We first met Tuffy Stone last June when we paid a visit to his Midlothian restaurant, Q Barbeque. Since then, Tuffy has made his premiere in HD on TLC's “BBQ Pitmasters,” which airs Thursday nights at 10 p.m.

With a background in fine dining, Tuffy and his wife, Leslie Stone, opened A Sharper Palate catering company in Richmond in 1993. In 2004, Stone started to experiment in cooking with wood and soon realized his love for BBQ.  Next, Stone and his team, Cool Smoke, started competing on the BBQ competition circuit across the country. 

In August of 2009, a friend, John Markus, called about having a camera crew from New York follow Tuffy at a competition. Next thing he knew, Tuffy was one of seven “pitmasters” followed on TLC's “BBQ Pitmasters.”  

“One of the things [executive producer] John Markus said to me in the beginning was that the show is about people first, and barbeque second,” Stone said. 

“So many different things happen in so many different episodes—I think a lot of my friends in the barbeque world thought—‘Oh, that had to be set up’—but it wasn't.”

From fine dining, to the BBQ competition circuit, to “BBQ Pitmasters,” who knows where Tuffy Stone and Cool Smoke will end up next?  Possibly, on a second season of “BBQ Pitmasters” (yet to be announced).

What we do know is that we can taste the award-winning barbeque right here in Richmond every day of the week at Q Barbeque and watch the season finale of “BBQ Pitmasters” on TLC this Thursday, Feb. 4.


For more information about TLC's "BBQ Pitmasters" visit www.tlc.com/bbqpitmasters.


photos courtesy TLC

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