Big name heads to Chelsea City Fest: Big Kaboom

Attendees at Saturday’s Chelsea Fest:The Big Kaboom will have a chance to enjoy the culinary creations of a James Beard Award winning chef. 

Rodney Scott, founder of Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ, will be at the event sharing his award winning barbecue and recipes during this year’s festivities.

“I’m looking forward to meeting lots of people this weekend,” Scott said during a Zoom call on June 19. “I want to meet as many people in Chelsea as possible.”

Chelsea resident Jay Griffin is Scott’s partner in Birmingham. The two were introduced by Nick Pihakis, founder of the Pihakis Restaurant Group. Pittmaster and owner Scott grew up cooking whole hogs from the age of 11 in Hemingway, South Carolina before advancing his business to Charleston and Birmingham. He has another location in the works for Atlanta coming soon. 

“I’ve always been an optimistic person and express that through my business and my personal life,” Scott said. “We are a place where everybody has a seat at our table and everybody is invited. We create a backyard gathering [atmosphere] with fun and great food mixed in between.” 

To go with his positive outlook, Scott’s favorite phrase is “every day is a good day.” He wears the shirt and it’s painted on the restaurant walls. He loves meeting new people and loves sharing what he does with those who haven’t yet experienced it. 

Griffin said that Scott sets the tone of the business with that mantra, and in these challenging times, everyone can all align behind that theme. 

“As a Chelsea resident, this [Chelsea City Fest/The Big Kaboom] is an important and significant event for me,” Griffin said. “As Rodney’s counterpart in Birmingham, I'm so thankful and appreciative to him for contributing his time to come from Charleston to be here. As a Chelsea resident, I’m passionate about growing the brand here in Birmingham with him.”

It’s only been two years since Scott won the James Beard award. He said it is hard for barbecue restaurants to get nominated, much less win. 

“To hear my name announced in the room among the greatest chefs in the United States, it was unbelievable,” he said. “It also opened up a great opportunity for the barbecue world. I'm still riding high two years later. Mentally thinking about that right now gives me the same chills as when they called my name.”

Scott said what makes his barbecue different from the rest is its authenticity. His restaurant in Avondale has five smokers and the pittmaster comes in at 5 a.m. each morning to build the fire from scratch and load the coals into the smokers. He said there are easier ways to do what they do, but they would never do that.

“Authenticity matters more in barbecue than it does in any other food genre out there,” he said. “Doing it the hard way is what makes it great. Knowing we’ll be incredibly successful, our commitment to do it the hard way and the labor of love that goes into it makes us unique and special.”

The Chelsea City Fest: Big Kaboom will be held in the field across from the Winn Dixie shopping center on Saturday, June 27 beginning at 5-9 p.m. and feature a variety of food trucks, vendors, live music and fireworks.

For information, visit cityofchelsea.com.