We are saturated with amazingly talented pit masters who are pushing out and creating amazing barbecue and food in every style you can imagine. Great craft barbecue is no longer hard to come by in the Houston area. Just creating a new brand name in the ever-evolving Houston barbecue community with so many phenomenal choices for consumers to choose is a challenge in itself. Operating outside of the traditional brick and mortar or food truck model comes with many hurdles and speed bumps. Add in the challenges of beginning operations in the ever-changing climate of the pandemic, and it’s easy to say Nomad’s journey has been an exciting and evolving one. Despite James’ reputation, building Nomad has been like starting from scratch. Nothing in the food industry, but especially barbecue, is a smooth road. We offer “Underground BBQ” and traditional BBQ Pop-Ups, along with catering services.Īlright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome? James is a Texas Monthly recognized pitmaster from his work at Reveille Barbecue. We also offer collaboration dishes with multiple locally-owned restaurants across the Katy area, including Corner 99, Slurp Ramen Factory, Tiger Noodle House, and Texas Traditions. We utilize the kitchens of various restaurants for “take over” events such as bi-monthly brunch service at The Growler Spot in Fulshear and special events at Star Sailor in The Heights. James officially exited from Reveille operations in February 2020 in order to focus more on building Nomad and family/work balance. He began exploring pop-ups around town under his Instagram handle, and eventually, the formation of Nomad Barbecue seemed to be the natural course. By 2020, James had already made a return to O&G for the daily 9-5 with benefits to support the family and the commute to Magnolia multiple times a week after work and every weekend began to wear both James and the family thin. After one year at The Pit Room, James moved on to work under the wing of Scott Moore and the folks at Tejas Chocolate and Barbecue in Tomball before joining forces with Michael Michna to form Reveille Barbecue in Magnolia, Texas in 2018. The same day he reached out to Michael Sambrooks, who was just opening The Pit Room in Montrose and became their first overnight pit cook the very next day. I told him if he believed he could make a career and living doing barbecue, then go for it. He turned to me, who was absolutely in love with my career in behavioral health, and said, “I want to go to work and love what I do every day like you do.” I asked him what he wanted to do and he said BBQ. It all started back in 2016 when James found himself laid off during the oil and gas slump. James and Jessica, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Today we’d like to introduce you to James and Jessica McFarland.
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