Famous Dave Anderson Profile

Famous Dave Anderson had his first barbecue experience at the age of six and he hasn't looked back since. At age twenty he began experimenting with his own barbecue, concocting secret sauces and smoking meats in garbage cans.

Since those humble beginnings, Famous Dave has spent 25 years traveling across the United States - down dusty backroads and sidestreets and into jumpin' blues joints, backwoods smokehouses, huge mesquite pits, country kitchens, rowdy roadhouses, lakeside lodges and rustic cabins - searching for great barbecue and authentic American comfort food. Inspired by the legendary meals he tasted along the way, Dave would return home and try his hand at re-creating his favorite road-trip recipes.

Famous Dave Anderson Recipe & Book Links Cajun Dynamite Seasoning Blend Blackened Catfish & Shrimp Twice Smoked Orgasmic Ham Famous Dave's Cornbread with Honey Jalapeño Glaze Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Review of Famous Dave's fabulous book (the proceeds of which directly benefit disadvantaged children). Famous Dave's Backroads & Sidestreets -- Recipes Inspired by America's Down-Home Eateries Learn how to smoke meats by the indirect method! Indirect Smoking Directions For more information about Famous Dave's restaurants, visit his web site. http://www.famousdaves.com

It worked. Famous Dave has "The Best Barbecue Sauce in America" according to the American Royal Barbecue contest (the barbecue biggie) in Kansas City as well as the Great American Rib Cookoff in Cleveland and the Twin Cities Ribfest.

Today, Dave's taste has made him truly famous. Well, at least in certain parts of the country. Folks in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota are no strangers to Famous Dave's. They flock to his Barbecue Shacks and Blues 'N Ribs joints in droves. Can the rest of the country be far behind?

Very likely. Famous Dave is an award-winning entrepreneur with a knack of turning everything he touches into gold. Combine that with the fact the food at Famous Dave's is first rate - not at all what's expected at a chain restaurant-and you've got a winning combination. But it wasn't always so. Famous Dave wasn't always famous. In fact, this multi-millionaire's beginnings are quite humble.

The son of a Choctaw father and Chippewa mother, Dave was raised in a blue collar Chicago neighborhood. He started his first business by the age of 20, but things got off to a rocky start when he was forced into bankruptcy. Dave says he went through some desperate times, being so down at one point that he was digging through the seat cusions for change to buy milk for his kids.

Cheri's Interview with Famous Dave Anderson The High Preist of Barbecue on what makes for good barbecue, what to drink with barbecue and why his ribs always point towards Memphis!

But Famous Dave is an amazing man, who doesn't know the meaning of the words "give up." From his tenuous business beginnings, he went on to receive a Master's Degree from Harvard (yes, the Harvard) University, without the benefit of having an undergraduate degree. He managed businesses for his mother's tribe, the Lac Courte Ojibwa in Wisconsin, and helped form and manage Grand Casinos and the Rainforest Cafè.

But no matter what other directions Dave's life took, he never lost his passion for barbecue, continuing to pick up recipes and hone his sauces wherever his travels took him. His passion for down home cooking has propelled Dave to the top of a culinary empire of 22 restaurants with more in the works. He takes great pride in insuring that the food at Famous Dave's is the best it can possibly be, made with the finest ingredients. Great barbecue takes time and no shortcuts are ever taken.

To Famous Dave, barbecue is a religious experience. That passion is evident in every bite of food served at one of Famous Dave's restaurants.

Click here to read Cheri's interview with Famous Dave Anderson!