Great cooks know that their reputation as a culinary artist who can “burn” rests on word of mouth – mouths that have tasted the cook’s dishes and spread the word, which gets around a town like butter on hot toast.
The Memphis, Tenn.-based Neelys can tell you about that.
As co-owners of Neely’s Bar-B-Que, Patrick (Pat) and Gina Neely had the kind of recipes that turned their family restaurant into one of the most successful barbecue restaurants in the South. And now they’re in homes all over the country with their Food Network show Down Home with the Neelys.
Lori Willis, director of communications Schnuck Markets, Inc., first learned of the Neelys when Schnucks entered the Mid-South region in 2002. She was and is supremely impressed with the Neelys’ speedy success.
“We heard of the Neelys’ family business that was growing – literally – by word of mouth, and I was really impressed with that,” said Willis.
“Now, just a few years later they’re national stars.”
The fun-loving, cooking couple has also written a cookbook, Down Home with the Neelys: A Southern Family Cookbook.
Now Schnucks and the Neelys are serving up a St. Louis appearance at Schnucks Chesterfield Hilltown Village store, 141 Hilltown Village Ctr. in Chesterfield. They will sign books and meet their fans there at 4 p.m., Saturday, May 30.
Their visit will be a treat for local fan Kate Daniel.
“I love their show,” said Daniel, a newlywed and avid house-cook.
“Their recipes are very accessible, simple enough to cook yourself at home, and they use ingredients that most people have actually heard of and can buy in a supermarket,” said Daniel.
She also likes them as a couple. “They have a really great story, and they have great chemistry on their show that seems authentic,” Daniel said.
‘Down Home’ on the tube
Their show can be seen on the Food Network at 10 a.m. central time on Saturdays; non on Sundays; and 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
After the show’s February 2008 debut, Down Home with the Neelys became the highest-rated series debut in the five-year history of the Food Network’s In the Kitchen weekend block and continues at the top of the ratings.
The show is filmed in their Memphis home in the company of family and friends.
They served up a second Food Network show in July 2008, Road Tasted with the Neelys, a cross-country search for specialty stores and family-run businesses that make hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind edibles.
According to their bio, Patrick began working in the restaurant business at the age of 15, learning the art of barbecue from his uncle Jim Neely, who taught Patrick and his brother Tony the methods of slow-cooking Southern barbecue using indirect heat.
In February 1988, Pat and his three brothers (Gaelin, Tony, and Mark) opened their first restaurant in downtown Memphis with just a few tables and chairs, one barbecue pit and $20,000 borrowed from their grandmother.
Building on a reputation of hard work, great food and consistently good service, the Neelys now have two locations in Memphis and one in Nashville.
Additionally, they operate several concessions in the Memphis FedEx Forum and their products are sold online and in grocery stores nationwide.
Neely’s Bar-B-Que was awarded the 2007 Business of the Year by Memphis MED-Week (Minority Enterprise Development) and a Blue Ribbon Small Business by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.
Gina manages the catering division of Neely’s Bar-B-Que, which has expanded to more than 25 percent of the restaurant’s total sales. She also oversees sales of all the Neelys’ products including sauces, seasonings, shirts, hats, and aprons. Before joining her husband in the family business, Gina served as branch manager at National Bank of Commerce in Memphis and was an events coordinator for The Carter Malone Group, a local public relations firm.
High school sweethearts in the 1980s, Pat and Gina reunited at their 10-year high school reunion and were married in 1994. For years the two have learned to balance their roles in the family as well as in business. They reside in Memphis with their two daughters, Spenser and Shelbi.
SIDEBAR
The Neelys’ blackened catfish
Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil, for frying
• 4 catfish filets
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoons onion powder
• 1 tablespoons thyme
• Cajun Remoulade, recipe follows
Directions
Preheat a cast iron skillet to medium high with peanut oil.
Mix dry ingredients together. Cover both sides of catfish with the seasoning mix and place in skillet.
Cook on one side for 4 minutes and turn when cooked halfway through. Cook for another 4 minutes on the other side. Remove from pan and serve with Cajun remoulade.
Cajun Remoulade
• 2 tablespoon chopped Gherkin pickles
• 2 teaspoons capers
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• Dash hot sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
Mix all ingredients together well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
