Barbecue Issue
COURTESY TRAEGER GRILLS
CHA D WAR D
CHAD WARD
Traeger Grills director of marketing Ward got into barbecuing at an early age. His father cooked on a propane grill, he says, which caused meats to be burnt on the outside and raw on the inside. After many failed attempts, Ward took over for his father at around 10 years old and quickly developed a passion for barbecue. After college, he sold software for a time but was quickly drawn back to his barbecue roots. In 2007, he started competitive barbecuing and took seventh place (out of nine) in his first attempt, losing to a team of Boy Scouts.
“It was a very humble beginning, but there was something about that first contest that gave me a competitive outlet,” Ward says. “I also developed some great friendships.” He went on to own three Whiskey Bent BBQ Supply stores and later was offered a chance to be a pro-team member for Traeger Grills. Two years ago, he joined Traeger full-time. Ward has cooked in more than 110 contests across 28 states, has won eight state championships and has been on the Food Network show Chopped, but he just really loves to
bring people together with barbecue. “Brisket is my favorite thing to barbecue. For me, if people say they don’t like brisket, they are either vegan or they have not eaten a good brisket,” Ward says. “My go-to product is the Traeger Prime Rib Rub [$9.99 for 9.25 ounces]. It just elevates proteins,” noting that he even puts it on side items. “I always say the rub, the sauce and the smoke should never overpower the protein,” Ward adds. (ALC) 1215 Wilmington Ave., SLC 801-701-7180 TraegerGrills.com Devour Utah • AUGUST 2018 21