A leader in the industry, Pat Martin is one of few pitmasters still carrying the torch of West Tennessee-style whole hog barbecue and is a dedicated independent restaurateur, author, and tv host with a growing footprint across the country. Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint is rooted in Pat’s lifelong love for the art of pit-cooked barbecue, open-flame cooking, and grilling. The entire menu at Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint is scratch-made, every single day – from sides to sauces, and everything in between. What began as a 950-square foot joint in Nolensville, TN, is today a beloved culinary destination with deep Nashville roots and six locations sprinkled across Nashville, with outposts in Birmingham, AL; Louisville, KY; and Charleston, SC. In October 2024, it was named one of the top 25 Nashville restaurants by The New York Times, underscoring its reputation for excellence. Building upon the success of Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, Pat opened Hugh-Baby’s BBQ & Burger Shop in 2017 as a tribute to the small town barbecue and burger spots that dotted the mid-South of his youth. Dedicated to simple, delicious food and warm Southern hospitality, Hugh-Baby’s menu covers all the classics, with burgers, Memphis-style pulled pork, hot dogs, fries and hand-spun shakes at its heart. There are three Hugh-Baby’s locations in Nashville and a newly opened outpost in Charleston, SC. In 2023, Pat partnered with his longtime friend and fellow Nashville restaurant owner, Bill Darsinos, to open SweetMilk, serving old-school, traditional Southern breakfast that Pat’s grandmother cooked for her family every morning. SweetMilk bakes a limited number of from-scratch, hand-cut, cast iron-baked biscuits every day and served until sold out. Pat released his debut book, Life of Fire: Mastering the Arts of Pit-Cooked Barbecue, The Grill, and The Smokehouse (Clarkson Potter), in the Spring of 2022. Through beautiful photography and detailed instruction, this procedural book is a must-have guide to open-fire cooking. Here, Martin looks to transform the way you cook by revealing the craft of West Tennessee-style BBQ – a tradition he’s spent a lifetime studying, teaching, and celebrating. In 2024, a continuation of his book debuted as his very own tv show, Life of Fire, with Season 1 airing on The Outdoor Channel and currently streaming on MyOutdoorTV and Tastemade. Pat intentionally features the arduous, old methods of barbecue and live fire cooking, with each having its own unique style and story to tell. He purposefully steers the viewer away from the modern sense of barbecue we often see today, embedding himself with pitmasters, chefs, farmers, and some larger-than-life characters, as they share their own cooking heritage and traditions with him and speak to the importance of keeping those customs alive.