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Melissa Cookston

Melissa Cookston is a Mississippi Delta pitmaster, seven-time world barbecue champion, cookbook author and Barbecue Showdown judge who shares recipes and mentors young cooks.

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Melissa’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus her backstory and Starbook, where fans write.

Known for

Overview

Roots: Born and raised in the Mississippi Delta
Work: Pitmaster, restaurateur, cookbook author and television judge
Breakout: Memphis in May Grand Champion in 2010 and 2012
Restaurant: Memphis BBQ Company in Horn Lake, Mississippi
Giving back: Founder of the World Junior BBQ League

Mini bio

How it started.

Melissa grew up in the Mississippi Delta. Her husband Pete introduced her to competition barbecue while they were dating. She recalls their early entry finishing fifth, and the two became cooking partners as well as business partners.

Finding her place.

Her Memphis in May Grand Championships in 2010 and 2012 helped establish her reputation. Whole-hog cooking became a signature, and she went on to become a seven-time world barbecue champion and a 2017 Barbecue Hall of Fame inductee.

Sharing the fire.

Fans also know Melissa through Memphis BBQ Company, her cookbooks and television judging on BBQ Pitmasters and Netflix’s Barbecue Showdown. Her 2026 book Fanning the Flames draws on her Southern roots and travels abroad.

The next generation.

In 2023, she announced her final Memphis in May competition and described wanting to spend more time on the World Junior BBQ League. The nonprofit uses team cooking competitions to teach young people leadership, planning and teamwork.

Creditschronological, newest first

Cookbooks

Television

2020–2024Barbecue ShowdownJudge, three seasons
2013BBQ PitmastersSeason four judge

Awards

Quotes

The fundamentals of cooking with fire don’t change, and you need those core basics before jumping ahead to more advanced techniques.Melissa Cookston, The Smoke Sheet

In a July 2026 interview, she encouraged backyard cooks to learn the basics and take classes.

Trivia

As a child, she spent time around her grandparents’ smokehouse, where they cured hams and bacon in the fall.
She worked with a custom-bred hybrid hog that won the whole-hog category at Memphis in May in 2017.
Her early restaurant jobs included working as a fountain girl at a local drive-in.