About AF7 BBQ

Hello! My name is Joseph Martin and I started ANGELFIRE7 BBQ, LLC out of my passion for putting flame to meat…that passion started at an early age for me when I would watch my dad cook steaks on the grill when I was a child. I can still smell and hear those steaks sizzlin’ to this day. From there let’s fast forward to 1996 in Texas where I bought my first in-ground natural gas grill. That grill is where I learned how to slow-roast a Standing Beef Rib Roast- a specialty of mine.

Grilling was great and life was good but I started to see smokers here, there, and pretty soon, everywhere. A neighbor had a small Brinkman smoker that he wasn’t using much and offered to let me use it. That turned into rib cooking contests or “rib-offs” with some of the neighbors. Pretty soon we were having neighborhood parties where we would cook large quantities of food for holidays, special events, or for just about any reason.

Upon returning to Georgia, the Lord continued to bless me, and I was able to sharpen my culinary skills for several years. In 2010 I won 1st place prize in the “People’s Choice” category at a chili cook off in Canton, GA. Well that sparked a flame that I couldn’t ignore any longer. I finally purchased the materials to build a “real” smoker and enlisted the welding skills of Steve Rapp. Together we designed and built a small trailer smoker and the rest, as they say, is history…fast forward to 2013. The Lord continues to bless me and we took first place in Pork Butts at a July 2011 competition in Savannah using an unfamiliar Lang 108 smoker, courtesy of Al Jackson, and a crew I’d never worked with before. Angelfire7 BBQ has expanded our smoker fleet to include a Custom Southern Pride SPX300 mobile commercial unit which we use for our Professional BBQ Competition Team “Smokin’ for You” and larger catering events.

We have added Thelma Jean to the team!  TJ is a 2003 Freightliner MT55 custom chassis that started life as a mobile dialysis unit.  She is equipped with a complete 160 sq. foot commercial kitchen, 12kw diesel genset, 2-15K  BTU roof a/c units, air ride suspension and auto leveling system.  Look for Thelma Jean on the road!

Angelfire7 BBQ AWARDS

• 1st Place People’s Choice
  2nd Annual Canton Paw Park Chili
  Cook-Off – Canton, GA
  September 2010
• 1st Place Pork Butt Category
  5th Annual Water for People BBQ
  Competition – Savannah, GA
  July 2011
• 3rd Place Brisket Category
  7th Annual Water for People BBQ
  Competition – Savannah, GA
  July 2013
• 1st Place “Anything Goes” Category
  1st Annual Mac n Cheese Competition
  Brewsters Grille – Marietta, GA
  December 2013
• 1st Place Chili Cook-off
  3rd Annual Chili Cookoff
  Brewsters Grille – Marietta, GA
  January 2014
• 2nd Place Best Overall Food Truck
  3rd Annual Atlanta Street Food Festival
  Piedmont Park – Atlanta, GA
  July 2014