B.J. Smith, “Top Chef Season 14” contestant, is the Owner and Executive Chef of Smokehouse Tavern and Kim Jong Smokehouse in Portland, Oregon as well as the newest Smokehouse location, Smokehouse Provisions, in Vancouver, Washington. Smith brings more than two decades of culinary experience to his role, applying both classic and modern cooking techniques to high quality ingredients.

Smith conceived Smokehouse in 2010 as a way to apply all he had learned in his fine dining cooking career, but deliver an approachable menu where guests can get their hands dirty and reminisce over food as though at a good friend’s BBQ.

His first location, Smokehouse 21, located in Northwest Portland, debuted in November of 2011, followed by Smokehouse Tavern in 2015, Vancouver’s Smokehouse Provisions in 2016 and Kim Jong Smokehouse in 2016. He recently announced he will be closing Smokehouse Tavern to open Delores, a Polish-focused restaurant in Buckman.

Mutsuko Soma plays around with her Kamonegi Burger during Li’l Woody’s Burger Month earlier this year.

Mutsuko Soma Is One of Food and Wine’s Best New Chefs of 2019 The knife-wielding, sharp-skilled soba master and chef just keeps getting national acclaim. And we are here for it.

Kamonegi, helmed by Mutsuko Soma and guided by her vision of Edo-style cuisine with a slight whimsical bent, was Seattle Met’s 2018 restaurant of the year. Earlier this year Soma landed on the list of James Beard Award semifinalists for the second year in a row. And now, the masterful chef has received even more national acclaim. Food and Wine Magazine announced its annual declaration of Best New Chefs this morning, and of the 10 rising stars Seattle’s Mutsuko Soma was named among the talented constellation of chefs.

“My grandma taught me about countryside cooking. She would forage for mushrooms and other vegetables for tempura, and she grew her own buckwheat grain. She made everything that way. She passed away the same day my daughter was born, so I’m thinking I have to teach soba noodle making to my daughter too.” —Mutsuko Soma in F&W

Rick is a renowned barbecue pit master, chef, journalist, photojournalist, author, and TV cooking show host, who has traveled the world on assignment for consumer, travel, news and airline magazines. He currently bringing Barbeque Monthly, an online international barbeque and grilling magazine, to life, and is the instructor on cavetools.com’s Grill Master University online cooking course.

Rick conceived of, created and was the Editor-in-Chief of Barbecue America Magazine, the nation’s first and only national magazine devoted to barbecue, grilling, outdoor cooking, barbecue competitions and the barbecue industry. He has been a spokesman for many of the nation’s largest grill companies, as well as fulfilling that role for many of the companies noted below.

He was also the creator, host, and executive producer of public television's popular Barbecue America TV series (described as the first cooking and travelogue series highlighting America’s and the world’s outdoor bbq & grilling culinary landscape), which, in its seventh season, was aired on more than 230 public TV stations nationwide. He has also conceived, co-produced and hosted two seasons of the Outdoor Channel’s cooking and travel 

Chef Shota began his culinary journey at the age of sixteen, working for a well-acclaimed sushi restaurant in his hometown of Seattle, WA. At the age of eighteen, Nakajima moved to Osaka, Japan to learn about the art of Japanese cuisine. In Japan, Nakajima had the opportunity to work for Michelin Star rated Chef Yasuhiko Sakamoto. As one would expect, this experience changed Chef Shota’s perspective on cooking.

Since returning to Seattle, it has been Nakajima’s dream to convey Chef Sakamoto’s approach to hospitality and Japanese cuisine in the United States.

In 2017 competed on Iron Chef Gauntlet and in 2018 semi finalist for the James Beard Award.