Our Story

Our story begins in Riverside, CA where I, Brian Hunter, was born to Theodore Hunter and La Verne Strickland, My mom mastered the craft of cooking any style of food. As I began to get older, she taught me how to cook from the old-time family recipes. I then became the cook, so she didn't have to after coming home from a long day of work. Cooking became a part of my daily chores. 

As I grew up, I began to experiment with a little bit of this and a little bit of that, adding to those family recipes and before you knew it, family and friends were telling me what to bring when I went to family events. I found a love for smoking meat and it became a passion for me. 

In 1996, I married a beautiful lady from Los Angeles, Monica, whose family is from Georgia and Louisiana. She learned to "burn" from her grandmother. "Mama" only allowed her in the kitchen when she was there so she could teach her how to cook everything from scratch, and BOY CAN SHE COOK! Between the two of us, cooking good quality food has become a staple in our house. Our food brings family and friends from miles around. Together, we started Strickland Barbeque and Catering and together, we are "BLAZIN' THE TRAIL ONE SMOKE AT A TIME!"