Smoke And Flame

I hate that I've done this.

The Underseasoned Pod is amongst the best out there. I love their style, their breadth of coverage and yet - here I am - whinging about something they've put hours of work into and exceeds anything I could have hoped to have produced!

That's what these lists are for aren't they? In trying to name the most influential BBQers in the world, Jay and Sigh have basically invited us into the grilling equivalent of Messi vs Ronaldo vs Maradona. It can only ever be a subjective exercise, even if we all know that Maradona was head and shoulders above the modern chancers.

Perhaps unsurprisingly for us, purveyors of internationally inspired flavours, there are just too many Americans in there! Over half of the Top 150 are American - not surprising at first glance (it certainly is the BBQ capital of the world) but allow me to scratch a little deeper...

There are some truly outstanding chefs - outside of North America - who deserve a place on the rostrum. After the USA, the country in Silver place was Brazil with just 9 entries (the UK got Bronze with 5). No Koreans, no Argentines - despite the very obvious BBQ culture in both of those countries. Which begs the question... are Americans better cooks or do they just shout the loudest?

For me, if you have earned a Michelin Star, you should make the list - so Tokyo's Toshiro Wada and Masayoshi Omino should be there - perhaps the hot and fast yakitori style of cooking didn't suit the judges.

So, whilst Lennox Hastie (a Brit in Oz) gets the nod, the man who trained him - Bittor Arguinzoniz at Asador Etxebarri (Spain) doesn't get listed - despite him having the Michelin Star, not Lennox. I'm not saying Hastie doesn't deserve his spot - but Bittor definitely does.

Not really. It's an opinion piece - a bit like this one. HOWEVER, without opening ourselves to broader influences we're potentially going to miss out on some of the most exciting cuisines out there. Sure, American BBQ - when done well - is superb. But so is Korean, European and Indian.

Do you agree? Let us know what you think - drop us an email or comment below. We don't bite!

PS: For the avoidance of doubt - the guys at Underseasoned are brilliant. Give them a follow.

Please see the Underseasoned Site for the full descriptions.

Rank Name
1 Daniel Vaughn
2 Aaron Franklin
3 Matt Pittman
4 Francis Mallmann
5 Tuffy Stone
6 Ernest Servantes
7 Arnie Segovia
8 Domingos Neto
9 Malcom Reed
10 Jack Mancuso
11 Juliana Lima
12 BBQ Pit Boys
13 Derek Wolf
14 Melissa Cookston
15 Steven Raichlen
16 Jess Pryles
17 Tony Ramirez
18 Myron Mixon
19 Dave Pynt
20 Evan LeRoy
21 Mo Cason
22 Meathead Goldwyn
23 Rodney Scott
24 John Bates
25 Kevin Bludso
26 Lennox Hastie
27 José Almiro
28 Tootsie Tomanetz
29 Miguel Raya
30 Tim Scheer
31 Maxime Dumont
32 Mike and Mark Black
33 Fred Robles
34 Chuck Matto
35 Chris Lilly
36 Danielle Bennett
37 Alejo Frugoni
38 Marcos Livi
39 Christian Stevenson
40 Jord Althuizen
41 Brad Leighninger
42 Carey Bringle
43 The Johans (Johan Fritzell & Johan Åkerberg)
44 Heath Riles
45 Brad Robinson
46 Amy Mills
47 Charlie McKenna
48 Benjamin Kendrick
49 Wayne Mueller
50 Richard Turner
51 Óscar Meza
52 Luciano Luchetti
53 Pat Martin
54 Andy Husbands
55 Maciej Żurawski
56 Victor Arguinzoniz
57 Daniel Lee
58 Billy Durney
59 Matt Horn
60 Jeremy Yoder
61 Andy Noonan
62 Sam Jones
63 Brad & Brooke Orrison
64 Adam Perry Lang
65 James Brown (Grill Nation)
66 Hugh Mangum
67 David W. Anderson (Famous Dave)
68 Genevieve Taylor
69 Brett Gallaway
70 Joe Pearce
71 Shauna & Sam
72 Bryan Furman
73 Susie Bulloch
74 Mitch Benjamin
75 Stan Hays
76 Jan Scannell (Jan Braai)
77 Jimmy Ogro
78 Jared Macdonald
79 Justin Bonello
80 Mel Chmilar Jr (Dark Side of the Grill)
81 Rasheed Philips
82 David Olson
83 Dominique Leach
84 Brandon Hurtado
85 Sterling Smith
86 Donovan MacDonald (Big Don)
87 Chris Marks
88 Gustavo Bottino
89 Roel Westra (Pitmaster X)
90 Hattem Mattar
91 Harry Soo
92 Mark Lambert
93 Roberto Barcellos
94 Darian Khosravi (Kosmos Q)
95 Christopher Prieto
96 Lee Ann Whippen
97 Nick Nesgoda
98 Bruno Panhoca
99 Sarah Glover
100 Kell Phelps
101 Klaus Glaetzner
102 Marcus Bawdon
103 Sterling Ball
104 Christie Vanover
105 John Markus
106 Mike Erickson
107 Adam Roberts
108 Darren Warth
109 Joe Zavala
110 Daniel Castillo
111 Rod Gray
112 Guga Nardini
113 Alison Clem
114 Ed Mitchell
115 Matt Groark
116 Bill Dumas
117 Klaus Breinig
118 Chuck Charnichart
119 Luis Rivas
120 Bruno Salomão
121 David Bouska
122 Kevin Kelly
123 Toby Inskip
124 Bill Purvis
125 Luke Moonshine
126 Marcelo Conceição (Bolinha)
127 Mike Johnson
128 Robyn Lindars
129 Ryan Lane
130 Júlia Carvalho
131 Carolyn Wells
132 Chase Colston
133 Aaron Brown
134 Nathan Elks (The Smokin’ Elk)
135 Brady Clark
136 Aaron Palmer
137 Chris Taylor
138 Sean Ludwig
139 Al Wasserberger
140 Levi Bouska
141 Jim Johnson
142 Greg Mrvich
143 Greg Rempe
144 Grant Coleman
145 Mat Burgess (MatBlak)
146 Andrew Kavanagh
147 Jack Rowbottom
148 Laura Romeo
149 Joseph McGregor
150 Adriano Andrade