For the last 17 years chef Ray Lampe, a.k.a. Dr. BBQ, and the Big Green Egg have been practically synonymous.

As the so-called “spokeschef” for the popular brand, the St. Petersburg chef and barbecue Hall of Famer has been a vocal advocate of the ceramic kamado-style grill’s smoking technique, inspiring thousands of ambitious barbecue enthusiasts along the way. He authored a cookbook devoted to it — Ray Lampe’s Big Green Egg Cookbook. And as recently as this past Saturday, Lampe served as celebrity judge at Florida’s Gulf Coast EggFest, the barbecue bonanza and competition where both backyard grillmasters and barbecue professionals duke it out using only Big Green Eggs.

But on Monday, Lampe announced the long-running deal had run its course and that his partnership with the brand had come to an end.

“After an amazing 17 year run, my contractual agreement with Big Green Egg has ended,” the chef wrote on his Twitter and Facebook pages.

“I’m very proud of my work with them and everything we’ve accomplished together. We’re still friends and we hope to work together in the future.”

After an amazing 17 year run, my contractual agreement with Big Green Egg has ended.



I’m very proud of my work with them and everything we’ve accomplished together. We’re still friends and we hope to work together in the future. — Ray Lampe (@DrBBQ) March 2, 2020

When reached by phone, Lampe said the parting was mutual, adding that the Atlanta-based company had recently offered him a “restructured” agreement.

“We tried out a lot of (things) to somehow re-energize the idea,” Lampe said. “There are no hard feelings on my part — it’s just the evolution of the business.”

Lampe’s partnership with the Big Green Egg started in 2003, when the chef was an active hard hitter on the competitive barbecue circuit.

“It was a small company, and I was just a guy trying to get my foot in all the doors,” Lampe recalled. “We grew up together.”

In the years that followed, Lampe’s celebrity status exploded, as did the grilling company’s, and it was rare to hear one mentioned without the other. Both the chef and the grill attracted millions of fans, and the Big Green Egg garnered a cult-like following of grilling devotees, sometimes called Eggheads.

The split will not affect operations at Dr. BBQ, the St. Pete restaurant Lampe runs along with Datz Restaurant Group owners Suzanne and Roger Perry. The team at the popular barbecue joint smokes anywhere from 700 to 800 pounds of meat on a busy day, and Lampe said the restaurant’s XL Big Green Egg isn’t going anywhere.

In the meantime, Lampe has signed on to be the spokesman for the National Turkey Federation, a Washington, D.C.-based group that advocates for America’s domestic turkey industry. It’s a fitting role, Lampe said: In 1991, he won his first-ever barbecue trophy for smoking a turkey.

What’s next?

“Good question,” Lampe said. “I’m excited about the opportunities.”