Sam Jones on Top Chef
Barbecue chef Sam Jones was announced Sunday to appear as a guest on Monday’s episode of Bravo’s Top Chef. (reflector.com).
Sam Jones, the North Carolina pitmaster behind Sam Jones BBQ and the Jones family’s Skylight Inn legacy, was announced Sunday as a guest on Bravo’s “Top Chef” for the Monday, April 13 episode. (reflector.com) Bravo’s current season is set in the Carolinas and airs Mondays at 9/8c, with episodes streaming the next day on Peacock. NBC’s episode listings show Season 23 reached Episode 5 on April 6, and Bravo has been promoting clips tied to a whole-hog barbecue challenge. (bravotv.com) (nbc.com) That pairing is not accidental. Sam Jones built his name on Eastern North Carolina whole-hog barbecue, the style his restaurant says cooks an entire pig over a wood-fired pit rather than smoking only selected cuts. (samjonesbbq.com) Jones’ family history is central to why he fits this episode. His grandfather, Pete Jones, opened Skylight Inn in Ayden in 1947, and the family says Sam represents the third generation to carry that barbecue tradition forward. (samjonesbbq.com) (skylightinnbbq.com) The show has leaned heavily into Carolina foodways this season. Bravo said Season 23 would be centered in Charlotte, with several episodes in Greenville, South Carolina, and local tourism officials described the season as a showcase for the region’s ingredients, hospitality and restaurant culture. (bravotv.com) (visitgreenvillesc.com) Jones also arrives with a résumé that extends beyond local fame. Sam Jones BBQ says Southern Living named him one of the South’s top 10 pitmasters in 2012, and the Michelin Guide now lists his Raleigh restaurant as a Bib Gourmand, its value-focused designation. (samjonesbbq.com) (guide.michelin.com) The family’s older restaurant has long held national recognition too. Skylight Inn says it won a James Beard Foundation America’s Classics award in 2003, a category that honors independently owned restaurants with long-standing local significance. (skylightinnbbq.com) (jamesbeard.org) Today, Sam Jones BBQ operates in Winterville and Raleigh, while Skylight Inn remains in Ayden under the Jones family banner. Monday’s “Top Chef” appearance puts that eastern North Carolina barbecue lineage in front of a national television audience for at least one more night. (samjonesbbq.com) (skylightinnbbq.com)
