CLEVELAND — An Ohio entrepreneur has been dedicating himself to honoring Black barbecue culture and its rich history. Owning his own barbecue food truck and even starting a podcast, Darren Carter said he is hoping to turn his passion into education.  

What You Need To Know

  • Darren Cater said he found inspiration from his dad

  • The Ohio entrepreneur has been dedicating himself to honoring black barbecue culture and its rich history

  • Carter hosted a podcast with his friend from Texas to talk BBQ culture and strategy 

Carter served up a delicious smokey barbecue plate just outside of Cleveland City Hall this week. The scars on his hand from barbecuing a symbol of how far he’s come.

"As a kid my dad was the king of the grill right," he said.

Carter found inspiration from his dad to carry on the family tradition. He started with nothing and was unable to get a loan. Some time passed and he was able to raise money with the help of crowdfunding to eventually buy the food truck he has today.

"We tried to go through an actual bank but we got denied, and actually I still have that denial letter," he said.

That denial letter was motivation for Carter to go above and beyond and start his own podcast, calling it the "Unknowns Black Pitmasters," shedding light on pitmasters during the era of slavery.

"Even the term pitmasters back in the days of enslavement people would have to actually dig pits where literally trenches to where they burned wood which was turned into coals, put sticks over there and slow cooked whatever they had to do for the day," he said.