Jared Macdonald has barbecued close to 30 tonnes or ribs, butts, wings and briskets. His passion for bbq was ignited in South Carolina several years ago and has been increasing in intensity ever since. Jared is one of the founding partners of Octopit NZ Ltd – the BBQ manufacturing company that came out of nowhere to contribute to the work of a number of GCs, RGCs and category call-ups in the last 12 months. Jared has competed in BBQ championships in both New Zealand and Australasia and has developed a number of innovative cooking techniques. He recently founded the Waikato Pitmasters Amateur Series to develop BBQ talent in the Waikato region. He is a skilled chef and experienced pitmaster, and has applied this knowledge to create some of the most innovative BBQs available. The highlight of Jared’s year is attending Meatstock in Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney – so you there!