Bringing the heat

Barbecue season is in full swing, with friends and family enjoying delicious grilled food. In the male-dominated field of competitive pitmasters, these five female barbecue superstars are firing it up, winning on the circuit and being crowned champions on television while reimagining the ways we love to grill.

Costco members Maddie and Kiki Longo (maddieandkiki.com) spent their childhood in Oshawa, Ontario, watching their mother, Gina, barbecuing. “We grew up thinking women rocked the grill,” says Maddie.

The sisters, who co-host a weekly YouTube barbecue cooking show, are accustomed to being the only women at barbecue events. “We get comments like ‘Look at these girls standing with their husbands’ barbecues’,” says Kiki.

Like the Longo sisters, Costco member Danielle Bennett has raised eyebrows despite winning multiple North American barbecue championships and teaching barbecue classes to 25,000 students worldwide.

“I’ve heard guys saying, ‘Why are you here? You’re female!’ but I can go toe-to-toe with any man: At the Toronto [Dickson’s] SmokeShow, I carried two 90-pound [40-kilogram] hogs on my shoulders,” says Bennett, who is known on the barbecue circuit as Diva Q (divaq.ca).

Many people don’t realize that grilling food over a fire was traditionally done by women, adds Bennett. “American Southern barbecue was forged by women on plantations who were often given awful cuts of meat that they made something magical with, so typically, women were the pitmasters,” she explains.

Even after cooking professionally at Canadian hotels and restaurants for 24 years, chef Jess Stone is often the only woman in the kitchen. “Because I’m only 5 feet, 3 inches, I still get underestimated. I’m small, but mighty,” she laughs.

Stone won Food Network Canada’s competitive grilling show Fire Masters last spring after her Asian-inspired grilled duck wowed the judges. She runs the kitchen at Triple D’s Diner in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and recently launched Fireside Drive (@firesidedrive), a custom-built barbecuing trailer.

“I love pairing barbecue with beer and cooking with beer. If I had my way, I’d be outside grilling every day, even in snowstorms,” says Stone, who cooks with smokers, on open bonfires, and over charcoal or propane grills.

Kiki, who follows a gluten-free and vegan diet, notes that many female pit masters think beyond throwing meat on the barbecue. She loves grilling smoked beans, tempeh and tofu.

And in Montreal, Costco member Jo Notkin uses her barbecue to bake delicious desserts. When her catering company, Zoe Ford, had to pivot during the pandemic due to gathering restrictions, Notkin decided to turn her favourite baking recipes into mixes so home cooks could bake in their barbecues.

Notkin, who was a contestant on Top Chef Canada and a judge on Wall of Bakers, offers a detailed online guide to barbecue baking (search “Field Guide to BBQ Baking” at zoeford.com). “We want to help people think about cooking and baking in a modern, fresh way,” she says.

Check out the recipes from these grilling women on the next few pages for a little inspiration for what you can do with your grill.

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How to bake on a gas barbecue

Barbecue baking success is all about diffusing and controlling heat.

Turn off centre burners once the barbecue is preheated

Place your baking sheet on top of a wire cooling rack with legs or four empty tin cans, then put it in the middle of the grill. This will allow air to flow under and around pastries while baking. Never put a baking tray directly on the grill.

Try not to open the lid during baking.

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Costco Connection: Barbecue supplies, including grills, can be found in the warehouse and at Costco.ca. Groceries are available for delivery through Costco Grocery at Costco.ca.