John Lindsey grew up cooking with his grandmother in the small town of Harrisburg, Ar. At the young age of 3 years old, John’s grandmother would stand him up in a chair in the kitchen and let him watch in amazement as some of the best soul food dishes were prepared on an old-fashioned wood-fired stove in an old-time way. It was these experiences with his grandmother Lille Mae that shaped and piqued his interest in cooking for others. That love of cooking has been a part of John all of his life. Finally, in 2015, John decided to bring his love for cooking and competition together when he entered his first bbq competition in Kennett Mo one Memorial Day Weekend.
When the dust settled, John walked away from his very first bbq competition with 2 top 5 finishes in chicken and pork and the rest is history. After a great run on the KCBS BBQ Circuit, John started cooking in the Steak Cookoff Association in 2017 and fell in love with the SCA and competition steak cooking after he won his very first cook in White Hall, Ar. Since then, John has cooked hundreds of competitions and had many wins on the competition circuit.
John Lindsey is the Grillmaster of the All Q’ued Up Competition Cooking team and is a sought after grilling instructor, teacher, and talk show personality. He has a full line of seasonings and rubs and is a co host of the popular facebook cooking talk show, Arkassippi Smoke Live.
The following is a list of just some of John’s accomplishments:
Our journey started in competitive BBQ in 2009 when my sons and I cooked a backyard competition in Columbus, MS. This journey began as a hobby just to have fun and spend time together. As time went on and our competitive spirits became stronger, we decided to start cooking the KCBS circuit locally. The journey evolved into regular practice sessions to hopefully become competitive.
As the years passed, we became more competitive and walked the stage numerous times in chicken, pork, ribs and brisket. We won numerous grand championships and received invitations to compete at the American Royal World Series of BBQ and The Jack Daniels World Championship.
When the dust settled in 2020 I had 7 wins in SCA contests and 25 top 10 calls in 8 states, cooking a total of 60 contests.
I finished in 14th place in the USA Ace Hardware Points Chase. I have developed 4 seasonings and a BBQ Sauce in my career with the last one be our Climax AP which has proven results across the country and in Europe. My other seasonings are Bovine Delight, 38 Special, and Rib Rub. Our seasonings are in locations from Utah to Pennsylvania and we are working on shipping to Europe. Competing is a passion for me and my family and we are very proud of the results of our products in BBQ and steak competitions across the country.
One of my proudest moments was when I teamed up with John Lindsey of All Qued Up Competition Team. John and I host the Arkassippi Smoke Live show weekly. We sum up the week's competitions and highlight special guests from the competitive circle as well. We have a host of followers to view and watch out show weekly. This has been especially helpful due to the current health crisis to bring people together to listen, learn and participate in the competitive cooking sport we all love and consider it our passion. We love our SCA family for the support they have shown us and our show over the past several months.