Chef Roger Mooking returns to Cooking Channel with the hottest season yet of Man Fire Food, premiering Tuesday, July 14^th at 8:00pm ET/5:00pm PT. The smoke signals take Roger across the country as he continues to discover the most inventive ways cooking with fire adds flavor and whole lot of heat to delicious dishes. Whether it’s cooking over an open fire, grilling over charcoal, barbecuing low and slow, or smoking in the pit, the heat is on!

Trinidadian-born Roger Mooking is no stranger to combining various influences to new and exciting culinary adventures. He is the host and co-creator of his internationally broadcast television series Everyday Exotic. His award-winning cookbook, based on the show, explores pairing ingredients from all corners of the globe with everyday meals. Mooking is also the co-host of the hit show Heat Seekers on Food Network, as well as a recurring judge on Chopped Canada. He recently opened Twist By Roger Mooking, a restaurant that incorporates global flavors into locally sourced, North American comfort food, making him a third generation restaurateur. Taking his talents outside of the kitchen, Roger released his most recent album, “Feedback Acoustic”. For this Juno award-winning recording artist, the music and epicurean world are seamless. One feeds the body, the other the soul; it is all food in all its various forms.

Episodes Include:

Premiering Tuesday, July 14^th at 8:00pmET/5:00pmPT – “Pigging Out on Pork” – SEASON PREMIERE!

One of the great wonders of the barbecue world is smoked pork shoulder. First, Roger Mooking heads to Grand Rapids, Michigan to visit the Pit Stop, a barbecue take-out famous for their unconventional, yet scrumptious, sandwich called the Green Menace Wrap, filled with pork chili and pulled pork, cilantro cream and barbecue sauce. Then, it is over to the barbecue institution, Top Hat Barbecue in Blount Springs, Alabama for a classic Southern-style pork sandwich that has been served the same exact way for 50 years. Low and slow and on a bun is the best way to devour this succulent cut of meat!

Premiering Tuesday, July 21^st at 8:00pmET/5:00pmPT – “Alabama BBQ”

Roger heads to the heart of The American Barbecue Belt – Alabama. He stops by the family-run restaurant serving Alabama-style ‘cue for four generations, Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur. The award-winning Pit Master Chris Lilly shows Rogers how to make their legendary smoked chicken, dunked in a unique white sauce. Next up is The Brick Pit in Mobile, where Roger meets the owner, Bill Ambrecht, who has been serving old school, Alabama-style ‘cue for 20 years.  Locals and visitors from across the country stop in for the chicken and ribs, but the thing everyone talks about is the pulled pork which cooks for almost 30 hours in a smoker called “The Big Red.”

Premiering Tuesday, July 28^th at 8:00pmET/5:00pmPT – “Low Country Cookouts”

Roger is in South Carolina for two spectacular low country cookouts – a traditional backyard pig pickin’, and a classic oyster roast.  In the seaside town of Beaufort, Roger meets Jim Gibson who has been doing pig pickin’s for family and friends for the last 40 years.  Together they build the outdoor pit, smoke a whole pig and then serve it with the traditional side of hash and rice. Then it is over to Bowen’s Island, where the only thing on the 14-acre peninsula is a restaurant that specializes in low country cooking.  Roger meets the owner Robert Barber, and together they build an impressive fire to cook a massive pile of local cluster oysters.

Premiering Tuesday, August 4^th at 8:00pmET/5:00pmPT – “Lone Star Load-Up”

Roger is loading up on the best brisket, pork steaks and sausages the Lone Star state has to offer.  Ronnie’s BBQ in Johnson City houses an open outdoor kitchen with two barbecue pits, two pipe smokers and one giant burn barrel.  Roger helps Pit Master Ronnie Weiershausen smoke brisket, pork steaks and sausages. Ronnie’s wife, Cindy, teaches Roger how they combine all three meats for a one-of-a-kind breakfast treat. Then, it is over to the Pecan Lodge restaurant in Dallas, where dynamic duo Justin and Diane Fourton smoke some of the best barbecue in town.  They show Roger how to make their popular sandwich, the Pit Master, packed with brisket, pulled pork, sausages and then topped with coleslaw, jalapenos and barbecue sauce.

Premiering Tuesday, August 11^th at 8:00pmET/5:00pmPT – “Meat on a Stick”

Roger visits two chefs in Texas who created the craziest cooking contraptions, and prove that everything’s bigger in Texas.  Chef Johnny Hernandez designed a massive grill for his restaurant El Machito in San Antonio that takes fire and food to the extreme.  Roger and Johnny skewer every meat imaginable — chickens, pork and beef sausages, racks of ribs and whole goats.  Homemade salsas and warm corn tortillas complete this carnivorous spread.  Next, Roger heads to Vintage Heart Farm in Stockdale to meet Chef John Russ who designed a 7-foot tree made out of stainless steel that can roast food over a wood fire.  Roger and John fill the tree with quails and sausages for an outdoor feast.

Premiering Tuesday, August 18^th at 8:00pmET/5:00pmPT – “Rib-A-Licious”

Roger is on the hunt for lip-smacking barbecue ribs and he found two places where the racks of meat stack up to perfection.  The first is Leatha’s Bar-B-Cue Inn in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where Roger learns how to make these Southern-style ribs from Brian Jackson, a third generation pit master who continues the barbecue legacy that his grandmother Leatha created.  Next, Roger heads to New York’s Hometown Bar-B-Que where Brooklyn native Billy Durney gives his ribs an ethnic spin.  The Jerk Baby Back Ribs are seasoned with the earthy, spicy flavors of Jamaica, while the Sticky Korean ribs are glossed with a sweet and savory Asian glaze, and then topped with cashews and scallions.  It’s a finger-licking mash-up of Texas low and slow, Jamaican Grilling and Korean-style barbecue.

Premiering Tuesday, August 25th at 8:00pmET/5:00pmPT – “Backyard Blowouts”

Roger is in Southern California for two unbelievable backyard blowouts. Roger meets Chef Ben Ford in Tarzana for a unique New England meets California-style clambake. Instead of burying their seafood feast in the ground, they use an old wine barrel as the cooking vessel for clams, mussels, crabs, artichokes, corn, potatoes and onions. Hot rocks provide the heat, while fresh seaweed helps creates steam. In Chula Vista, Roger meets Francisco “Paco” Perez for traditional Mexican barbacoa which is a whole lamb cooked in the ground, low and slow. Together they preheat an underground brick pit with a wood fire, and then season the lamb with a bright red chili marinade. The next day, they serve the barbacoa with fresh corn tortillas, and different salsas for family and friends.

Plus much more this season on Man Fire Food.

Man Fire Food is produced by IW Productions LLC.