Steaks high as Smokey T’s wins people’s choice award again
A Christchurch barbecue joint’s continued popularity comes down to focusing on dishes its staff believe in, its owner says.
Smokey T’s has won the people’s choice award at the Canterbury Hospitality Awards for the third year in a row. The award was announced at a ceremony in Christchurch on Sunday.
‘‘We are happy with the three-peat, but we will continue to keep working hard,’’ owner Tristin Anderson said.
The award celebrates establishments that excel in customer service, have products that are consistently good, and are willing to go the extra mile.
Smokey T’s specialises in American-style barbecue with a bit of Kiwi flair.
The meat is grilled slowly, on low heat, and has proved popular with punters since Smokey T’s launched as a food truck in late 2016 and later took up residence on Cashel St in the central city. Anderson believed the ‘‘proof is in the pudding’’ when it came to his business’ success.
‘‘We believe in our product and I don’t think we could have chosen anything more . . . challenging.’’
Anderson described barbecuing as one of the most difficult cuisines to execute because of how timeconsuming it was and how it was designed to feed large numbers of people.
‘‘Smokey T’s replicates the true barbecue style where we are feeding the community.’’
The 22-strong staff were also ‘‘like a family’’ and were thrilled by their latest people’ choice award, Anderson said. ‘‘We don’t count our hours because we enjoy and are passionate about what we do.’’
The team attended Sunday’s awards ceremony to see the time and passion they had put into the business acknowledged, particularly after a couple of difficult years for all hospitality outlets due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Smokey T’s was mainly focused on local customers rather than tourists, but Anderson said the business still had to find ways to adapt, particularly when it had to close during the level 3 and 4 lockdowns.
‘‘We know it is out of our control, so we just throw ourselves at it and give it 100 per cent.’’
The team launched a click-andcollect service and created new products to keep customers coming.
Smokey T’s new product range with Foodstuffs included a barbecue sauce, a rub and a glaze.