Pitmaster heads to TV
Tim McLaughlin of Crossbuck BBQ in Farmers Branch will join Bobby Flay’s team when Food Network’s BBQ Brawl returns May 11, which is a solid signal that regional pitmasters are moving into national TV spots this season. For a local BBQ program, that kind of exposure can translate into reservation demand and product interest for nearby shops. If you follow barbecue culture, it’s a neat marker of who’s getting national attention next month. (dallas.culturemap.com)
A pitmaster from Farmers Branch is about to spend nine episodes on national television, and he won’t be standing in the background. Food Network says Tim McLaughlin of Crossbuck BBQ is one of 12 competitors on season 7 of BBQ Brawl, and he’s been placed on Bobby Flay’s team for the season that starts Monday, May 11, at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. (foodnetwork.com, press.wbd.com) The setup is simple and brutal: Bobby Flay, Maneet Chauhan, and Brooke Williamson each coach a team of barbecue cooks, and judges Carson Kressley, Adrienne Cheatham, and Rashad Jones decide who survives each round. Warner Bros. Discovery says the season was filmed at Star Hill Ranch in Austin, Texas, with 12 pitmasters competing for the title “Master of ’Cue.” (press.wbd.com, foodnetwork.com) McLaughlin is not a random local chef who got a lucky call from cable television. Dallas reporting and restaurant trade coverage say he has been cooking barbecue for 16 years, trained in fine-dining kitchens before that, and later helped open Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas, Plano, and Arlington after moving to Texas in 2008. (nrn.com, dallasobserver.com) Crossbuck itself is built to look a little different from the standard Central Texas meat counter. The restaurant says it blends Central Texas “low ’n slow” smoking with barbecue ideas from around the country, smokes brisket for up to 18 hours, seats more than 200 guests, and ships barbecue nationwide from 4400 Spring Valley Road in Farmers Branch. (crossbuckbbq.com) That “different from standard” part is not marketing filler. Nation’s Restaurant News reported in January that McLaughlin had launched a $150 five-course supper club at Crossbuck, using smoke and wood fire in plated dishes with drink pairings, and he told the trade outlet he wants North Texas recognized as a fifth Texas barbecue style alongside the state’s four usual regions. (nrn.com) Local critics have been describing the restaurant the same way. The Dallas Observer wrote that McLaughlin and chef-pitmaster Damian Avila opened Crossbuck to explore options “beyond Central Texas style BBQ,” and the paper framed the shop as a nearby alternative in a barbecue corridor that already includes Cattleack Barbecue about 1,800 feet away. (dallasobserver.com) The television angle matters because BBQ Brawl is not just a cooking show where one chef pops in for a single challenge. Food Network says season 7 runs for nine episodes, which gives viewers repeated chances to connect McLaughlin’s face with Crossbuck’s name in a way that one magazine list or one local review usually cannot. (press.wbd.com) Texas also has unusual weight in this cast. Austin Today reported that McLaughlin and San Antonio pitmaster Braunda Smith are both on Bobby Flay’s team, and Food Network is filming the whole competition in Austin, which means Texas barbecue is not just represented on screen but baked into the setting of the season itself. (nationaltoday.com, press.wbd.com) So the real story is bigger than one casting note. A Farmers Branch pitmaster who built a restaurant around mixing Texas barbecue with fine-dining technique and national influences is now being introduced to Food Network viewers under Bobby Flay’s banner, starting May 11, and that is usually how a strong regional name starts turning into a national one. (crossbuckbbq.com, nrn.com, press.wbd.com)
