Meet Amanda Kinsey-Joplin, a “Georgia Trailblazing Female Pitmaster” and the owner of Amanda’s BarBeeQue in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Grilling is all about bringing people together. In Georgia, if you light up your grill, you’re guaranteed to get guests coming by. It’s a cultural thing for me. When I was younger, we didn’t have a lot of resources. It was so easy for my grandmother to throw something on the grill, and it brought the family together. So, I grill because it’s paying homage to my family. Barbecuing is like LOVE, especially in our family.

Why did I start grilling professionally? Well, that has everything to do with love for family, as well.

I was an early education teacher for over 17 years and absolutely loved the profession. As luck would have it, my son while in middle school was granted the opportunity of a lifetime to go to China as part of a school learning program. Sadly, I couldn’t afford the trip and was just devastated he might miss this. One night around this time, I was watching an infomercial, and someone was saying, “You can grill!” It was like he was speaking just to me. I went to bed hearing that voice, woke up that morning and said, ‘I can do this.’

So, I borrowed my mom’s grill and began cooking on any street corner that would allow me to throughout Atlanta neighborhoods. Many weeks later, I made enough money to send him to China. I was so overjoyed that barbecue paved the way for him to go! I thought my cooking was over until customers kept requesting my barbecue. Over the months, I continued to cook, and the customer base grew bigger and bigger. So, I resigned my teaching position, rented a shared kitchen space and founded Amanda’s BarBeeQue.

My passion for grilling blossomed from cooking on the streets of Atlanta, Ga., to small dinners for family and friends, catering for parties and celebrations, and vending at many festivals around Georgia. It’s been such a blessing. Sometimes I can’t believe barbecue is doing all this, but of course I can believe it because barbecue is LOVE.” – Amanda Kinsey-Joplin

Based in Atlanta, Amanda Kinsey-Joplin has been named by her home state as a “Georgia Trailblazing Female Pitmaster.” Grilling is a long-standing tradition in Amanda’s family, and her professional career began cooking and selling savory smoked rib sandwiches on Atlanta street corners for that very reason: her family. Today, she’s the owner of Amanda’s BarBeeQue, a successful catering and pop-up eatery serving up breakfasts as well as a full array of ribs, pulled pork, burgers, brats and more. She’s perhaps best known for her smoked wings.

Try Amanda’s BarBeeQue Smoke Wings.