About this episode

Chad Ward shares his journey in the BBQ world, from competition to building Whiskey Bent BBQ, along with insights on cooking and brand development.

Chad Ward’s competition BBQ journey started with a seventh-place finish and a loss to a troop of Boy Scouts. It eventually led him to Food Network’s *Chopped Grill Masters*, a major role in building the Traeger community, and cooking for celebrities like Post Malone, Jelly Roll, Ken Griffey Jr., Jason Aldean, Drew Brees, and Zac Brown. In this episode of the Wise Guys BBQ Podcast, Vin and Tommy the Butcher sit down with Chad Ward of Whiskey Bent BBQ to discuss his rise through the barbecue world. Chad shares how he went from competing across 27 states to growing a 900-square-foot barbecue shop into a 17,000-square-foot retail and manufacturing operation. Chad also breaks down what modern competition cooks are getting wrong, why rigid timelines cannot replace real cooking experience, and how learning to cook on unfamiliar smokers made him a better pitmaster. He takes us behind the scenes of *Chopped Grill Masters*, tells the story of the cold email that launched his relationship with Traeger, and reveals what it is really like cooking backstage for Jelly Roll and Post Malone. Plus, hear how Whiskey Bent BBQ got its name, why Jack Daniel’s sent Chad a cease-and-desist letter, what…

People in this episode

Hosts: Vincent Porcaro, Tommy the Butcher

Guest: Chad Ward

Topics covered

• competition BBQ
• celebrity cooking
• barbecue business
• cooking techniques
• brand building
• pitmaster experience

Keywords

• BBQ competition
• Whiskey Bent BBQ
• Traeger
• cooking techniques
• celebrity chefs
• barbecue shop
• Chopped Grill Masters
• cooking experience

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Food Network, Traeger, Whiskey Bent BBQ, Jack Daniel’s

More episodes of Wise Guys Barbecue Podcast

• From Teacher to World-Class Pitmaster: Richard Fergola’s Winning BBQ Mindset · July 10, 2026 · 46 min
• We Tried Store-Bought Wing Sauces… One Stole the Show · July 3, 2026 · 26 min
• How Sweet Baby Ray’s Became a BBQ Icon | Duce Raymond Tells the Story · June 26, 2026 · 46 min
• Live Fire BBQ Is Changing the Game | 100th Episode with Al Frugoni · June 19, 2026 · 40 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Wise Guys Barbecue Podcast podcast page.