Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
In the bedroom of her Yellow Springs home is a blackened ember from a fire set by renowned barbecue pitmaster Rodney Scott. It’s a good luck charm for Erica Blaire Roby, who looks at it every day as an inspiration and a reminder of how far she’s come.
A Wright State University psychology graduate, Roby has had a career as a criminal defense attorney, a sought-after wine expert and most recently as a television barbecue champion.
She was named “Master of ‘Cue” after a grueling two-month “BBQ Brawl,” a competition among barbecue greats hosted by the Food Network.
Roby won the competition in April 2021, but the episode didn’t air until August. She said it was a challenge to keep the outcome from her family and friends for four months.
“I basically hid here in this house,” she said. “I did not drink around people. And I stashed the Master of ‘Cue banner away and never took it out.”
Since her victory, Roby has been doing a lot of recipe writing and working with barbecue companies. She filmed a digital series on backyard grilling with the Food Network and filmed a documentary called “The Pit Stop w/Blue Smoke Blaire” in which she toured the country in an RV and went behind the scenes at barbecue restaurants.
