Thirteen years ago if you had told Danielle ‘Diva Q’ Bennett she would be on the world stage representing Traeger as a pitmaster, her response would not be one of shock, but of acknowledging the challenge, and readying herself to take it one step further.

Today, she is unifying the world through BBQ and introducing more women, including young individuals and minorities, to the grill, a success far more important to her than any trophy. “I want to inspire women. I want to inspire men. I want to inspire kids. I want to inspire anybody that ever thought they could not do something. Because I was told the whole time I couldn't do this.” After winning nearly a dozen world and international BBQ championships, including three-time Jack Daniels World Champion, Best Wings on The Planet (twice), and International KCBS Team of The Year, it is safe to say that Bennett has proved those naysayers wrong.

Diva Q’s kitchen in Central Florida is quaint, but in the backyard, 20-plus Traeger grills line the pool, firing all day long, creating a smoky sensory experience. She brings out a Tomahawk roast, which she dubs the ‘queen’s crown’ or ‘mac daddy’ of all roasts, a truly sexy beef rib. Rocking her electric blonde hair and full-face makeup, fingernails painted glossy candy-apple red, she works into the roast a mix of dry rubs and Worchester sauce.

The ‘Diva Q’ glamour is not to stand out amongst an industry dominated by men, but simply because she loves to feel feminine. To an extent. “Being a female in this industry, it’s tough. They assume you are flighty and flaky, and they want to slap pink on you all the time. Cause you're a girl, right? They obviously think that you need to have pink and frills and glitter. I'm not that kind of girl.”

Bennett strives to prove her competence and expertise through her skillset, which is why she has shied away from what she refers to as the ‘dog and pony show.’ She speaks of regional contests specific to women, which she refuses to participate in out of principle. “There is absolutely no reason for a woman to be competing separately from a man. There is no physicality there … It's that caveman mentality of meat, fire, man. I've always stood by my principles and financially, sometimes it's hurt me, but I can sleep at night.”

Bennett was born and raised in Canada, hinted at by her occasional ‘eh’ in conversation. While Canada is not known for its BBQ, she entered this world through a friend’s request to judge a BBQ contest in the United States, an event that hooked her from the start. From there she never looked back. Her humble beginnings in the kitchen, however, do go back to the Great White North, where she learned to cook at the knees of her mother and grandmother. They instilled the importance of no food waste at a young age; a Great Depression mentality that carried on. Of course, they didn’t call it “food waste” in those days, as it was out of necessity.

While she can now afford the expensive cuts and finds well-marbled Wagyu Beef tantalizing, she is more passionate and intrigued by elevating a ‘lesser’ quality meat. As someone that grew up impoverished, she understands that not everyone can afford the quality selects. Today Diva Q finds satisfaction in creating goodness out of something that is often viewed as the discards or pieces deemed lower-quality. “Have you ever had bone marrow on toast? Split the beef shank wide open, roast it, caramelize it, throw on salt and pepper and serve it with toast. That would be perfect.”

Seeing the beauty in secondary cuts is a unique skill that not every pitmaster hones in on, and she is equally passionate about the science behind preparing food. “This is not just showboating, it’s learning and testing; meat science.” Dreaming up new recipes and waking up at 3 a.m. to run to the 24-hour grocer and immediately test these ingredients is a ritual; her version of a dopamine rush. “Absorption levels, denaturing of the protein levels, all those things that add up to this [cooking] experience and that comes from true skill.”

All of this experimenting benefits her local community where she uses her BBQ superpowers to feed the first responders. “It's important to give back, to be a responsible neighbor, to be a responsible human, to be a responsible community, and just try to take care of people.” Bennett prepared several mouth-watering cuts before driving them over to the fire station. As she walked in, the aroma of her juicy roast drew in the crew like moths to a flame. The firemen operate on different shifts — the running joke being one shift never leaves scraps for the next crew; a mental note she takes home with her.

When Bennett is not working, she’s still working. Creating, donating, educating — occasionally with bourbon and cigar in hand — orbiting in a full circle BBQ universe, as reflected in her forearm ink that reads, ‘live eat breathe bbq.’ She realized early on that elevating people's eating experience with smoke and fire was her definition of success.

“The barbecue pie is big enough for everybody. I love teaching BBQ more than anything and connecting people with food.” She talked at length about changing humanity’s relationship with food, how it’s important to know where our food comes from and connect with it in the kitchen. “We've created this entire nation that doesn't know how to cook. We know how to order really well.”

The responsibility of education for Bennett is multifaceted. To make food more accessible; to teach those that have been left without a seat at the grill; to bring the community together over the longstanding tradition of BBQ; all while being a disruptor in the BBQ world. “There are 1,447 minutes in every day, and I'm just trying to make them count. And hopefully, that's with good deeds, good barbecue, good friends, good bourbon, and good cigars. That's the reality.”