Homepage

About

My love for fire and cooking started at a very young age. Coming from a family of eight, my dad would take the family up to the Northwoods where we would stay in off grid bunk houses. They had very few amenities. There was a pump sink, a wood stove, and cots for sleeping. Dad would do all of the cooking outside over the fire. At the age of 6, my Dad found property in the area and would take my older brothers and I camping there. We started out camping under the stars and would warm rocks at the campfire to keep our sleeping bags warm throughout the night. The campfire would be going strong all day and night so we always had coal ready for cooking and rocks warm for sleeping. After that, I was hooked. You could say I was hypnotized by the fire.

Later on, my dad built his house with a wood burning stove, where he would cook hamburgers, steaks and sausages. I would ask him why he didn’t cook over the flame and he would tell me that if would burn. Dad had eight mouths to feed so burning was not an option. He was a low and slow home chef and he would always be in control of the cook. As i continued to watch him, I discovered that, slowly, he would let the smoke from the fire hit the food. This would give it the smoked flavor that is found throughout my cooking today. 

At the age of 8, I started out making little fires on the grill outside. As I became more and more accustomed to the smell of grilling, I would start following the smell from the neighbors and go watch them cook. I always wanted to help and they they would give me a water bottle to tame flames and keep from scorching the food. Occasionally they would throw me a bone for my work. A few years later, my dad introduced me to Hunting. After the hunt, my brothers would take a hike to a nearby store, to get spices and butter, while I stayed in the field getting the fire started. Atlas, we feast.

These experiences fueled my fire and propelled me perfect my craft of fine smoked meats.

Welcome to Yldfire.