with Lockhart Smokehouse<\/a>,\u00a0where he was\u00a0former pitmaster. That’s all past him now.<\/p>\n\u201cA big reason I went on the show is I wanted people to really get to know the real Tim McLaughlin,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of negative press in the past few years and I just want people to see my heart, my happiness and my joy.\u201d<\/p>\n
In each episode of\u00a0BBQ Brawl,\u00a0team captains and chefs Bobby Flay, Maneet Chauhan and Brooke Williamson lead groups of competitors\u00a0who are judged by\u00a0cookbook author and podcaster\u00a0Adrienne Cheatham,\u00a0former football player and chef\u00a0Rashad Jones and\u00a0Queer Eye for the Straight Guy\u00a0star\u00a0Carson Kressley.<\/p>\n
McLaughlin assured\u00a0viewers that the show is \u201cnot just made for TV.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is real. It is fast. And it is a challenge for everybody out there,\u201d he said.\u00a0Here\u2019s\u00a0a shortened interview with McLaughlin about his experience\u00a0on the\u00a0BBQ Brawl\u00a0set.<\/p>\n
\nHow do you prepare\u00a0for a televised cooking\u00a0competition?\n<\/p>\n
Tim McLaughlin: \u201cIn my mind, I feel like\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0been preparing for about 25 years. You go and use your experience and skills the best you\u00a0possibly\u00a0can.\u00a0I don\u2019t have a ton of experience in these competitions, so in the beginning, time constraints\u00a0were\u00a0pretty hectic.<\/p>\n
\u201cMentally preparing was the most important thing, to stay calm and focused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWhat were the\u00a0greatest\u00a0challenges?\n<\/p>\n
TM: \u201cThe time constraints were the biggest struggle for\u00a0me. \u2026\u00a0Cooking in restaurants,\u00a0everything\u2019s\u00a0super organized.\u00a0You have specific recipes you\u2019re doing over and over again.\u00a0This is a fly-by-the-seat-of\u00a0your-pants\u00a0kind of deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI compare it to when I get home at 5:30 and\u00a0have to\u00a0cook dinner for my kids at 6. It is certainly fun.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0exciting. And\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a really intense\u00a0situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWould you do\u00a0another TV show?\n<\/p>\n
TM:\u00a0\u201cAbsolutely. It was an awesome experience.\u00a0…\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0much more comfortable on camera now.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
BBQ Brawl\u2019s latest season\u00a0premieres\u00a0at\u00a08\u00a0p.m. May 11, 2026 on Food Network. Episodes appear on HBO Max the following day. The nine-episode season ends July 6, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Food Network\u2019s next season of BBQ Brawl\u00a0premiering\u00a0May 11, 2026,\u00a0look for\u00a0Dallas restaurateur Tim McLaughlin.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0one of two Texans competing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284222,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[98510,160,162,161,88942,95200,95703],"class_list":["post-284221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-plano","tag-arts-entertainment-tv","tag-plano","tag-plano-headlines","tag-plano-news","tag-tp-barbecue","tag-tp-farmers-branch","tag-tp-tv-personalities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}