Meet Team Dirtybird

Tell me about your role as Grill Master.

I’ve been friends with the guys for 16 years. When they did the parties in the park, we all pitched in. Chris would bring the speakers and I had a grill, so I brought it. Eventually, it just became a thing to always bring the grill.

Justin came up with the name Grillson. My last name is Wilson and I grill, so, Grillson. (His real name is Chris.)

Do you have any culinary background?

No, none at all.

I grew up BBQing with my dad. It was always a family bonding experience, but I learned how to grill because my dad would always cook things very rare. I would complain and then he’d say, “Go cook it yourself then!” That’s how I learned how to grill.

And make note – a BBQ Master is very different from a Grill Master. BBQ Masters are the guys who smoke things, but I am solely a grill master.

What does a typical Dirtybird BBQ day look like for you?

I found out that you can call the managers of Costco and have them set aside items for you, which saves a lot of time because that alone can take hours. Costco opens up around 10am, so that’s your window of opportunity before the BBQ starts at 12pm. We load up the cars and pull up on-site where we have volunteers ready to unload and help us organize.

Also, have you ever noticed that the bun to hot dog ratio is never right? You end up having like 700 buns and only 600 hot dogs and it doesn’t make any sense.

What’s the funniest thing you’ve had happen to you while on Grill Master duty?

They actually opened up an application / contest to be a Grillson assistant. It was pretty funny and we ended up getting some characters – you know, some kids are just on one and have no idea what they’re doing. I had a kid once who had no idea how to cut an onion, and I was like, “Dude, you really don’t know how to cut an onion?”

So I taught him how, and he was like, “Wow, life lessons from Grillson!”

Sometimes you have to channel your inner Gordon Ramsay and yell at the kids, because we’re actually cooking and really need to get things done. Whip your towel around, you know? People forget that it’s actually a job!

What’s the politest way to tell someone who asks for a steak well-done that they are wrong?

Probably just burn the hell out of it. Then hand it back to them.

Or send them to the back of the thousand person line, like "Try again!"