After an
award-winning career as a newspaper journalist, photographer, editor and
publisher, Mike Stines traded his typewriter for stainless steel tongs and
worked through the stations at several restaurants to become executive
chef at a Cape Cod restaurant specializing in barbecue and grilled foods.
He is the author of “Mastering Barbecue” (Ten Speed
Press, 2005), a critically acclaimed barbecue cookbook with more than 250
recipes for rubs, sauces, entrées, and side dishes.
A resident of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, he is a
certified barbeque judge and table captain for the Kansas City Barbeque
Society, the largest barbecue sanctioning body in the world, and has
judged the prestigious American Royal Invitational BBQ Competition in
Kansas City known as the “World Series of Barbecue” and the Jack Daniel's
International Invitational Competition in Lynchburg, Tenn., as well as the
2004 World Barbecue Association International Competition held in
Pirmasens, Germany. He is also a member of the New England Barbecue
Society, the National Barbecue Association, the Greater Omaha Barbecue
Society, the Lone Star Barbecue Society, the Chili Appreciation Society
International, and the International Chili Society among others.
In addition to advanced academic degrees, Mike holds a
Master of Barbecue (M.B.) and a Doctorate in Barbecue Philosophy (Ph.B.)
from the Kansas City Barbeque Society’s Greasehouse University. He is the
24th person awarded a doctorate degree since the founding of the society
in 1985. Mike has been inducted into the KCBS “Order of the Magic Mop.” He
has also been awarded the title of “Cackalacky Master Chef Emeritus” and
is an honorary member of the Char-Broil Championship Grilling Team.
In the amateur division of the 2004 Fiery-Foods &
BBQ Scovie Awards, Mike received a second-place finish for his
“Habanero-Cranberry Jelly.” Two barbecue sauce entries were awarded third
and fourth place in the same competition. His “Seven-Chile Chili” was one
of ten winning chili recipes in the magazine’s 2003 Great Chili Contest.
In the 2004 Zesty Best food competition, his “Cumberland Barbecue Sauce”
received a third place award.
He is a frequent guest on Fooding Around, a
radio talk show broadcast in southern New England highlighting trends in
the hospitality industry, a regular columnist for the National Barbecue
News, a monthly national newspaper focusing on competition barbecue
across the country, and contributing editor for Fiery Foods & BBQ
magazine. His writing also appears in other specialty barbecue, cooking
and travel publications. He also served as the executive editor for The
BBQer magazine, the only magazine devoted exclusively to outdoor
cooking and barbecue.
Mike teaches grilling,
barbecue and food safety classes at the Sandwich Community School and is a
demonstration chef and presenter for several area businesses.
