Its been a long way for Reuben Riley, aka ‘Grandpa Ribber,’ from Jamaica’s Boston Beach to Brickyard BBQ at 120 North Queen St., in South Etobicoke.
Riley was in charge of cooking for his siblings as a boy and over the years developed his hometown’s ‘pit slow cooking,’ while working to become a master ribber, now with a loyal following.
“Using wood for fuel, we dug deep holes in the sand, and cooked in this manner,” the long-time chef recalls. “This was essentially the same approach as the pit barbecue style of the American South.”
Riley and his crew, are proud of their trade; love their customers and are always friendly and smiling.
Fans love their ‘Stout Drunken’ BBQ sauce dripping over the steaming soft pork side ribs. They also feature smoked jerk riblets on rice, a unique side dish favoured by Riley since his days of cooking for his family.
“This a special combination of my early childhood cooking experience and my later learning of BBQ mastery, which has proven to be a popular addition,” he says proudly.
The secret many rib-lovers think is due to their specially-brewed dark stout sauce.
“I originated this sauce style, when I was chef at The Granite Brewery,” Riley says proudly. “The customers liked it so much that we bottled it and sold it in our retail beer section.”
But it wasn’t always smooth smoking as he developed his skills and taste for homestyle ribs.
After arriving in Toronto in 1975, Riley held a number of cooking jobs in commercial kitchens before obtaining his chef qualifications at Niagara College in 1986 and began working in Toronto.
It was while he was a chef at a large restaurant that they began featuring slow-smoked barbeque on the menu. It was such a success that they formed a ribfest team and took part in a number of festivals.
“I was the pit master and head sauce maker for this team and was fortunate to win a few trophies,” the chef recalls. He won best ribs at St. Lawrence Market, the CNE and best sauce at festivals in Etobicoke and Burlington.
Riley always knew that he wanted to cook and there was no looking back.
“For me there’s really nothing like the large-scale production thrill of rib fests,” he smiles. “I put together a rig, put together a team from my restaurant employees and did the North Scarborough Rotary Ribfest, Brantford Kinsmen Ribfest as well as a booth at the Caribana festival.”
“These events were successful for us and were greatly enjoyed by my team who were happy to be learning a lot of new skills and seeing a lot of new faces,” he vows.
He and his staff of five now have ribfest experience and plan to keep on the summertime circuit.
“We pride ourselves in our attention to customer service,” Riley explains. “They (my team) are trained in the ways of ribfesting and have gained such knowledge and the same love for it that I have.”
“My appetite for ribfesting was whetted mightily; after the first event, it felt like I had never left,” he adds. You can visit Riley and check out his ribs at 120 North Queen St. , phone him a 41-252-5882, 416- 953-2142 or by email at: info@brickyardcatering.ca