Check out our interview with Tamica Barnett

 Who Want Smoke BBQ & Catering is led by Tamica Barnett, an acclaimed firehouse chef, and pitmaster who was born and raised in Syracuse.  

1. First of all, I checked your site out and your menu is Smokin’ hot, pun intended. Why did you decide to go into the food industry and start a catering and  food service business?

I saw a need. In the past families cam together over food. I’ve been in many different settings, the one food that seems to be universal is BBQ. Everyone loves BBQ. So from a business and marketing stand point, its a larger market. Also, there’s not very many women around here that grill and smoke meat. I try to advance in a lane of my own. We don’t have any grassroots BBQ restaurants locally, especially with a black woman as the chef.

2. How long has Who Want Smoke BBQ been in business?

Who want smoke has been in operation officially since March of 2020. I’ve volunteered to cook for large fathers long before the business launch. I am also the director of a youth basketball league at the Boys & Girls Club on the east side. When I first took over the league, we could afford to host a fancy banquet at the end of the season... so I would spend days cooking for 300 people to come and enjoy a meal and celebrate another successful basketball season. 

 3. It’s Women’s History Month! We wanted to highlight you for your very admirable and inspiring community service initiative you did for Black History Month. One among many. Why did you decide to do the Black History Free Soul Food Give Away?

I feel like as a community, we are losing our family ties. I decided to host a free soul food event highlighting Syracuse nativeswith research performed by our students. I remember sitting down eating dinner as a family at 5pm and people discussing how their day went, and families communicating with eachother. For many reasons, family time is lost. I wanted to provide a service to the community, take the load off, enjoy a free soul food meal, and also learn about Syracuse Black history and the history of soul food and how it brought people together. I believe the youth are our greatest asset. I had them take the lead on the research and in doing so, they now have experience organizing and planning a large community project. They personally interviewed the ppl we highlighted.  Now they have mentors outside of their family members that can help create opportunities for them. But most importantly I started the conversation- we have a lot of assets and local history right here in our city and it’s time to tap into it. 

4. How did the community respond to the event? Was it successful (how so)?

I receive a lot of positive feedback about the event. People enjoyed the food and they learned some things they didn’t know. As far as the magazines, some loved it, some felt as though they should have been included. One of the hardest aspects of the project was deciding who to highlight. I didn’t want to focus too heavily on political figures- but we have a lot of political history in Syracuse. In the end, we ( my team) decided that this is something we would do going forward. This year's theme was the past, the present, and the future. So we had folks from all walks of life. I wanted every reader to find the text relatable- students, seniors citizens...etc.

5. We say tribe a lot in our community of blackness? Did you have one and who were they during this process? 

I always have a tribe. It truly takes a strong tribe to get things done. My tribe included: Rickey Brown, Amanda Shepherd, Jessica Elliot, Rasheada Caldwell, Helen Hudson, Vernon Williams Jr, Indaria Jones, Mauresha Stenson, and most importantly the students that worked extra hard to see this project through. And the donors that helped lighten the financial load: Gifford Foundation, Syracuse teaching Kitchen, Dunbar Center, Boys & Girls Club, The Creators Lounge and Diversify NY. 

7. What are 3 things you love about your community?

I love the culture. I love the fact that we are so innovative.... and I love the family vibe... we bleed orange, and for some of us, blood couldn't make us any closer. 

8. Today it is said that many of our disadvantaged communities across the Country lack leadership and that leaders only look out for themselves. However Syracuse has a unique service infrastructure within its leadership.  There’s always a community initiative happening in town. Why is it important for leaders to be mindful and show acts of kindness in their communities?

True leaders breed other leaders... it’s the reach back. We all come from the same community, the more I achieve, the more resources I have access to. I can’t speak for all community leaders, but my goal is to build snd enable more young ppl to rise and create pathways for them to be successful. Giving back to the community comes naturally to me because everything I do is from the heart with good intent. It’s important to display acts of kindness to the community, if you are successful and don’t reach back to help someone else then in my opinion your not a leader. I’ve fixed a lot of crowns in private. 

9. What’s next for Who Want Smoke BBQ that we could look forward to in the near future?

The possibilities are endless. One of my best qualities is that I’m spontaneous, and I get things done. I brainstorm beat at night. There’s definitely more to come in terms of community service from those who want to smoke, I’m just not sure what it will be. Definitely an addition to the black history event at the very least. 

10. Sisterhood! What does it mean to you?

Sisterhood is fixing each other’s crown and not telling everyone you had to do it. It’s correcting our imperfections in private. It’s sharing information to help eachother get ahead. It’s defending eachother in such a way that we don’t have to run back and tell what someone had to say because “it’s handled” - and I’ll tell you- I have a lot of sisters hunnntttyyy.