Aaron Franklin

Board Member

Aaron Franklin is the co-owner of Franklin Barbecue, winner of Texas Monthly’s coveted Best Barbecue Joint in Texas and Bon Appétit’s Best Barbecue Joint in America. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential pitmasters in the U.S., and received the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2015. He is the host of the popular PBS series, BBQ with Franklin, and has co-authored Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-smoking Manifesto, a New York Timesbestseller.

In 2017, he partnered with James Moody (Mohawk, Guerilla Suit) and Mike Thelin (Feast Portland) to launch an annual food and music festival , Hot Luck Fest, in Austin, TX. He then opened the Asian smokehouse and bar, LORO, with fellow James Beard Foundation Award winner, Chef Tyson Cole in spring of 2018. Aaron’s second book, Franklin Steak, showcases his deep love for steak by exploring dry aging, reverse searing, and other cooking methods.