For three hours on a Sunday afternoon, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Stevieseatz to chew the fat. (Pun intended).

Across the nation there is a movement known in some circles as the “Ghost Kitchen.”

A Ghost Kitchen, for those of you not in the know, is a professional kitchen with a time share where several businesses or chefs stir up their creativity and desperately try to fill your plates.

Stephen Dearborn is one of these up and coming Ghost Chefs if you will, providing tasty dishes on a time share and sharing them with appreciative diners.

The dream is lofty, the goal is attainable, and the tools he uses are incredible.

The first question I pose to Stevieseatz is a simple one for me, what’s the dream here? He doesn’t say a million dollars in the bank, he doesn’t say a new truck. His dream, is his American dream. To quit his day job and do what he loves, cooking BBQ for people like us, maybe some day in his own restaurant.

Talking to this young chef of 31 years, you get a sense of a man who’s still trying to figure things out. But he’s got a plan, and he’s traveled the roads that need to be traveled. Five years from now, if I’m blessed with still doing what I do, I hope I can catch up with him on a much bigger stage. You see Stephen has these set goals: food truck, restaurant, then the world. The tools he uses to  get there, is where we come in. Whether it’s a pound of quite possibly the juiciest brisket I’ve ever seen, or the meatiest ribs on the block, his tools are the love he puts on our plates.

Throughout my day I’m gifted with morsels of brisket, ribs, shredded pork, spicy BBQ shredded chicken, cheesy Mac, brown sugar BBQ baked beans, butter toasted Japanese bread, and a sneak peek at his newest side Wasabi Mac and Cheese. These are all amazing, however, I know and he knows they are 1% away from perfection that drives him. Which can be a humble pill to swallow for most men, but for this chef it’s a small speed bump on his road to greatness.

What’s next? He hints at some tasty creations that are mixing in his head, his plans for the Bix Fest, and how he’s saving for his own food truck that he can roll to BBQ havens like Kansas City, New Orleans, Houston and St. Louis. All to perfect his more Southern Style BBQ, so he can pay homage to the masters while blessing his home here in the Quad-Cities.

Your friend in food,

Doc

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