"I must tell you, reading the cookbook made me so hungry I could hardly stand it. If you love to cook barbecue, eat barbecue, or just enjoy reading a fun cookbook, this one is for you." --Marilyn Meredith - American Authors Association
Kent "The Deck Chef" Whitaker has taken his down-home, Southern-style cooking to an art-form. "I like to do a bit more than burgers and dogs on the grill."
He is the author of six cookbooks, 4 in the Hometown cookbook series - Tennessee, Georgia, Texas and Lousianna Hometown Cookbooks (Great American Publishers), 2 additional cookbooks - Smoke in the Mountains and Checkered Flag Cooking (Quail Ridge Press), and has written and illustrated two children's books, Why are the Mountains Smoky? (Overmountain Press, 2004) and Big Mo's Tennis Ball Hunt (Great American Publishers, 2006).
Kent has appeared on the Food Network and other network television stations. He frequently hosts cooking classes at the Chattanooga Market and throughout the South. He writes a cooking column for the Catoosa County News and the Chattanoogan, and writes monthly articles for both The National Barbecue News and Racing Milestones Magazine.
Kent also hosts a weekly radio cooking show heard on over 30 radio stations across the country. A dog-lover and advocate for local animal shelters and rescue organizations, Kent and his grilling buddy, Moses, are spokesperson and spokesdog for ALPO. Kent and Moses travel the country presenting grilling and cooking demos promoting the idea of including your cannine family members in on the backyard grilling fun. Kent gives human grilling and cooking tips while Moses enjoys ALPO Chop House Originals Ribeye-Flavored dog food.
Kent and his wife Ally live in East Tennessee with one son, Macee, a Golden Retriever named Moses and a Shitzu named Lucy.
