All Fired Up - Book Signing
About Troy
An Athens, AL native, Troy Black has gained an impressive reputation as an award-winning, competitive barbecue chef, and spokesperson. His zeal for both barbecue and the industry has taken Troy on an incredible journey from the Southern Living magazine editorial staff to full-time competitive barbecue chef to a nationally known food personality. He discovered the world of professional barbecue competition while on assignment for Southern Living. From that moment on he was hooked and immediately went home and began preparing to compete on the pro barbecue circuit.
As a Southern Living editor, Troy’s passion for barbecue led him to work hand-in-hand with the test kitchen professionals to perfect his recipes for the special edition of Southern Living “Our Ultimate Guide to Barbecue.” In 2006, Troy made the decision to commit full-time to the world of competitive barbecue, and began living out his dream.
Very few BBQ teams can claim the success on the highly competitive KCBS circuit that Troy enjoyed during his competition career. He consistently finished in the Top 10, week in and week out, and His awards included thirteen state barbecue championships, and over 300 Top 10 awards. He competed in the prestigious Jack Daniel’s World Invitational Barbecue Championship four times. In addition,Troy finished in the top ten numerous times in a year-end national ranking.
In the spring of 2010, Troy’s first book, The Big Book of BBQ, hit the national scene. The book was a joint venture with Southern Living magazine’s food editors. It covers a diverse range of low and slow barbecue, grilling, sides, cocktails, and desserts. The book has been one of the best sellers in the publisher’s history. In the spring of 2013, Troy’s second book, All Fired Up, hit bookstores across the country. It gained lots of national press as being one of the top grilling and barbecue books of the year.
The competition BBQ circuit and his notoriety has given Troy a unique opportunity to represent various national brands. He has been featured on The Food Network, The Travel Channel, Fox & Friends, Hallmark's Home & Family, The CBS Early Show, and numerous other national television and radio shows. Over the last several years, he has represented several major national brands as a spokesperson.
Troy lives in Memphis, TN, which is one of America’s best known places for BBQ.