Chuck Charnichart is an American restaurateur and pitmaster.

Early life and education

Charnichart's parents, Bethoven and Francisca Charnichart, emigrated from San Luis Potosí, Mexico, to

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County, located on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border, border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas ...

in 1997. Her father was a restaurant cook on

South Padre Island South Padre Island is a barrier island in the U.S. state of Texas. The remote landform is located in Cameron County, Willacy County, and accessible by the Queen Isabella Causeway. South Padre Island was formed when the creation of the Port Ma ...

. Charnichart was their first child born in the US. She has three siblings. The family lived in a

trailer park A trailer park, caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and e ...

. She worked at a

Taco Bell Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired ...

. Charnichart attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, where she studied marketing. She first tasted Central Texas-style smoked brisket while in Austin.

Career

While in college Charnichart worked front of house at

Franklin Barbecue Franklin Barbecue is a barbecue restaurant located in Austin, Texas, founded in 2009 by Aaron Franklin. The restaurant has attracted a national following. History In 2009, Aaron Franklin launched the restaurant in a trailer. The restaurant has ...

. While

studying abroad Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, non-human animals, and some machines; there is also evidence for some kind ...

in Norway she worked in an Oslo smokeless barbecue restaurant. When she returned from Norway, she worked at Fort Worth's Goldee’s BBQ, which in 2021 was named the state's best barbecue restaurant by ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

''; owner and pitmaster Jonny White became a mentor. When White temporarily closed Goldee's while on vacation, he offered her the opportunity to use the space for a concept of her own, and she created a

pop-up Popup, Pop up or pop-up may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Pop Up'' (album), a 2007 album by Yelle * ''Pop Up'' (video game), a video game also known as ''Bumpy'' * Pop-up book, a book with three-dimensional pages Computing * Pop- ...

version of her vision for Barbs B Q. Charnichart is the pitmaster of Barbs B Q in

Lockhart, Texas Lockhart is a city in and the county seat of Caldwell County, Texas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 14,379. History The city of Lockhart is named after Byrd Lockhart, an assistant surveyor of Green DeWitt a ...

, which she opened with partners in 2023.

Recognition

In 2022, ''

'''s taco editor Jose Ralat wrote that Barbs B Q's version of green spaghetti, which Charnichart created based on her mother's recipe, "might be the single best dish I ate all year". The restaurant was named one of the twelve best new restaurants in the U.S. by ''

Eater Eater may refer to: * Eater (band), an English punk rock group * "Eater" (''Fear Itself''), a 2008 episode of the NBC television horror anthology ''Fear Itself'' * ''Eater'' (novel), a 2000 science fiction novel by Gregory Benford * ''Eater'' ( ...

'' in 2023. In 2023 ''

Garden & Gun ''Garden & Gun'' is a national magazine focusing on the Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is Lis ...

'' called her "arguably the top

brisket Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, though the definition of the cut differs internationally. The brisket muscles include the Pectoralis major, superficial ...

cook working in Texas today". In 2024 ''Bon Appetit'' named Charnichart their 2024 "Chef of the Moment", saying she was "reshaping barbecue". In 2024, Barbs B Q was named one of the best new restaurants of 2024 by ''

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center ...

'' one of the best restaurants in the country by The ''New York Times'', and was a semifinalist in the Best New Restaurant category of the

James Beard Foundation Awards The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charnichart, Chuck 1990s births American women restaurateurs American restaurateurs People from Texas Barbecue chefs Living people

Early life and education

Career

Recognition

See also

References