Chris Lilly
Lilly emerged on the scene in 1992 when he began working for the world-famous Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q restaurant in Decatur, Alabama, founded in 1925. Lilly is now Chef/Pitmaster, and 4th generation owner.
Lilly is head chef of the Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q Competition Cooking Team, the winner of 18 World BBQ Championships, and holds a record 5 Memphis in May World Grand Championships. He won the American Royal International Invitational and captured the International Jamaican Barbeque Championship. He also won the title of “King of the Smokers” at a national barbecue Invitational.
Lilly is a 2016 inductee into the Barbecue Hall of Fame and in 2019 he was presented with the 2019 Pioneer Award for his work in barbecue. Also, in 2020, Lilly was awarded the Legends of Barbecue Pitmaster Award by the National Barbecue Association. He was an instructor for Pork Summit at Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley and was a presenter at the Low-Country and Caribbean Food Conference at Johnson and Wales University. Lilly has appeared twice at the prestigious James Beard Foundation.
Lilly is a Celebrated Chef of the National Pork Board and serves as the national spokesperson for Kingsford Charcoal. He’s a proud ambassador for Yeti Coolers. His private catering jobs include work for companies like Nissan, NASCAR, and Microsoft.
In 2009, Lilly authored a compilation of recipes, stories, and advice: BIG BOB GIBSON’S BBQ BOOK, Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint. In 2014, Lilly’s authored a second book titled: FIRE & SMOKE, A Pitmaster’s Secrets.
