Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Thorpe.
Tyler, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I can trace my lifelong love of cooking back to a few particular memories of making scrambled egg sandwich’s or guacamole with my grandmother around the age of 5. Or, learning to light charcoal in the backyard with my father on a custom grill, built by my uncle and grandfather in the early 90’s. So many things have changed since those early formative years, but my love for cooking and desire to spend quality time with friends and family over good food has only multiplied exponentially.
Raised my entire life in the San Gabriel Valley, and influenced by the abundant culinary diversity offered here in Los Angeles, cooking (and eating) food has always been able to bring me a sensation of joy that few other things could. I grew up in a household where my father did the cooking and I was never far away, and that is a tradition that I am now proud to carry on in my home. I am finding that inviting my young boys into the kitchen and encouraging them to help, continues to teach me many things about being a father, while also teaching them the many lessons that come with cooking. One of the beautiful things about food and how it makes us feel is that while we each have individual desires and preferences which lead us down many different culinary paths, we often end up at the same destination….enjoyment. A delicious meal, prepared with love, brings a fulfillment that is rivaled by few things. No longer is food just sustenance, in contemporary Los Angeles food is the often the driving force behind our most sought after pleasures, day trips, backyard parties, date night’s, happy hours, brewery stops, IG posts, and so much more. Throughout my years of home cooking I found myself out back at the barbecue more and more, especially in these seemingly never ending hot Southern California summer months. Something about the simplicity of fresh quality ingredients in direct contact with fire and smoke, which has been used in every part of the world for as long as fire has existed, has always captivated me. I find that when I am cooking with live fire, in addition to expressing an art which I hope is perceived with guttural joy, I also carry a responsibility to the generations of people before me who cooked a meal for their loved ones on an open fire, to continue and honor this method as long as we can in this rapidly changing world. It was with this mindset that when asked in the summer of 2015 to cater barbecue for a backyard party for a close family friend, I felt honored to be considered and compelled to tackle the opportunity.
The myriad of challenges that I faced for that first small backyard gig may have easily steered many people clear of ever taking on such a task again. However, the abundance of joy that I had after seeing the smiling faces look down at the plates of food that I and a friend served that night was enough for me to begin taking the steps to start my own adventure in the catering/food service world. Keep in mind that at this point it’s 2015, my food service experience included only having worked at a few steak houses in high school and college, and I was now nine years into a career as a Television Broadcast Producer which entailed 3 hours of traffic a day to get to Hollywood and work thanklessly in a profession I didn’t have a desire for. On top of that I now had a beautiful wife, a four years old son, and we had just welcomed our second son into the world. The health and happiness of these three people were much more of a priority for me than my love for cooking. So, I acknowledged that the often encouraged path of quitting my job to pursue my dreams was not an option for me personally at that time. However, fully applying myself to the craft I love, with any and every free moment I had, was an option, and that is what I chose to do. I took the steps to establish a Partnership with the state so that I could legally operate the business, and I officially began taking small private catering gigs that summer for Smokin Thorpe’s Barbecue.
Since then, we have continued to grow the Smokin Thorpe’s menu of slow smoked meats and southern style sides, and build our catering clientele by providing a quality hassle-free experience. We strive to make a wholehearted effort to truly be present when cooking, in hopes that the passion and love that we have for food and flavor truly shines through in the end product we produce. In the summer of 2019 after realizing the opportunity to provide quality BBQ alongside the many craft beer brewery’s that had sprung up in Southern California, we started doing pop-up events at local bars and breweries which has proven to be the ideal setting to bring people, food, entertainment, and pleasure together in this beautiful city. In December of 2019 my family was blessed with our third happy and healthy son, and I am still currently logging my weekday hours as a Broadcast Producer as I continue to grow this passion into the full-time pleasure I hope for it to be. For now, be sure to check out the IG page to see what So Cal brewery you can find us popping up at next, and don’t ever be shy to come say hello when you see us out there serving food. Feeding familiar faces, making new friends, and spreading positive vibes through this city via food is literally the reason we’re here. See you soon!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, but I honestly never expected it to be. Starting a company or brand from the ground up is a never ending battle with more hurdles in front of you than anyone could ever imagine. Despite how much research and preparation you do, there will always be the unknowns that pop up at seeming the worst time. You have to know that those struggles are part of the process, and learn to pivot instead of instinctively reacting emotionally in those situations if you really want to press forward. Los Angeles County is one of the toughest markets for public food vending. There is a myriad of city, county, and state permits, licenses, and insurance that have to constantly be maintained and up to date in order to operate and that alone is nearly a full-time task.
Smokin Thorpe’s Barbecue – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Smokin Thorpe’s Barbecue specializes in slow smoked meats and southern style sides. We provide corporate and private catering for all occasions, as well as pop-up events at various bars and breweries throughout the southland. We pride ourselves in making a concentrated effort to let our passion for cooking shine through in the food we serve.
Our protein menu includes Prime Black Angus Brisket, Australian Wagyu Brisket, Pulled Pork, Tri-tip, Chicken, Sausage Links, Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers; and our sides menu features Mac N Cheese, Collard Greens, BBQ Pit Beans, Coleslaw, Cream Corn, and a few other event-specific treats and off menu items.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
In it’s simplest form, I define being successful as never giving up on something we set our minds to.
So many of us have a skewed idea that if we make enough money, or possess enough tangible things, or can convince the right people to acknowledge something, then we have succeeded. This world will prove to be a harsh reality and the only way to be wholly successful in it is to find what makes you truly happy, and relentlessly pursue that knowing that you will likely have to pivot many times and take a different approach than you set out with, and that’s ok.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 3232081902
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Smokin_thorpes_barbecue
- Yelp: Smokin Thorpes Barbecue
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