Q+A: Tony Ramirez on Backyard BBQ With Fire and Spice
TFTI star makes his cookbook debut!
This week, I’m thrilled to present an interview with fellow Bay Area resident Tony Ramirez of TFTI BBQ. His first Filipino-Cajun cookbook Backyard BBQ with Fire and Spice will be released this coming Tuesday (May 6) on Harvard Common Press.
Tamara Palmer/Food Book Club: Congratulations on publishing such a beautiful book! How did this opportunity arise, and what was your process like to put this together?
Tony Ramirez: I was reached out to a few times by a publishing company a little over two years ago. The first time I felt I wasn’t ready to have a book, so we kind of let it go. Then a year later, I was reached out to by the same person who then convinced me that I should do it. With the encouragement of him, my wife and friends, I went ahead and took the leap. It was a lot of hard work and long nights sitting at the computer screen. A lot of cooking, too! Overall, when it was said and done, it was one of the biggest accomplishments I have ever made in my entire life.
What are your favorite recipes in the book, and which ones were hardest to perfect?
My favorites are the wing recipes and Filipino foods. Wings are my favorite, and creating BBQ versions of traditional Filipino dishes was fun and turned out super delicious. The hardest to perfect was smoking a brisket. I found a method that worked for me after months, if not years, of trial and error. That method is in my book. Brisket is one of those cooks a lot are afraid to attempt. I was one of them.
Could you share your best advice for creating cooking videos for social media?
My best advice would be to be yourself. It’s the only thing separating you from the millions doing the same thing. Once you have that going for you, then create recipes from the heart and that captivate people. So many people are cooking on social media nowadays that it’s hard to stand out and be different. Everyone is going to do that viral recipe, so go do something else. Which is what I do, lol. I don’t chase virality, I chase substance.
Hello from the other side of the Bay! For me, it's been exciting to see more and more visibility for Filipino food and culture in our region over the last 10 years or so. You've been here for 20 years. What has this evolution felt like to you, and do you have any recommendations for Filipino restaurants that you love here?
The evolution has been fun to watch. More and more people are understanding the flavors of Filipino food, and I see more and more recreating them. As far as restaurants, I see a lot of classic Filipino restaurants pop up everywhere, but the one that I have eaten at many times and I feel is the absolute BEST in the Bay Area is Avenida Restaurant in San Mateo. It’s a great vibe with an awesome menu. Amazing drinks using classic Filipino flavors. It’s like a Filipino fusion restaurant in some ways. Their crispy pata is to die for!!
Do you have any cookbooks (classic or current) that you love using that you would recommend to our readers?
For those wanting to learn BBQ, I recommend The Barbecue Bible by Steven Raichlen. It’s a classic book I learned so much from.
