Welcome, Mr. Guru of Grilling!

[Jim Lampe]

Hello Jamie, thank you so much for spending more time again with us talking grilling an' barbecuein'...

Since this is your 4th "tour of duty" here on TVWBB, you must have answered every possible question tossed your way.
And I'm sure this question as been asked at least a few times, but here it is anyway

For a grad from the CIA, how did you get so involved in grilling and barbecue?

Oh, and...
When will your new television series begin?

 

[Jamie Purviance]

Thanks a lot, Jim. I trace my interest in grilling and barbecue to my days in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia where outdoor cooking is deeply embedded in those ancient cultures. I was a schoolteacher there, and the tastes and techniques I saw firsthand were fascinating to me, partly because they were so different from what I saw as a kid growing up in the suburbs outside New York. In the early 1990s I decided to take a break from being a schoolteacher and indulge my new fasciation with cooked, so that's when I went to the CIA. There I learned the basics of all good cooking and I went from a guy who couldn’t hack up an onion without cutting himself to someone on the verge being a professional chef. For a few years thereafter I cooked in restaurants in San Francisco and Napa Valley, CA.

Weber called me in 1998 to ask if I might help them with a cookbook. I had always liked grilling, but this was an opportunity to immerse myself in the topic fully. I grilled every day for about a year and began to master the basic techniques as well as the subtle nuances that separate the great from the good. Many years have passed since then, and I’ve continued to grill (almost) every day. When you do anything that much, you tend to get better. Whether or not I'm good enough for a television series is another question, but thanks for the vote of confidence.

 

[Jim Lampe]

I Love It! Thank you much for an outstanding AND very interesting answer!
I knew you were special Jamie! And I certainly DO believe your talent is higher than many today on television.
Thanks again!!