Chris Lilly - Champion Pitmaster

Chris Lilly, husband and father of three children, is one of America’s best-known barbecue pitmasters. 

Lilly emerged on the barbecue scene in 1992 when he began working for the world famous Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q restaurant in Decatur, Ala. Recognized by The Wall Street Journal as having the best pork barbecue in the country and named the “Best Barbecue Restaurant in Alabama” by the Birmingham News, Lilly is now vice president of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q. 

Lilly also is head chef of the award-winning Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q Competition Cooking Team, which has amassed three World  Barbecue Grand Championships and 11 world titles at “Memphis in May,” the American Royal International Cook-Off and  Jack Daniels World Barbecue Championship --the most recent at the 2011 Memphis in May competition where the team was crowned with the Grand Champion title and received first place in pork shoulder. His first cookbook, “Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book: Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint” was published in 2009 by Clarkson Potter.

Widely recognized as one of the top pitmasters in his field, Lilly has been a guest chef for  10 years running at the Food Network’s South Beach Wine and Food Festival, has served as an honorary chef at the James Beard Foundation and the American Institute of Wine and Food, and was a presenter at the Low-Country and Caribbean Food Conference at Johnson and Wales University. 

Lilly has appeared on “The Today Show,” “Live with Regis and Kelly” and “The Martha Stewart Show” as well as numerous Food Network programs, including the 2011 show “Best in Smoke.”, “Cooking Live with Sara Moulton” and “Fire in the Soul - The Barbecue Movie,” and local television stations nationwide. Lilly has been featured in Food and Wine, The New York Times, Relish, Southern Living, Travel and Leisure, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

In addition to his work at the restaurant and on the competition barbecue circuit, Lilly also lends his expertise to Kingsford® charcoal as a national spokesperson, to The Greenbrier® resort in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. as a teacher of courses on barbecue mastery, and to the Seghesio Family Vineyards, located in Healdsburg, Calif., as a guest chef. During the the summers of 2009 and  2010, Lilly was the Official Tour Pitmaster of the Keith Urban Tour through his work with tour sponsors, the makers of KC Masterpiece© barbecue sauces and Kingsford© charcoal.

Mike Golic - ESPN Analyst

Mike Golic, football analyst, former professional football defensive tackle and father of three, enjoys getting behind a charcoal grill and sharing great food and good times with family and friends, especially during the fall football tailgating season.

Born in December 1962 in Willowick, Ohio, Golic played college football at the University of Notre Dame and served as team captain his senior season. Golic was selected in the tenth round in the 1985 draft and went on to a lead a very successful 9-year professional football career, playing defensive tackle for the Houston Oilers, Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins.

During his seven years in Philadelphia, Golic began his television career with a weekly segment on the “Randle Cunningham Show.” He received a Mid-Atlantic Region Emmy Award for his feature “Golic’s Got It.”

Golic joined ESPN in 1995 as a reporter and analyst for “Sunday NFL Countdown.” Since then he has worked as an analyst and announcer for ESPN, ABC’s college football coverage, ESPN2’s "NFL Live" and "NFL 2Night."

Currently, Golic is co-host of ESPN Radio’s "Mike & Mike in the Morning" show, which is carried by more than 300 affiliates nationwide and simulcast on ESPN2. He also serves as an analyst for ESPN and ESPN2’s professional and college football network coverage.