The team behind Tacoma restaurant Grann, executive chef Reginald Jacob Howell and pitmaster Denzel Johnson, will put their well-reviewed culinary skills to the test, competing as a team on Food Network’s “Pitmasters” (9 p.m. Monday, streaming next day on HBO Max).
This new series, not to be confused with Food Network’s long-established “BBQ Pitmasters,” features teams engaged in live-fire cooking over a prolonged period.
“What differentiates (our show) is it’s not just focused on the barbecue aspect,” says Howell about “Pitmasters,” which filmed outdoors in Utah earlier this year. “We’re literally in the elements, up all night, so that’s what really sets us apart from the other shows. It was a nonstop situation.”
Howell says while there was no way to prepare for the elements, they did revisit their recipes, “all the things we felt like were our strong suits.”
“We just wanted to trust in ourselves and, obviously, adjust on the fly, but it was more just to make sure we stay on the same brain wave and stick to what we know,” Howell says. “That’s what gets people through most of these competitions: trusting yourself.”
They’re competing with eight other teams for $50,000 in prize money. Judges include Andrew Zimmern, Jess Pryles, Moe Cason and Ernest Servantes.
For the premiere episode, teams are tasked with a “Big Burn” challenge that gives them nine hours to create a family-style BBQ platter — two proteins and at least one side — that defines their “BBQ style and culinary point of view,” per Food Network.
For Howell and Johnson, that’s something they’ve worked on since meeting during college, years before the 2025 opening of Grann, whose name is a play on “grandmother” and an homage to “all the women in our lives.” The restaurant is known for its Creole, Indian and Southern barbecue flavors, rotating its menu a few times each year.
Johnson attended Eastern Washington University studying healthcare; Howell studied communications at the University of Washington. They met through friends and followed one another on Instagram.
Johnson ultimately got a master’s in public health and currently contracts with Boeing, working in human resources, but he was barbecuing the whole time he was in school, following two career paths at once, which continues today.
At UW, Howell worked at a student-owned and -operated restaurant, Cultivate, which resparked an interest in cooking that began when he was a child in the kitchen with his grandmother. After graduating from UW, Howell worked at Dirty Oscar’s Annex in Tacoma.
“I ran a couple specials, they sold out, and I was hooked after that,” Howell says. “I left my previous restaurant to do (Grann) with Denzel, and my full time (job has) always been cooking. Now I’m a full-time father, too, but (at Grann) I do a lot of the prep, the training. I work on the line. Denzel, when he gets there, he’s serving, he’s bartending, he’s helping in the kitchen, helping wash dishes. We’re very hands-on owners.”
Howell, who lives in Shoreline, and Johnson, who lives in Auburn, were doing administrative work for Grann in late March or early April, going through emails, when they got the invitation to audition for “Pitmasters.” After responding and going through the usual reality competition Zoom interviews, they were soon on their way to Utah for filming.
“You’re going into the unknown and that’s always fun and exciting,” Johnson says. “I wasn’t necessarily nervous, because I have such a blind confidence in everything that I smoke, you know?”
Learning how to sustain energy over the course of “Pitmasters” production proved to be the toughest aspect of the competition.
“Running on no sleep and you’re trying to make sure you’re thinking straight,” Howell says. “The show does a great job of showcasing (how) we’re all from different aspects of this nation, and it showcases every aspect of what live-fire cooking entails — everything that’s thrown at us, everything that comes our way.”
Although they were in a competition, Howell and Johnson still made new friends with their fellow contestants.
“In the food industry, once you cook with somebody, they’re pretty much family,” Howell says.
“You’re rubbing elbows with people in the elements and you’re trying people’s food and you’re getting feedback, getting advice,” Johnson adds. “You build a different bond once you enjoy somebody’s hard work cuisine.”
‘Pitmasters’
The new competition series premieres at 9 p.m. July 13 on Food Network, and streams next day on HBO Max.
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