Smoked Right Here: Meet Our Pitmaster

It's not every day that you meet a Pitmaster with a PhD, but when you speak with Chris Hampton about the science involved in the smoking process, it makes sense. Chris thrives in breaking down technical subjects, and smoking meat is no exception as each step in the smoking process has a purpose. When you also factor in timing and technique, there are so many different outcomes. Over the years, he's taken a backyard hobby to new heights by immersing himself into the craft. Just by smelling the smoke he can tell if something needs adjusted. Now as the DLM Pitmaster, Chris leads the charge in creating Smoked Right Here favorites again and again. "Food is for everyone. Barbeque brings people together," he says.

From overseeing an art gallery in Florida to working at a law firm in Manhattan, these experiences have led Chris to his transformation into a Pitmaster. In Florida, he formed a friendship with a fellow barbeque enthusiast that first sparked his interest. Then, his job working for a law firm was incredibly tedious as he sought to articulate mediations between two parties in disagreement in written form.

On the weekends, he'd find himself recharging at his grandparent's house outside of the city. Not only did he smoke meats there, but he built a dragon-shaped smoker, letting his sculpting background run wild in welding metal. From there, he began taking his dragon smoker to barbeque competitions, from Memphis in May to the Big Pig Jig in Georgia. For Chris, it was all about being a part of the community and meeting pitmasters he could learn more from.

Whether smoking meat or designing his line of dragons, it's not always about the final result for Chris. "The process is the destination. My happy place is in doing it," he says. Now, Chris stokes the fires of our massive smoker, fueling the appetites with everything from smoked pulled pork and pulled chicken to cookout favorites like smoked brisket and Smoked Right Here DLM Ribs. "The beauty of our smoker is the blast of the flame ... it's like driving a Rolls Royce," he says. Chris keeps mainstay favorites at all the stores, but also experiments as inspiration strikes. "I love this place because I'm surrounded by endless opportunity."