Being a Greek American Deno Poulos had a natural talent for entertaining and catering to small and big crowds a like. As a boy growing up in the Roanoke Valley of the Blueridge Mountains in Virginia, he loved to watch his father (James) hard at work in their unique steak house restaurant. With time Deno became a master of recipes and by age 18 he was the head chef at the Holiday Inn in the Valley. At age 22 he joined his father in building and establishing their 230 seat restaurant called D.J.'s. D.J.'s became a big success and continually dominated the annual silver spoon award (an award for the cleanest restaurant in the Valley)! It was this little taste of success that drove Deno to be the great competitor he is today! He entered his first Ribfest at age 25 as Boss Hogs BBQ where he won 1st place best Sauce and 1st place best Butts (no not for the shape of his behind, Butts is a term used for pulled pork) And the rest is history! He then left the restaurant business and travelled competing on the American Ribfest Tour winning countless awards for his ribs, chicken, sauce and don't forget his butts! Today Deno is retired and has passed on his years of experience to his step son Tom, who has brought these secret recipes to the Canadian BBQ Tour where Boss Hogs BBQ Continues to succeed. The 2006 season saw Tom (a.k.a The Boss) Win in a dominant fashion, winning 4 out of 6 shows. Niagara falls and London saw The Boss walk away with 1st Place Best Ribs while Kitchener saw The Boss three-peat 1st Place Best Ribs and Sauce, and St.Thomas saw Tom hold up the Iron Horse Best Sauce award! Are you looking to blow your guests mind with great ribs? E-mail the boss for a tip tom@bosshogsbbq.ca I Look forward to seeing you at Ribfest! Tom Diavolitsis