Headshot, courtesy of GAZ Creative Agency
We’re kicking off Season Two of the Lez Eat! Podcast with Chef Dominique Leach from Lexington Betty Smokehouse. Chef Dominique starred in and won the Food Network cooking show BBQ Brawl, with chefs Bobby Flay, Anne Burrell, and Sunny Anderson and with judges Carson Kressley, Chef Brooke Williamson, and pitmaster Rodney Scott.
Chef Dominique is a classically trained chef turned nationally recognized pitmaster. First garnering culinary experience in some of the most prestigious kitchens in Chicago under the direction of chef icons such as James Beard award-winning owner/chef Tony Mantuano and Executive Chef Sarah Grueneberg (Monteverde) at MICHELIN starred Italian restaurant Spiaggia, as well as with award-winning author and chef Raghavan Lyer at The Art Institute Museum. Leach then branched out with her wife Tanisha in 2016 to create her own catering company, “Cater to You Events & Drop Offs.” Inspired by fond childhood memories of her grandmother, Betty King of Lexington, Mississippi, who filled the house with flavorful aromas of home-cooked meals, Dominique then took those aromas and applied techniques to launch a successful food truck, Lexington Betty Smokehouse. Her expertise and soulful food would lead to her victory on The Food Network’s BBQ BRAWL in 2023 with Bobby Flay as well as earn her a spot on CHOPPED and as a judge/contestant on Food Network Canada FIREMASTERS, recognition as the “Best Barbecue in Chicago” by Good Morning America, and a full brick-and-mortar home for Lexington Betty on the South Side of Chicago following a pilot project to help promote black-owned businesses in the region. Chef Leach and her wife’s hard work and persistence in a male-dominated industry have helped them carve out a name for themselves in the culinary world in Chicago and beyond.
To keep up with Chef Dominique, follow along at @chefdominiqueleach and @lexingtonbettysmokehouse.
Lez Eat! Season 2, Episode 1: Chef Dominique Leach