Tuffy Stone is many things: a World Record-breaking champion pitmaster, a former Marine, a classically-trained chef, a businessman and an occasional reality television star. Originally trained in French culinary technique at La Maisonette, Tuffy has been on the Richmond culinary landscape since 1986. He has earned Grand Champion titles in nearly every major barbecue competition including back-to-back wins at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue, Grand Champion at the 2015 Kingsford Invitational, and his history making run at the Jack Daniel’s World Championship invitational. Tuffy also served as a judge for Destination America’s Barbecue Pitmasters for 5 seasons, traveled the world, including cooking for the troops in Kuwait and teaching classes at Meatstock in Australia and New Zealand. On May 15, 2018, Tuffy released his highly-anticipated debut cookbook, Cool Smoke: The Art of Great Barbecue from St. Martin’s Press. For information on classes and competitions, visit the Cooking School and Calendar pages of  coolsmokebarbeque.com.