Another Beard Award for Barbecue Cooks?

Elliott Moss of Buxton Hall is a Semi-Finalist for Best Chef Southeast

By Robert F. Moss

With whole hog, serious sides, and a full bar, Asheville's Buxton Hall is an impressive barbecue joint indeed
With whole hog, serious sides, and a full bar, Asheville's Buxton Hall is an impressive barbecue joint indeed
We were pretty surprised two years ago when Aaron Franklin of Franklin BBQ in Austin, Texas, took home the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest—an unprecedented honor in a category more typically reserved for folks in white coats in fine dining kitchens. Well, the James Beard Award Semifinalist Nominations were just announced, and this year another barbecue guy is in the hunt: Elliott Moss of Asheville's Buxton Hall Barbecue.

Moss is up against some pretty stiff competition in the region—a lineup of 20 high-calibre chefs. But he's got one leg up on the competition, in my book: burn-barrel style pit-cooked whole hog. We're rooting for the pitmaster.

About the Author

Robert F. Moss

Robert F. Moss is the Contributing Barbecue Editor for Southern Living magazine, Restaurant Critic for the Post & Courier, and the author of numerous books on Southern food and drink, including The Lost Southern Chefs, Barbecue: The History of an American Institution, Southern Spirits: 400 Years of Drinking in the American South, and Barbecue Lovers: The Carolinas. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

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