After an award-winning career as a newspaper journalist, photographer, editor and publisher, Mike Stines traded his typewriter for stainless steel tongs and worked through the stations at several restaurants to become executive chef at a Cape Cod restaurant specializing in barbecue and grilled foods.
He is the author of “Mastering Barbecue” (Ten Speed Press, 2005), a critically acclaimed barbecue cookbook with more than 250 recipes for rubs, sauces, entrées and side dishes. He is also the author of "Food With An Attitude," a cookbook and recipe collection featuring hot and spicy cuisines from across the country and around the world. A third cookbook, "The Everyday Chef," is now under development.
A resident of Cape Cod, Mass., he is a certified barbeque judge and table captain for the Kansas City Barbeque Society, the largest barbecue sanctioning body in the world, and has judged the prestigious American Royal Invitational BBQ Competition in Kansas City known as the “World Series of Barbecue” and the Jack Daniel's World Invitational Barbecue Competition in Lynchburg, Tenn., as well as the 2004 World Barbecue Association (WBQA) International Competition held in Pirmasens, Germany. He is a member of numerous barbecue societies around the country.
In
addition to advanced academic degrees, Mike holds a Master of Barbecue (M.B.)
and a Doctorate in Barbecue Philosophy (Ph.B.) from the Kansas City Barbeque
Society’s Greasehouse University. He was the 24th person awarded the prestigious
doctorate degree since the founding of the society in 1985. At the 2004 Jack
Daniel's World Invitational, he was inducted into the KCBS “Order of the
Magic Mop” by Remus Powers, Ph.B. He has also been conferred the title of
“Cackalacky Master Chef Emeritus.” Mike has also been awarded an honorary
membership to the Char-Broil Championship Grilling Team.
In the amateur division of the 2004 Fiery-Foods & BBQ Scovie Awards, Mike received a second-place finish for his “Habanero-Cranberry Jelly.” Two barbecue sauce entries were awarded third and fourth place in the same competition. His “Seven-Chile Chili” was one of ten winning chili recipes in the magazine’s 2003 Great Chili Contest. In the 2004 Zesty Best food competition, his “Cumberland Barbecue Sauce” received a third place award. In the 2005 Zesty Best competition, "Mastering Barbecue" was awarded a second-place finish in the cookbook category.
He
is a frequent guest on Fooding Around, a radio talk show broadcast in
southern New England highlighting trends in the hospitality industry, and a
regular columnist for the National Barbecue News, a monthly national
newspaper focusing on competition barbecue across the country, Fiery Foods &
BBQ magazine where he is the contributing editor, and other specialty
barbecue, cooking and travel publications. He also served as the executive
editor for The BBQer magazine, the only magazine devoted exclusively to
outdoor cooking and barbecue, prior to its 2004 merger with Fiery Foods
magazine.
Mike also teaches grilling, barbecue and food safety classes at the Sandwich Community School and is a demonstration chef and presenter for several area businesses.