Wes-

Tell us about those early days?

CJ-

One of the great parts was how we were able to hunt. We would set traps. We would crab. We would fish. And every single day, we were cooking freshly caught fish. Sometimes it was iguanas. We would gather around in a little circle in the middle of the Belizean jungle or on the edge of the Caribbean, light a simple fire, and just cook. I look back at that freedom and that ability to explore. That is where my love for cooking comes from. I remember my granny, Grand-nin Agnes. She would make a little space for me on the side of her outdoor fire (that’s where the adults did most of the cooking) for my little soup can full of clams that I dug up at the ocean, and I would cook that right next to her. So, that upbringing, that life, is where it all started.

Wes-

Fast forward some years, your mother brought you to the States, as you say, to Los Angeles. And then, several years later, you fell in love with Alicia. This is about the same time you fell in love with food, right? When did barbeque come in?

CJ-

I don’t remember how I got on the grill, but (as we moved) from (military) unit to unit, I would find a way onto the grill during organizational days, company picnics, team building days. And I really, I just enjoyed watching people eat whatever I pulled off the grill. (Alicia and I) lived in base housing and we used to entertain so often. People would bring the meat and I’d season it up, throw it on the pit. And, my love for cooking just continued growing.

Wes-

You weren’t specifically a cook in the military, were you?

CJ-

No. 1986. I did my first tour in Germany as an infantry soldier. And I quickly realized, man, that was not something I wanted to do long term. But by then I was cooking at the unit level, I was cooking for my buddies. I was cooking for soldiers.

Wes-

Did Alicia share your passion for barbecue awhen you saw this is going to be a career?

CJ-

That’s a great question, and I don’t know if right off the bat she was 100% in, but I do know that when I came up with the idea of competing, she was behind me. Never any hesitation. And as she began to understand what competition barbecue was, she got into it, started asking questions, and started wanting to know more about what I was doing. Especially when you start talking about competition barbecue, if your partner is not feeling (supportive), chances are, you are not going to be competing very long.

Wes-

You must love watching people enjoy your food? What’s your favorite reaction to witness?

CJ-

Whenever you’re cooking and people are eating for free, more often than not, they’re going to tell you your food is good. When I’m feeding people, I’m honestly not looking for any type of positive feedback. But youngsters have no filter. They’ll tell you exactly what your food is like. So, if you really want to get some feedback on your food, give it to a six-year-old. They will let you know, “Hey, your food sucks.” So, when a six-year-old eats my food then looks at his dad and says, “Dad, your barbecue has got nothing on this right here,” that tickles me so deeply. I try not to giggle in front of Dad, but more often than not, I can’t help it.

Wes-

Tell me about how you and Alicia work together? Or maybe that question is best directed to Alicia!

ALICIA JOSEPH-

I wrote him a little note the other day when he got home from LA, telling him how proud I am of him. Somebody who took this hobby had a vision and turned it into a reality, into his full-time employment– not everybody could do that! There’ve been ups and then we’ve had those dips, but I just told him, “CJ, you’re good at what you do. Just keep hanging in there, just keep doing what you do.” Now for the first time, we have people watching him on YouTube and then on our live stream, then flying in to take a class the next week in California.

CJ-

There was a learning curve that we had to beat, and it probably took us a good two years.

ALICIA JOSEPH-

And his mind was working and I can remember him saying one day out of the clear blue, he said, “I bet people would pay money to get rid of that learning curve, to cut that learning curve.” In the back of his head, he was really starting those classes.

Wes-

So how did that bleed into the classes and YouTube?

CJ-

As we started, we found our footing in the competition world, and we started doing well. And I will tell you, it took a couple of years. We created Mama and Papa Joe’s in 2012. Knowing that I didn’t have to answer to anybody, I didn’t have to explain, I was responsible for both good and bad. It gave me the freedom to experiment, and that set things in motion toward becoming one of the better cooks in Texas. So, I am teaching and barbecuing, we’re doing well, and barbecue is just really starting to consume me, so to speak.