Pitmaster Rodney Scott has been cooking whole-hog barbecue, over wood coals since he was 11 years old. For the next 25 years he worked with his family in their bbq stop in Hemingway, SC until 2017 when he partnered with Nick Pihakis of Pihakis Restaurant group to open Rodney Scott’s BBQ in the North Central neighborhood of Charleston, SC. In that same year the restaurant was named one the 50 Best New Restaurants by Bon Appetit Magazine and in 2018, Scott was awarded the James Beard Foundation’s award for Outstanding Chef Southeast. Rodney Scott’s BBQ now has locations in Atlanta and Birmingham in addition to the original Charleston store. A third Birmingham area location opened in Trussville in the spring of 2022. Rodney and the Pihakis Restaurant Group has partnered with country music star Eric Church and Ben Weprin of AJ Capital to bring Rodney Scott’s BBQ to Nashville. Eric’s epic Broadway entertainment complex, Chief’s will open in 2023 and Rodney’s pit-cooked meats and sides will be part of the bar and music venue.
Rodney’s hard work, friendly manner, and respect from his peers have offered Rodney many opportunities to travel around the world and cook alongside chefs and pitmasters in New York City, Belize, Uruguay, France, and Australia. Rodney has been the subject of a full episode of the award-winning Netflix, Chef’s Table series and worked as a judge on two seasons of Food Network’s BBQ Brawl with Chef Hosts Bobby Flay and Michael Symon. His cookbook, Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ,, published by Clarkson Potter, was released in the spring of 2021 to great fanfare including a coveted spot in The New York Times Top 10 Cookbooks of the Year.
