Growing up in Chicago, Dominique Leach fondly recalls her family’s 4th of July get-togethers, chock-full of home-cooked barbecue and the appropriate sides that go with it. But the festivities didn’t end there, as the party would often extend into the next day when the birthday celebration of the United States would shift to Leach, whose birthday is July 5.
“Some of the most fulfilling moments I can think of growing up was when my family got together for the summer holidays,” she says. “For me, barbecue is close to my roots and always felt like a part of my culture.”
It should come as no surprise then that Leach is the chef and owner of Lexington Betty Smokehouse, a celebrated barbecue restaurant on Chicago’s South Side named after her Lexington, Mississippi-born grandmother. Or that she is the face and creator of a line of barbecue-focused food products (more on those later).
And, as of press time, Leach is midway through the competition on the Food Network’s “BBQ Brawl.” Now in its fourth season, the show features renowned celebrity chefs Bobby Flay, Anne Burrell and Sunny Anderson, who act as team captains for the 12 competitors.
Brooke Williamson (a “Top Chef” winner and restaurant owner), Rodney Scott (a James Beard Award-winning chef and whole-hog barbecue pitmaster) and Carson Kressley (best known as one of the original “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” hosts) are the judges for the 10-episode show, which this season was filmed at Long Branch Saloon & Farms in Half Moon Bay in Northern California.
Leach is no stranger to culinary competitions, having appeared on “Chopped” and as a judge/contestant on Food Network Canada’s “Fire Masters.”
“It’s a ride, it’s a rush,” says Leach, who credits being an athlete and having worked at Michelin-starred restaurant Spiaggia as valuable competition training.
“Cooking competitions can be very exhausting, but in the end, I’m always meeting myself at this comfort level where it feels good to achieve something. I roll up my sleeves, I get tunnel vision, and I just pull out all of my strengths and try to embody being the Michael Jordan of food.”
While Leach can’t talk about the final outcome of “BBQ Brawl,” whose finale airs in back-to-back episodes on Sept. 4, she can discuss how she almost didn’t make it on the show.
After going through the casting process and being told by the casting agent that her boss really wanted her on the show, Leach was informed she wouldn’t be a contestant but instead a standby.
“I was surprised, but I just stayed humble and optimistic, as that’s my style,” she says.
Rather than change the Feb. 2 launch date of her first packaged product — a line of Wagyu beef franks made in partnership with Michigan’s Vander Farmers — in case she got the call for the show, she forged ahead as planned. Later that launch day, the production company reached out and told Leach she was coming to California after all.
“They called on a Thursday and I had to fly out on Saturday,” says Leach. “They told me it would come down to the last minute and it definitely did.”
“I roll up my sleeves, I get tunnel vision, and I just pull out all of my strengths and try to embody being the Michael Jordan of food.” — Chef Dominique Leach
Fortunately, Leach did some proactive launch preparation for her hot dogs, which can now be found in all Mariano’s stores as well as at Lexington Betty and online, and she was able to tape a few news segments before leaving.
“While I was taping ‘BBQ Brawl’ in California, I was displaced from the celebration of my launch in Chicago,” says Leach. “But I was able to share a piece of my journey with the other competing chefs, and they were all very impressed.”
Impressed is also a word that can be used to describe the judges’ reactions to a number of Leach’s dishes.
“This catfish is beautifully cooked, and the smoke is perfect on it,” said Scott in episode 2.
“A perfect char on the shrimp. Lots of spice, and this slaw is really bright and crunchy,” said Williamson on episode 4, of Leach’s jerk-spiced grilled shrimp.
Then there’s the sweet chili habanero chicken wings Leach made earlier in that last episode.
“I really love the sauce,” said Kressley, who then proceeded to lick the wing. “These would make a great lollipop.”
Episode 5 (which aired Monday night) however, was perhaps Leach’s strongest showing yet. She was the team winner of the advantage challenge for her Jamaican-style catfish.
“Looks like a work of art,” said Kressley after sampling the dish.
She also received high praise from Williamson for her pork belly and ribs with hoisin sauce dish from the episode’s main challenge.
“This is the most flavorful pork of the night,” said Williamson.
Team Bobby went on to win the Team Brawl.
Leach credits Flay, her team captain, with helping take her wings to the next level. While she has plenty of experience smoking wings at her restaurant, it was Flay’s suggestion to drop them in the deep fryer to crisp up the skin.
“Bobby was so patient, and he shared a lot of encouraging words with me,” says Leach. “I hope to be able to work with him again one day.”
After just two days shy of a month, the show taping was done, and Leach returned to Chicago. Taking it easy, however, wasn’t on her to-do list.
Since coming home, Leach has launched more products, including a spicy barbecue sauce, an andouille beef sausage and a barbecue grilling spice, the latter of which Leach is quick to give credit to her wife, Tanisha. A seasoned smoked beef brisket is in the testing stage. And come October, Lexington Betty Smokehouse will undergo a remodel.
“We want to be a reason why people are coming to Pullman and help promote the area and make it a destination,” says Leach.
Additionally, Leach continues to share her time and support for community-focused organizations, including the Chicago-based Coffee, Hip-Hop & Mental Health, which works to “highlight the importance of mental health, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence in everyone’s life, particularly in the black community,” according to the organization’s website.
“I like to embody and promote things I believe in and resonate with me,” Leach says, adding how therapy has personally helped her overcome problems.
“A lot of times I look around and feel like our culture is forgetting that one of the best things about life is being able to rely on each other.”
As for how Leach is able to take on so much, including appearing on “BBQ Brawl”?
“I have this fire lit in me, and I’m very ambitious,” she says. “This is my moment to capitalize off of it and get the word out that chef Dominique Leach and Lexington Betty are here to stay.”
“BBQ Brawl” airs Monday nights on Food Network.
