Russ Cornette grew up in South Louisiana just outside of Baton Rouge, on the outskirts of the heart of Cajun Country. As a youngster, Russ lived and experienced what was the “Sportsman’s Paradise” as much of his time was spent in the woods or on the water. Hunting squirrel, rabbit, white-tail deer and wild turkey, or fishing in the Atchafalaya Basin, local creeks, and ponds or in the inshore saltwater bayous was a favorite pastime for Russ and part of the culture in South Louisiana. A natural bridge in the culture from the outdoors was to food, as folks do not waste wild game and fish. Therefore, food is also a major part of this culture, and Russ was and is still greatly influenced by the food, particularly, Cajun, Creole and Southern cuisine. These cuisines are the basis of Russ’ culinary style and are influenced in his barbecue. Russ has no formal culinary training, but has learned by cooking with family, trial and error, studying food through books, television, and talking to other great cooks.

After graduating high school, Russ joined the Navy and ended up assigned to Charleston Naval Station, Navy Band Charleston where he was a trumpet player until 1994. After being discharged from the Navy, Russ pursued his education and earned a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering from The Citadel in 2000. Russ did a lot of grilling while in the Navy and college, but did not delve into barbecue until later. Russ met his wife Kristen and they married in 1997 while he was working and going to school. Russ and Kristen now have two sons, Cole and Graydon.

In 1997, Russ received a Brinkman Smokin’ Pro as a Christmas gift. With that pit, Russ began learning the art and fundamentals of barbecue through experimentation and a lot of good and bad food. Russ and Kristen attended their first barbecue competition with their friends Matt and Deena in 2000 at Charleston’s Brittlebank Park. After walking around the park, sampling barbecue, and talking to a few cook teams, Russ and Matt were hooked. Russ convinced his Dad to build a hog cooker call the Cajun Microwave that was used the following year at the same competition, and that was the beginning of the Bayou Barbecue Cooking Team.

After five years of successfully competing in barbecue, in 2006, Russ and Kristen ventured into the highly competitive specialty food business, and began marketing Smokin’ Cole’s Barbecue Sauce and Dry Rub, named after their eldest son. The cooking team name was also changed to Smokin’ Cole’s. After four years of building the business and growing the customer base, Smokin’ Cole’s has become popular among many other successful barbecue competition teams. Unfortunately, due to the struggling economy, Smokin’ Cole’s will be shutting down and looking to sell the business in 2010.

Russ and Matt will continue to cook competition barbecue, but under which name is undecided at present. The team recently added a new cooker to their fleet of cookers, with a Tucker offset. The Tucker will be used primarily to compete on the KCBS circuit where Russ and Matt have dabbled with only a few contests, with considerable success. Russ will also continue to practice philanthropy through barbecue as he and Kristen are involved with several local non-profit organizations. Russ provides barbecue to Sculpture in the South to sell at their concessions stand every year for their annual Show and Sale. Russ also served on the board of directors for four years, and served as chairman of the board for one year of Sculpture in the South. Kristen is a member of the Summerville Junior Service League, which is a non-profit organization that raises money for many local charities. Russ provides barbecue and other delicacies for their annual gala and golf tournament, which is the Junior Service League’s major fundraiser. Russ’ most recent venture is with the Summerville Miracle League. Russ helped this organization host a barbecue competition in 2009 to raise funds to build a baseball field for handicapped children. Hopefully, this event will successfully continue for many years. Russ plans to continue to successfully cook competition barbecue, continue to improve his barbecue skills as well as serve the community through barbecue.