This was my first Road Scholar experience and the people (staff and participants) were terrific, the accommodations were fantastic and the program was incredible. Jan, our coordinator, is friendly and bent over backwards to make every one comfortable. We arrived two hours early and Jan was already prepared with our name tags and other info and our “cabin” was already waiting for us. About the cabins: these are not bare bones rustic cabins; our cabin had a beautiful common area living room, a fully appointed kitchen, a spectacular sunrise view and the bedrooms had two queen beds and their own bathrooms. Our Pit Master instructor, JT, was THE BEST! JT’s lectures not only how to barbecue, but the history of the region and the four sauces, how the heat affected the sauces, the pros and cons of the types of smokers and also the different types of brisket and rib cuts. I was very pleased also that JT continually focused on food safety and proper food handling techniques. Like the meats we prepared, all of JT’s lectures were juicy and flavorful and a very pleasant and fun experience. To keep in practice, we prepared barbecued chicken, baked beans, red cabbage and apple slaw, and biscuits for friends and family for the Easter holiday and they loved it (not a chicken, baked bean or piece of slaw remained). We are ordering a Lang Reverse Smoker because family & friends want more (and so do we). So, if you are a “foodie” and want to learn about barbecuing this is the course for you! If you take away nothing else you will take away three things: (1) cook low and slow, (2) what you start with is what you end with, and, my personal favorite, (3) fat is where it’s at! We love you Jan! We love you JT!

What a wonderful experience in a wonderful place with fun people! As my first Road Scholar program this experience really set a high standard. The accommodations were called cottages but a hotel chain might call them “villas” – every couple had their own large bedroom with full bath, the gathering room was large and included a fully equipped kitchen and full-sized washer and dryer, and the front and rear porches were examples of low country homes in the area. Situated on South Carolina’s Broad River all units were on the water. Our “professor”, J.T. Handy, exceeded all expectations with his engaging style and in-depth knowledge of all aspects of barbecue cooking. Lectures were combined with hands-on experience using his competition quality barbecue pits. There was always time for a question and his special sense of humor had us all laughing. But the objective of the course was to learn how to cook and this was met and exceeded in all aspects. We really enjoyed the products of our efforts from the beer-can chicken cooked for four hours to the ribs, pulled pork and brisket. We also prepared side dishes to go with the BBQ which were excellent as well. Other meals prepared by the staff were excellent and who could forget the freshly baked “brie-bread”? Our course leader, Jan, was a delight as she rushed around the site taking care of every little detail. This was a very well organized session and we all felt Jan was a major reason for the success of the program. Each person in the group could participate in the hands-on cooking activities to the degree desired – there was no pressure. As a group we all worked hard to make the most of our time and I believe we all would love to see an advanced version of this course because we think J.T Handy has much more to teach us. We are planning our first “at-home” trial of our new skills in the coming week as our friends all want to taste the best of South Carolina barbecue.