to help anybody in the barbecue world, no matter what aspect of the world they're in, whether it's backyard, trying to get better.
Kel Phelps:A restaurant guy trying to make more money.
Kel Phelps:Catering guys, sauce and rub guys, competition guys.
Kel Phelps:We want to try to help build your network with those people who have been there and done that in previously and make it make you have a better experience in your barbecue journey, no matter which route you're taking.
Kel Phelps:We want to be the ones not only cheerleading, but we want to help you have a better experience and more successful, no matter what avenue you do.
Kel Phelps:So with these guys, we got planned on Thursday coming, you know, some of it's business oriented.
Kel Phelps:We've got Kurt Mauser, who is a degree in business, talking about, you know, profit and loss.
Kel Phelps:Real basic business stuff.
Kel Phelps:But how do you.
Kel Phelps:How do you forecast and see, you know, where you need to put goals at?
Kel Phelps:And then you can go back and tell from P.
Kel Phelps:Ls where you're losing, where you need to change at, you know.
Kel Phelps:And then Carrie's doing an event, a class on expanding.
Kel Phelps:You know, once you get to that point and you want to expand, take another step.
Kel Phelps:Carrie Bringle, Peg Leg Porkers out of Nashville, Tennessee.
Kel Phelps:Man, I can't think of anybody more experienced at doing that.
Kel Phelps:I mean, this guy owns his own Bourbon deal now, Sauce and Rub guy.
Kel Phelps:He's got some really cool stuff coming up now.
Kel Phelps:I don't think I'm supposed to talk about it.
Leanne:Well, I think he's also expanded beyond barbecue with his restaurant expansion, so that's interesting, too.
Leanne:Yes, I'm sure he'll talk about that.
Kel Phelps:Yep.
Kel Phelps:So that's part of the deal.
Kel Phelps:Meathead is gathering up a whole pleather of people across the country to talk about trends that are happening across the country.
Kel Phelps:As far as what he's seeing, not only in backyard or whatever, but what restaurants are doing, what caterers are doing, or you see some of these Asian players and you see some of these pop ups that are popping up that just are doing barbecue way different than just the traditional throw it on a smoker, put some rub on it and then sauce it up and then put it on plate.
Kel Phelps:You know, there's a ton of guys across the country who have opened eyes to the culinary world and doing things a lot different from what we grew up and what we call true, true deal.
Kel Phelps:Barbecue, for sure.
Speaker B:Well, you've got.
Speaker B:Where I live, I live close to Portland, and even where you see the food carts and they've got little areas for them, they don't.
Speaker B:You don't just pull one up and start it.
Speaker B:You know, you got to do the permit thing and all that jazz.
Speaker B:But in every one of those pods I will call them, there's some form of barbecue.
Speaker B:It could be Korean, it could be Brazilian, it can be Argentinian, it can be whatever they want, whatever they profess to be from or they're skilled in.
Speaker B:It's not just a rack of ribs and a brisket sandwich or something anymore.
Speaker B:I mean, there's, there's all kinds of barbecue styles and they're serving them in, you know, bowls and platters of traditional platters, but bowls with rice and salads and all kinds of things.
Speaker B:So I think the expansion is there.
Speaker B:We're going to talk about this the next segment, Kels, but it's going to be.
Speaker B:Do the traditional barbecue people accept that?
Speaker B:It's just, I think it's a valid question, some of that at the convention this year.
Speaker B:People talking about that, no doubt.
Kel Phelps:And that's what that class is actually focusing on, is kind of giving some detail behind, you know, what caused them to.
Kel Phelps:To do something different and what they've seen, you know, other people doing.
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:We're going to take a break.
Speaker B:We're going to be back with Kell Phelps from Barbecue News magazine and nbbqa.
Speaker B:You need a few more letters in there.
Speaker B:Anyway, we're going to be right back.
Speaker B:Don't go away.
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Speaker B:Welcome back to the nation on JT along with hall of Famer Leanne Whippen.
Speaker B:And today we're talking with Kel Phelps from Barbecue News magazine and also the nbbqa.
Speaker B:He's got a convention, if you will, a conference coming up in just a few days down in at the shed in Mississippi.
Speaker B:Did I say that right?
Speaker B:Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi.
Speaker B:You know, I'm a Yankee, so we, we tend to, we tend to actually use all the vowels in a word.
Speaker B:You know, we don't.
Kel Phelps:Believe it or not, I've started asking for coffee now.
Speaker B:Coffee?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Kel Phelps:I spent the, spent the new year up in New York for a few days, so they got me on my coffee now.
Speaker B:Coffee.
Speaker B:And you get a donut too.
Speaker B:I saw you with the Krispy Kremes, man.
Kel Phelps:We come out of the hotel, morning, we were getting ready to go and I was like, oh my gosh.
Kel Phelps:You know, and it was amazing how many people did not even know what a Krispy Kreme doughnut was in that place.
Kel Phelps:And I was like, it's worth the wait.
Kel Phelps:Hang on.
Speaker B:Yeah, if they're coming off the line and they're warm, you can just keep eating.
Kel Phelps:Yes.
Speaker B:You know, pretty soon you go into a coma.
Speaker B:But that's a different deal there.
Speaker B:So let's go back to your conference.
Speaker B:We were talking about Meathead bringing people.
Speaker B:In fact, when he was on the Christmas show, he was telling us a little bit about it there, these different trends and things.
Speaker B:And then you've got your competitions that we talked about in the first segment.
Speaker B:But is there something that you're going to do that in the, in the whole spectrum of the convention that you haven't tried before?
Kel Phelps:Not that, not necessarily that we've never tried before.
Kel Phelps:I mean, we'll have the meet the master deal where we bring in some of the top notch guys and sit them down.
Kel Phelps:It gives everybody an opportunity to come have some one on one time and ask anything they want to of these guys.
Kel Phelps:So we'll have, you know, a dozen of those sit down.
Kel Phelps:We'll do that for about an hour, hour and a half.
Kel Phelps:So that alone is worth the price of admission.
Kel Phelps:Sure, yeah.
Kel Phelps:But you know, as far as anything brand new, I think the overall concept of us partnering with another event or having a smaller condensed conference, you know, like a one day or two day deal versus a four day extravaganza or whatever on our own, that's the whole concept is something different, but it's all made up of stuff that we've done previously that's been successful and that we've got positive feedback from, for sure.
Speaker B:So you ever see you guys doing this in like, you know, I'm clear out here.
Speaker B:I'm 2,000 plus miles away.
Speaker B:And you don't think of the Pacific Northwest as barbecue central, Although I see popping up out here a lot more competitions and stuff.
Speaker B:I just got a couple of emails from some people that asked me if I would come, you know, take a look at them and stuff.
Speaker B:Do you ever see yourself doing one of these in kind of satellite areas or breaking the country up into regions and doing them?
Kel Phelps:Absolutely.
Kel Phelps:And that was kind of the.
Kel Phelps:That's kind of the concept of what we're talking about.
Kel Phelps:You know, I don't know how many we'll do per year, but it gives us an opportunity to put together a compact.
Kel Phelps:A compact program, so it's not so labor intensive.
Kel Phelps:The overhead for us is cut in half when we partner up with another event or whatever.
Kel Phelps:So it also brings an added value to that event that we're partnering with.
Kel Phelps:We hope.
Kel Phelps:But, yeah, I see us can do this anywhere.
Kel Phelps:Hopefully.
Kel Phelps:Um, we'll see.
Kel Phelps:I mean, we're.
Kel Phelps:We're, like I say, we're cutting our teeth with it.
Kel Phelps:And I can't be.
Kel Phelps:I cannot think Brad and Brooke, those guys with the shed, enough for allowing us to.
Kel Phelps:To partner up with them or.
Speaker B:Sure.
Kel Phelps:What do you want?
Kel Phelps:Whatever you want to call it, but I think it's a great place to start.
Kel Phelps:They've been huge supporters of MBQA over the years.
Kel Phelps:I couldn't think of any other event or place that if it failed there, I think.
Kel Phelps:I think it would probably not go well anywhere else.
Kel Phelps:But so far I think the sky's the limit and I see a lot of potential in doing this.
Kel Phelps:Other places throughout the country, for sure.
Speaker B:Are there places to stay there in Ocean Springs?
Kel Phelps:Oh, yeah.
Kel Phelps:I mean, we.
Kel Phelps:Brooke hooked us up and there is a.
Kel Phelps:It's called I'm cheating now.
Speaker B:That's okay.
Kel Phelps:Rain travel collection.
Kel Phelps:There's actually a collection of hotels downtown in Ocean Springs.
Kel Phelps:The one we're staying at is actually, I think, 99 bucks a night.
Kel Phelps:But it's right downtown Ocean Springs and supposed to be a beautiful place right there.
Kel Phelps:So that group of hotels is offered pretty good discount for salt to jump in there over the weekend.
Kel Phelps:So if.
Speaker B:If you were to meet somebody that was.
Speaker B:And you do all the time, but kind of new to barbecue Kel, and they looked at you and they said, why should I come to this?
Speaker B:You know, maybe they're not into it far enough to know who Carrie is or Meathead or Harry or, you know, those folks.
Speaker B:But what would you say to the.
Speaker B:Because we've got a lot of listeners that are weekend warriors.
Speaker B:Yeah, but what would be the benefit of them traipsing down to Mississippi for this?
Speaker B:Mississippi, sorry, Mississippi.
Speaker B:I'll get it.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:But, you know, why would you encourage them to come?
Kel Phelps:Well, no matter what, like I said, no matter what aspect of the barbecue world they're in, and if they're backyard warriors or whatever, I'm sure they're looking to do something a little different, get a little better or learn something.
Kel Phelps:So I can just about guarantee you if they come in that two day process of what we're doing and then in conjunction with the shed, what they've got going on with 200 plus teams down there competing in a double steak cook off, a rib cook off turkey ancillary, a bloody Mary ancillary.
Kel Phelps:If they didn't learn something before they left with that crowd, I would probably say they need to get over their shyness or whatever.
Kel Phelps:But if anybody come up to me and ask, what am, you know, what am I doing here?
Kel Phelps:What, what am I going to learn?
Kel Phelps:I'm going to say, you look me up and tell me what you want to learn.
Kel Phelps:And there's the sky would be the limit from there because I would probably take and hook them up with 3, 4, 5 guys who are actively cooking and let them just hang out and partner with them through the weekend.
Speaker B:So there you go.
Speaker B:We're going to take another break.
Speaker B:We're going to be back with Kel Phelps.
Speaker B:He's got a big event coming up, and if you can make it, you should go down at the shed in Mississippi.
Speaker B:Leanne and I will be back right after this.
Speaker B:Don't go away.
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Speaker B:Welcome back to The Nation.
Speaker B:I'm J.T.
Speaker B:along with Mrs.
Speaker B:Leanne Whippen, hall of famer, television celebrity, my co host on the grilling at the green television show and the proprietor of pig powder, Leanne take it from here.
Leanne:So pig batter sales were crazy over Christmas and we're in the process of restocking.
Leanne:I have a little bit left till the next palette arrives, but there'll be two pallets this time, one with the new spicy pig powder.
Leanne:So there will be an announcement on www.pigpowder.com and it will be available as soon as I can get it out there.
Speaker B:Will you have any room in your house?
Leanne:I don't know.
Leanne:Well, actually, I'm to the point now where I'm into air conditioned storage units.
Speaker B:Okay.
Leanne:But the good news is, you know, when I go through it this fast, the.
Leanne:The product is always fresh, so the turnover is quick.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Leanne:So.
Leanne:And.
Leanne:And also there's new label designs as well.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:I see you got your buccaneers flag out there.
Leanne:I do.
Leanne:Go Bucks.
Speaker B:How are those Falcons doing?
Leanne:Falcons.
Speaker B:He's a Georgia boy.
Leanne:Oh, sorry.
Kel Phelps:I give up on professional football a long time ago, but I do like the Eagle.
Kel Phelps:I like the Georgia.
Kel Phelps:We call them the Georgia Eagle Dogs.
Kel Phelps:They're out of Philadelphia.
Kel Phelps:You know, they.
Kel Phelps:They drafted about eight of these guys.
Leanne:Well, that's good.
Kel Phelps:But, yeah, I'm just a college football guy.
Kel Phelps:I'm a huge Georgia fan.
Kel Phelps:I hate that.
Kel Phelps:I hate.
Kel Phelps:We didn't show up.
Kel Phelps:Our offensive line kind of hurt us the other night pretty good.
Kel Phelps:But under the circumstances and we all understand, you know, Kirby Smart's dad passed away.
Kel Phelps:Right, right, right there and was already in the hospital having issues right there before the day before the game.
Kel Phelps:So, yeah, I sure hate that.
Kel Phelps:But, man, now it's.
Kel Phelps:College football is about turning into the pros.
Kel Phelps:With all the transfer portal and trading and deals that go on.
Kel Phelps:It's.
Kel Phelps:It's kind of crazy in that.
Leanne:Yes.
Speaker B:Yeah, show me the money.
Speaker B:That's what it's all about anymore.
Speaker B:So, Kel, you've really got your pulse on this stuff.
Speaker B:We've had some rough years here the last few years, economically for people.
Speaker B:A lot of restaurants in our area went down and are not coming back.
Speaker B:Some of them are coming back, so not all of them, but a lot of them that were, I think, mostly not the midsection ones.
Speaker B:The ones where I'm from, they were either the low end ones or the very top ones.
Speaker B:The top ones couldn't make enough after Covid to keep the doors open and pay all the people.
Speaker B:They had a big staff in the.
Speaker B:And the.
Speaker B:The lesser ones at the bottom that were some of them were just getting started.
Speaker B:They had a tough time because, you know, Covid hit them and then inflation jacked up on them and, and they couldn't, you know, when you own your own business, as all of us know, you know, you put in a lot of hours.
Speaker B:And if you own a restaurant, especially as Leanne knows, you put in a hell of a lot of hours.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And a lot of times the person that owns it is not, you know, if they're making 11 cents an hour, they think they're doing good when you're, when you're starting.
Speaker B:So what, what do you see?
Speaker B:And especially, you know, obviously focus towards the barbecue industry of where we're coming out of now and put on your prognostication hat and, you know, don't sugarcoat it.
Speaker B:Just tell us what you think.
Kel Phelps:I'll be honest with you, man.
Kel Phelps:I don't think it's going to get better quick.
Kel Phelps:I don't think it's going to be a light switch.
Kel Phelps:But I do think two years from now, I don't, I don't know the next 12 months, but I'm saying 18, 24 months, I think our economic situation is going to look a lot different from what it does now.
Kel Phelps:I think you're going to, just like last time when Trump was in office, you're going to see gas prices go back down eventually.
Kel Phelps:You know, I, a lot of people hadn't talked about it, but I know that the, our reserves, our fuel reserves, oil reserves that we've had are down to about 10%.
Speaker B:Right.
Kel Phelps:You know, because we've been tapping into those reserves to keep gas prices down since we're not drilling as much as we were.
Kel Phelps:So, you know, and the deal with the inflation with food prices, it is, it is unreal the impact that, that inflation has had on small business.
Kel Phelps:And when I say small business, you know, one, two locations at the most, you know, especially the restaurant world, I mean, it is, it has really flipped it upside down when you, when you go to get cheap food and you pull out a $20 bill and just for yourself and then you got to go grab some change to pay for the tax and everything else on it for just a burger, fries and Coke.
Kel Phelps:That's, that's pretty sad.
Kel Phelps:I mean, it's, I don't know this sad, but it's sure crazy.
Kel Phelps:But I know that things that cost three times the amount that it used to is, it's pretty tough when you're trying to make ends meet on a day to day basis.
Kel Phelps:So people, they have to make A choice.
Kel Phelps:And I don't, I don't see that going away instantly in the next six, eight months.
Kel Phelps:But I think 12, 18 months, 24 months down the road.
Kel Phelps:That's going to be hindsight.
Kel Phelps:I'm hoping and I hope things somehow, some way get under control with that.
Kel Phelps:You know, I've had 8, 10 different people reach out to me in the last year and said, hey man, you know, I am trying everything that I can to survive.
Kel Phelps:What, what am I missing?
Kel Phelps:You know, thinking that there was some trick to get away from the ten dollar a pound hamburger meat or you know, just the raw items inflation.
Kel Phelps:And I just, this is the problem.
Leanne:I mean I got out of the restaurant business and I'm not getting back in.
Leanne:And the reason is it is the large chains and they have the buying power and they're able to negotiate their prices.
Leanne:The mom and pops cannot.
Leanne:And you know, when you look at your food costs, you know, mathematically it's got to be, you know, 30% or under and then you have your payroll and then you fix cost.
Leanne:Rents have not gone down for retail, for, you know, to rent space for a restaurant.
Leanne:So there's been no give and take.
Leanne:It's all gone up.
Leanne:The fuel prices is, it's not just about gas, it affects plastics, you know, all your to go items.
Leanne:There is in my opinion, no light at the end of the tunnel anytime soon for the mom and pops.
Leanne:I feel like, you know, the big boys are just pushing everybody out.
Leanne:And yeah, you can be a restaurant genius but it's still not going to help the price of your meats and the price of your labor and it's just not.
Leanne:And when you do the math, it is virtually impossible for you to make a decent amount a living if you are going to have partners because then you have to split that up.
Leanne:So there is a multitude of reasons that I just don't see any change in the near future.
Leanne:I don't.
Kel Phelps:Well, if you guys watch that show Landman.
Speaker B:Oh yeah.
Leanne:Watch the whole entire.
Leanne:Yeah.
Leanne:And it's still going on.
Leanne:It's great show.
Kel Phelps:Oh my God.
Leanne:Billy Bob Thornton.
Kel Phelps:Yes.
Kel Phelps:When he come out and he was telling the lawyer, you know, about all the, you know, the, what oil business is about.
Leanne:Right, right.
Kel Phelps:You know, and it, how big it was.
Kel Phelps:It's part of everything we do it.
Kel Phelps:Absolutely.
Kel Phelps:I was like dumbfounded.
Kel Phelps:I was like really?
Kel Phelps:And then you know, you fact it.
Kel Phelps:But that's the truth.
Kel Phelps:He told the truth.
Kel Phelps:So.
Leanne:Yeah, yeah.
Leanne:I mean I hate to be grim and so, you know, I Don't know and not optimistic about it, but it's the facts.
Kel Phelps:That's what I say and I agree with you 100%.
Kel Phelps:The big guys, the big restaurant conglomerates or whatever, you know, now they're actually partnering up with ton of providers now trying to get in, buy up family farms and then they're wheeling and dealing.
Leanne:And they have the money to do it, right?
Kel Phelps:Yep.
Kel Phelps:Money talks and everything else.
Leanne:And you know, Kerry Bringle's a perfect example of a success story.
Leanne:But his timing was perfect.
Leanne:If he did what he did, tried what he did before and tried to do it now, it's virtually impossible because what it boils down to is real estate too.
Leanne:And leasing is money out the window.
Leanne:So you try to know, buy the property.
Leanne:I've, I tried to do it a couple of times and you know, I think that's what Carrie did and that's how he snowballed into success.
Leanne:But I, I guarantee if I ask him today, can you do this all over again today, he's going to say no, right?
Kel Phelps:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah, I agree.
Speaker B:Well, Leanne, we've had Will Homer on here, my buddy from Painted Hills Natural Beef, a number of times and to give you one example where they were, they were paying 95 cents to a buck 15, 100 weight live steer, for example, you know, now they're upwards of $3.
Speaker B:Okay?
Speaker B:And it's, it's not just one factor that's caused that.
Speaker B:It's not just the fuel.
Speaker B:The fuel does add a lot to it, but it's the grain costs, it's the labor cost, it's the taxes, plus it's the, you know, all those guys, all the commodities deal in the futures market.
Speaker B:So they're trying to predict in September what they're going to need in June, for example.
Speaker B:And they have, so they, they sell a contract for, and I'm simplifying this, folks, so don't yell at me.
Speaker B:If you deal in futures, but if they're selling, you know, steers hanging weight at that time for $2 and all of a sudden now it's the cost to get them there is 395, they've lost almost $2, that 100 weight per head.
Speaker B:That's a lot of money.
Kel Phelps:That's 100%.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Leanne:And, and, and you ask, you ask them, well, what do you think the future market's going to be?
Leanne:Do you think the prices are going to come down?
Leanne:It's not optimistic.
Leanne:They can't predict.
Leanne:But it is not a smiley conversation.
Speaker B:No, it's not.
Speaker B:We're going to take a break.
Speaker B:We're going to come back and wrap up the show.
Speaker B:That would be Barbecue Nation with Mr.
Speaker B:Phelps from Not Mitch.
Leanne:I'll tell you, I'm kind of upset I'm not going to be at the convention.
Leanne:I made an earlier commitment, not realizing that the dates were happening.
Leanne:But I think it's rather exciting what you're doing, partnering with the Shed, and I think you're going to end up having a lot of new barbecue addicts coming along, because when they see this competition and.
Leanne:And.
Leanne:And they get in there, I think you're going to find a lot more positive results from this event than in the past.
Leanne:And I think a lot of excitement.
Leanne:I mean, I'm excited, but I'm kind of bummed that I'm not going to be there.
Leanne:But I really think it.
Leanne:I think it was a smart thing to do.
Leanne:And if you can, you know, move this around the country, albeit it's tough to go out by Jeff in the Pacific Northwest because, you know, you got to have people that are going to attend, and you're not going to have the attendance out there.
Leanne:But if you could certainly move it.
Leanne:You know, the Northeast has grown a lot, I think, with barbecue, but, you know, work your way up a little bit, up, you know, the Eastern seaboard into the Midwest.
Leanne:I think it could be very successful.
Leanne:So I'm excited to hear how it goes.
Leanne:And, yes, I wish you a lot.
Speaker B:Of luck with it, but we got to take a break, so we will be back.
Speaker B:Okay.
Jeff:Hey, everybody, it's J.T.
Jeff:you know, I talk about painted hills all the time, and we always say beef the way nature intended.
Jeff:But it's more than that, because each bite of Painted Hills will make your taste buds explode, put a big, bright smile on your face, and whoever's at your dinner table will have a big, bright smile on their face.
Jeff:And you can thank me for that later.
Jeff:Just go to paintedhillsbeef.com and find out more.
Jeff:You won't regret it.
Jeff:Hey, everybody, J.T.
Speaker B:Here.
Jeff:I want to tell you about Hammer Stahl knives.
Jeff:Hammerstahl combines German steel with beautiful and functioning designs.
Jeff:They're part of the Heritage Steel Group, which also does their pots and pans.
Jeff:So go to heritagesteel us.
Jeff:Check out the Hammer Stahl knives.
Jeff:If you're really into cooking, I think you're really gonna like them.
Speaker B:Welcome back to Barbecue Nation.
Speaker B:I'm JT along with Leanne Whippen, my co conspirator in this project and hall of Fame member celebrity Chef.
Speaker B:Winner of countless awards.
Leanne:I feel very old.
Leanne:That's all you did was maybe feel old.
Speaker B:I'm sorry.
Speaker B:This bouncing, bubbly blonde that's on the other end.
Leanne:I don't feel old, but you just made me feel old.
Speaker B:I'm sorry.
Speaker B:I'm sorry.
Speaker B:And then we got Kel Phelps, who is older than hell anyway.
Kel Phelps:Geez, man.
Kel Phelps:You know, I have been told I was the.
Kel Phelps:The youngest, oldest guys people know.
Kel Phelps:So.
Speaker B:Did you ever have somebody walk up to you and go, you've got an old soul.
Speaker B:I've had people tell me that you've got an old soul on my shoes or what?
Speaker B:You know?
Jeff:Come on.
Kel Phelps:Daddy used to tell me I had the patience of Job, and then I took me a while to realize that.
Kel Phelps:That was an understatement.
Kel Phelps:A huge understatement.
Kel Phelps:The older I get.
Kel Phelps:That is definitely not true.
Kel Phelps:But definitely.
Leanne:I think you're a patient person.
Leanne:I do.
Leanne:I think you're very patient.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Leanne:I think that you are calming, and I think you experience so much stress from everything that you do, because you do a lot, and it's amazing that you have the demeanor that you have with all the stress that's on your shoulders.
Speaker B:That's because Ms.
Speaker B:Janet is behind him with a baseball bat, keeping him in line.
Leanne:No, she's in masseuse.
Leanne:She's giving back room.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Kel Phelps:No, she's the one handling that.
Kel Phelps:She's like a firefighter.
Kel Phelps:Her.
Kel Phelps:She's got this big hose, so she sees these fires out in front of us, so she's putting them out before we walk into it.
Leanne:Well, good for her.
Leanne:And you.
Speaker B:And you're eating Krispy Kremes, right?
Kel Phelps:Krispy Kremes, y'all.
Kel Phelps:And we went to the Cats in New York, and let me tell you something.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Kel Phelps:I have Eat a ton of brisket in my life.
Kel Phelps:I've never eaten pastrami like that.
Leanne:But isn't that place incredible?
Leanne:I know.
Kel Phelps:It was, like, 28 degrees, wind blowing 30 miles an hour.
Kel Phelps:An hour.
Kel Phelps:We waited.
Leanne:Oh, that's actually not bad.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Kel Phelps:We were like, if this is not good, I'm gonna kill somebody.
Kel Phelps:We got.
Kel Phelps:Oh, my gosh.
Kel Phelps:Yeah.
Kel Phelps:I'm telling you, that was.
Leanne:I'm glad you did that.
Leanne:That's a great experience.
Kel Phelps:Worth the wait.
Speaker B:My daughter went to New York to.
Speaker B:To work for a while, and I told her, I said, you got to go to Katz's.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:You just.
Speaker B:It's a thing.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's kind of like going to Ethan's out on Coney Island.
Speaker B:You know, you gotta.
Speaker B:Couple of things you gotta do.
Speaker B:You gotta go up in the.
Speaker B:You know, I'm.
Speaker B:I'm blanking out on the building in New York, the Empire State Building.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you gotta do that.
Speaker B:So she goes to Katz's and she calls me and she goes, dad, this is a really good.
Speaker B:One of the best corned beef sandwiches I've ever had.
Speaker B:Maybe she had pastrami.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:She goes, I'm not sure it's worth $37, though.
Speaker B:I said, what the hell did you order?
Speaker B:She goes, well, I had to have the.
Speaker B:The pastrami and, you know, on rye, like you said, and Swiss and mustard, mayo and this.
Speaker B:And I had to have a side of potato salad.
Speaker B:And I had.
Speaker B:I said, well, you know, cost of living in New York is substantially higher than it is out here in good old Woodburn, Oregon.
Speaker B:So, you know.
Speaker B:Or Douglas, Georgia.
Leanne:Let me ask you, do you remember how much a sandwich was?
Leanne:I bet you a sandwich was $27.
Kel Phelps:I think it was 28 bucks.
Kel Phelps:But we got it with nothing on it.
Kel Phelps:We got sauerkraut and all that stuff on the side.
Leanne:Right.
Kel Phelps:To try the real.
Kel Phelps:Just the pastrami by itself or whatever.
Leanne:But, I mean, it's really like the price of brisket.
Leanne:You go into a barbecue place and you're gonna pay, you know, a lot.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Kel Phelps:I think it was 40.
Kel Phelps:I think you can order it at home.
Kel Phelps:It's like 40 bucks a pound or something like that.
Kel Phelps:Shipped.
Kel Phelps:Wow.
Speaker B:But it's all good.
Speaker B:I bet you it doesn't cost that at the shed.
Kel Phelps:No, no, I don't think you get pastrami at the.
Speaker B:Probably not.
Leanne:It'd be pork all the way.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, it's all good.
Speaker B:So we got a couple minutes here, Kel, since you took over the NBBQA rsvp.
Speaker B:That's my joke.
Leanne:I caught that.
Speaker B:Yeah, you got that.
Speaker B:What have you learned?
Kel Phelps:Oh, my gosh.
Kel Phelps:I've learned business is still hard no matter what business you're in, no matter how much you want to help people.
Kel Phelps:It's a hustle.
Kel Phelps:You know, the last couple of years, and.
Kel Phelps:And I don't say that in a bad way.
Kel Phelps:A hustle.
Kel Phelps:Trying to hustle people or whatever, but just making sure that people get their bang for their buck, no matter what it is.
Speaker B:Right.
Kel Phelps:Has become harder and harder than ever before.
Kel Phelps:And that part of our job doesn't seem to be getting any easier.
Kel Phelps:Of course, you know, we do the magazine, and that thing has changed totally.
Kel Phelps: Since we started: Kel Phelps:You know, it's getting more and more expensive to print it every month.
Kel Phelps:But we've got those Die Hards now.
Kel Phelps:I think a print subscription is 50 bucks a year.
Leanne:People want it, the Die Hards that print.
Kel Phelps:And I said, you know, as long as they want to pay for it and we don't lose money on it, we'll do it.
Kel Phelps:But we've, we've kind of changed.
Kel Phelps:We've learned just like we did with the, with the print magazine, we went to the digital side of things, and now the Digital.
Kel Phelps:We're about 50,000amonth now as far as readers.
Kel Phelps:And we've, we've kept that on a flat line.
Kel Phelps:And I've always, I've always been told in business, when you run a flat line, that's not real good.
Kel Phelps:You know, you either got to be going up and when you start flatlining, you got to be careful.
Kel Phelps:And we, we've able to keep that flat line for a while now, but same way with mbbqa, we've kind of changed our game plan on what we're doing.
Kel Phelps:We've got into the live fire experience where we did it last year, Smoke Slam, where we're actually doing live demos and we're bringing folks, we're trying gotta get Leanne involved in this deal where we're doing live demos and we're working for different companies.
Kel Phelps:We're showcasing live fire cooking with like, Al Fregoni, BNB Charcoal.
Kel Phelps:You know, they have a huge team that does live fire stuff.
Kel Phelps:And that's a.
Kel Phelps:It creates an experience when people come to a barbecue event versus being able to walk around and leave ticked off because all they did was smell and see.
Kel Phelps:This gives them opportunity to not only taste, but to see and learn, you know, whatever the pitmasters were cooking and learn the recipes and some of the tips.
Leanne:Well, now the live fire equipment's more readily available too, so they can actually do it at home.
Leanne:So that makes it nice.
Kel Phelps:Yes, absolutely.
Kel Phelps:And speaking of coming, just a few minutes, but you gotta have me back here in the next few weeks.
Kel Phelps:We're gonna be announcing at the Shed.
Kel Phelps:I told you, I was in New York over the new year.
Kel Phelps:We had a series of meetings with some folks there, and we are like this close to closing the deal there.
Kel Phelps:That is going to be pretty epic.
Leanne:We will, we will enjoy that.
Leanne:You're going to break the news on our show?
Speaker B:Yeah, you better.
Kel Phelps:Yeah.
Kel Phelps:Well, we're actually going to break it at the Shed.
Kel Phelps:That's where we'll actually.
Leanne:Okay, fair enough.
Kel Phelps:We're breaking it there live.
Kel Phelps:Those guys are coming.
Kel Phelps:Hopefully coming down to hang out with us, and we'll get to introduce them to some of our members and friends and.
Kel Phelps:But it'll be.
Kel Phelps:It'll be pretty big news.
Kel Phelps:We're excited about it.
Kel Phelps:Something we've been working on for about two years now.
Kel Phelps:So.
Kel Phelps:See, it come to life will be pretty cool.
Speaker B:Good for you.
Speaker B:We got to get out of here.
Speaker B:Kel Phelps, don't forget the NBBQA.
Speaker B:Cutting it off there.
Speaker B:Starts the 15th through the 18th at the shed down.
Leanne:February of.
Speaker B:No, January.
Leanne:January, Sorry.
Speaker B:January.
Leanne:I'm ahead of myself.
Speaker B:Yes, you are.
Speaker B:That's okay.
Speaker B:We still love you.
Kel Phelps:I wish it was February.
Kel Phelps:Give us a little more time to prep for it.
Speaker B:But, yeah, there you go.
Speaker B:But go to the NBBQA website, and there's lots of information there, and you can still get in.
Speaker B:You can still go down, taste some food, listen to some great speakers, and meet Ms.
Speaker B:Janet, who takes care of this yahoo here.
Speaker B:Anyway, Kel, thank you very much, buddy.
Leanne:Thank you, guys.
Kel Phelps:Thank you guys so much.
Kel Phelps: re's to a huge and prosperous: Speaker B:Well, we hope so.
Speaker B:We hope so.
Speaker B:We're gonna get out of here, Chef.
Speaker B:Steph's gonna be with us next week if she's feeling better.
Speaker B:And we've got Michelle Wallace coming up in a couple of weeks, and we've got a few other surprises.
Speaker B:So for Leanne and Kel, I want to say adios, have fun, go out, be kind, and remember our motto.
Speaker B:Turn it, don't burn it.
JT:Barbecue Nation is produced by JTSD LLC Productions in association with Salem Media Group.
JT:All rights.
