Carolina BBQ Festival launches its 5th anniversary with a BBQ brunch that combines an all-star lineup of barbecue pitmasters and Charlotte’s top chefs to produce a menu of unforgettable flavors and barbecue brunch comfort.
Carolina BBQ Festival’s barbecue brunch, Brisket & Biscuits, is March 28, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Town Brewing Company in Charlotte. Presented in partnership with Savor Charlotte, the event provides 6 unique brunch-themed barbecue creations.
This blog covers everything you need to know about Carolina BBQ Festival barbecue brunch, Brisket & Biscuits, including featured pitmasters and chefs, venue information and ticket details.
Check back for updates with the BBQ brunch menu, sponsor announcement, and event news.
What is Carolina BBQ Festival Barbecue Brunch?
Carolina BBQ Festival’s barbecue brunch is a warm-up for the annual event. Featured chefs and barbecue experts create a tasting menu that combines Carolina barbecue traditions with an upscale flair, perfect for Saturday brunch.
Carolina BBQ Festival organizers partner with Savor Charlotte to produce Brisket & Biscuits, the only live foodie event included in this year’s culinary adventure organized by Charlotte Regional Visitor Authority. Savor Charlotte promotes a variety of special curated menus, interactive classes, themed dinners and more, March 11-28.
Compared to the festival, Brisket and Biscuits offers a smaller selection of barbecue samples in a relaxed, intimate setting among pitmasters, barbecue enthusiasts, and regional food influencers.
- What: Carolina BBQ Festival Barbecue Brunch Brisket & Biscuits
- When: Saturday, March 28, 2026, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Where: Town Brewing Company, 800 Grandin Road, Charlotte, NC.
- What to expect: Curated food samples from 6 tasting stations featuring an all-star lineup of 9 barbecue experts and Charlotte chefs.
- Tickets: $35 each and available here. Use promo code LOWANDSLOW for a discount
Barbecue Brunch Participating Pitmasters and Chefs
- Matthew Register, Southern Smoke BBQ
- Chris Coleman, Built on Hospitality, The Goodyear House
- Madison Ruckel, Mama Jean’s BBQ
- Chris Rogienski, Supperland, Luluia Hall
- Dylan Cooke, Fork Grove Barbecue
- Chayil Johnson, Community Matters Cafe
- Matthew Barry, Midwood Smokehouse
- Lewis Donald, Sweet Lew’s BBQ
- Oscar Johnson, Jimmy Pearls
BBQ Brunch Pitmasters and Chefs
An all-star lineup of barbecue experts and Charlotte-area chefs will craft an exclusive menu of 6 barbecue brunch tastings for “Brisket & Biscuits.”
Matthew Register, Southern Smoke BBQ, Garland
A real estate agent turned cookbook author, food entrepreneur and travelling pitmaster, Matthew Register is a familiar participant in the Carolina BBQ Festival, as well as other regional barbecue-centric events. Among them, Matthew has been featured in Pinehurst Barbecue Festival’s Pitmaster Invitational, The Today Show, ACC Football Tailgate, Holy Smokes, Marcus King Band Family Reunion, and Tanglefoot, a first-year Texas festival where he was one of two participating pitmasters from the Carolinas.
Chris Coleman, Built on Hospitality, The Goodyear House, Charlotte
Food Network Champion with appearances on Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, Alex vs. America, Superchef Grudge Match, and Guy’s Grocery Games, executive chef Chris Coleman is chef and a partner of Built on Hospitality. He’s been a featured chef in regional food festivals, including Euphoria, Charleston Wine & Food and at the James Beard House.
The Goodyear House is the first restaurant created by Built on Hospitality, a Charlotte-based group focused on “crafting exceptional culinary experiences that resonate with our guests and leave an indelible mark on their memories.” Other Built on Hospitality properties include Old Town Kitchen & Cocktails, Folia, and Chief’s Modern Cocktail Parlor.
Madison Ruckel, Mama Jean’s Barbecue and Soulful Sides, Roanoke, VA
With a barbecue fire that ignited inside Home Team BBQ in West Ashley, Madison Ruckel travelled the world as a featured chef before launching his own food truck venture in a 1956 Airstream trailer. Seven years later, Mama Jean’s BBQ moved into a brick-and-mortar location where the food continues earning accolades. Southern Living named Mama Jean’s to the South’s Best New BBQ Joint (2024) and Best Barbecue Joints in the South (2025). The restaurant’s Instagram page offers a glimpse into the food craft being honed in Roanoke.
Hear the Low & Slow Barbecue Show Episode with Madison Ruckel here or watch it below.
Chris Rogienski, Supperland, Luluia Hall, Charlotte
After working in kitchens throughout the Northeast, Supperland’s opening executive chef Chris Rogienski spent four years at the helm of the potluck-style steakhouse. Last year, the Michelin-recognized chef took on the same role at a surf-and-turf sister restaurant opening in the Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group, Leluia Hall. Chris brings 20 years of professional cooking experience and a curiosity that fuels combinations from his classical French background with dishes and ingredients.
Dylan Cooke, Fork Grove Barbecue
Dylan Cooke started cooking barbecue at age 15 in Saddler’s Creek, SC, for a Saturday-only joint. While pursuing a career in music, he came back to a Big Green Egg during breaks from the road. A few years later, a pandemic not only closed music venues and restaurants, it returned Dylan to the smoke pit. Catering and barbecue pop-ups led to brick-and-mortar in 2023, when he returned to Saddler’s Creel and officially opened Fork Grove Barbecue. Since then, he’s caught the attention of Texas Monthly (“one of the best Texas-tyle BBQ trays outside Texas“), and been featured at Carolina BBQ Festival, Tanglefoot, Charleston Wine + Food and Euphoria.
We met Dylan in February 2024 in this episode of The Low & Slow Barbecue Show.
Chayil Johnson, Community Matters Café, Charlotte
Putting down culinary roots at age 13 in New Orleans and nurturing them under the tutelage of Emeril Lagasse and later as New Orleans Center for Creative Arts Scholar at Charlotte’s Johnson & Wales, Chayil Johnson has grown a Charlotte restaurant business that redefines “giving back.” The 2025 James Beard Foundation Award semi-finalist engineered a life skills program at Community Matters Café that partners with Charlotte Rescue Mission to hire people overcoming addiction and homelessness.
Matthew Barry, Midwood Smokehouse, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Columbia, SC
Matthew Barry joined the Midwood Smokehouse when the first location was opening and has been tending the fire ever since. Now he’s executive chef over Midwood’s barbecue footprint. Matthew started working at Q Shack on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh during his college years at N.C. State. With a history degree in hand, he found himself working as a catering director before connecting with Midwood founder Frank Scibelli. Midwood was named best BBQ joint by Charlotte Observer readers in 2025.
Get the cola sauce recipe Matt created for Midwood Smokehouse and learn more about his barbecue journey in our podcast interview from 2023.
Lewis Donald, Sweet Lew’s BBQ, Charlotte
Carolina BBQ Festival founder Lewis Donald brought to Charlotte a renewed spotlight on the North Carolina and South Carolina barbecue community. Meanwhile, the event’s #BBQforaCause mission raises funds for Operation BBQ Relief and other charitable organizations. A Cleveland native who came through the Greenbrier Culinary Apprenticeship Program, Lewis arrived in the Carolinas for a job at Charlotte Country Club. He was corporate executive chef for Reid’s Fine Foods before turning toward barbecue in 2018.
Oscar Johnson, Jimmy Pearls, Charlotte
Natives of Hampton Roads, VA, Oscar Johnson and Daryl Cooper opened coastal tidewater cuisine concept Jimmy Pearls in Charlotte first as a pop-up in 2020. A Johnson & Wales graduate, Oscar’s professional culinary experience includes hotels, fast-casual restaurants, and private clubs. He was N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association’s 2022 Chef of the Year and a finalist for the group’s Pastry Chef of the Year in 2025. Oscar is a 2024 James Beard Award Semi-Finalist for Best Chef Southeast and a regular participant in Charleston Wine + Food.
Carolina BBQ Festival Begins with BBQ Brunch
Barbecue brunch marks the start of the Carolina BBQ Festival’s 5th anniversary season. Charlotte’s best chefs combined with some of the top Carolina BBQ pitmasters for a spring Saturday get-together at Town Brewing Company. It’s a casual, flavorful reminder of the good things coming on the festival menu.
Carolina BBQ Festival’s centerpiece, “Barbecue Saturday,” is April 18 in Charlotte’s Victoria Yards. The day-long festival features 25+ pitmasters from the Carolinas and beyond – all celebrating the heritage of whole hog barbecue.
Friday night’s “Kickoff” is a warm-up for the weekend, where Charlotte’s vibrant barbecue community takes center-stage. Don’t miss the set-up of the brick hog smoking pits and fire-fueled smokers beginning their overnight cooks.
Get complete festival details at www.carolinabbqfest.org.
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