Lipe joined Sweet Baby Ray’s within the last two years. A graduate of Rend Lake College’s culinary-arts program in Ina, Ill., his professional career began at age 16, and includes chef consultant for Southern Illinois University’s Entrepreneurship Network, consultant to the Illinois wine industry, co-owner and operator of Minor League Concessions & Catering, catering specialist for banquets and “weddings in paradise” for Frenchman’s Reef Resort in St. Thomas, executive chef of Southern Illinois Miners’ Rent One Park, and caterer for headlining acts such as NFL Opening Day, the MLB World Series, “Dancing with the Stars,” Elton John, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the entire artist line-up for the Houston Rodeo and Concert Series.

With that pedigree, Lipe brings experience— and a keen passion for and love of barbecue—to Sweet Baby Ray’s table. His endless zeal for food turns quality ingredients into spectacular dishes.

Barbecue Nation
Sweet Baby Ray’s two restaurants in Chicago’s suburbs reflect completely different styles. Wood Dale’s fast-casual, counter-service menu features authentic urban barbecue with Southern flair and Cajun influence. Menu items include the expected—hand-pulled pork sandwiches, smoked beef brisket, baby-back and St. Louis ribs and smoked chicken, all slathered with Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce. The unexpected includes barbecued Cubano and shrimp po’ boy sandwiches, corn maque choux, Jamaican jerk chicken, hand-formed crab cakes, grilled wild shrimp with peppers and onions and green-chile mac ‘n’ cheese.

The 225-seat, full-service Elk Grove Village restaurant, which offers a full bar and patio dining, features all of the smoky favorites from the original Sweet Baby Ray’s, as well as an expanded menu including steaks, chops, seafood and pastas.

Recently, Sweet Baby Ray’s Restaurants brought the various traditions of the United States to the table via daily specials during the week that focus on the barbecue styles of Texas, Lexington (N.C.), Memphis, Chicago, Kansas City, etc.

“So many chefs leave fine dining to do casual and comfort, and just as many yearn to rise above casual and comfort to do fine dining,” Lipe says. “I have the luxury of being able to do the best of both. Our clients have the ease and ability to go from simple, soulful casual to sleek upscale without missing a beat.”

Lipe’s executive sous chef is Larry (Duce) Raymond, son of Chef Larry Raymond and nephew of Dave Raymond, the creators of Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce. Duce Raymond grew up in and around restaurants, and later graduated from Kendall College armed with a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts. Now pouring his passion into the Sweet Baby Ray’s Restaurants and True Cuisine family, Raymond’s specialties include Southern and Central American cuisine and, of course, barbecue.

An avid barbecue competitor and champion, Lipe and Raymond hit the annual competition circuit under the team name Duces Wild. Lipe’s excited about preparing for this year’s barbecue cook-offs stretching from Wisconsin to Missouri and beyond, and expects to do well. “Of course, with all of that I still have the fantastic talking point of working for Sweet Baby Ray’s & True Cuisine,” he says.

Heritage Smoke
Last month, Lipe launched his own line of barbecue sauces and dry rubs, sold in butcher shops and at farmers’ markets.

Four sauce varieties—Authentic (Lipe’s original sauce that “started everything”), Indian Summer (complex and Creole-mustard based, with citrus notes), Orchard Bourbon (bold and rich with sweetness from apple and notes of cayenne and cinnamon) and Black Strap (dark and molasses based)—join Wind & Water rub for fish and chicken and Smoke & Fire rub for pork and beef under Lipe’s Heritage Smoke label.

“People talk about comfort foods they remember and bonding at the dinner table,” Lipe says. “Especially for home cooks, barbecue could be out there for six to eight hours. Watching over a piece of meat gives you a lot of time to visit and talk with people. Those are some of the fondest memories I have of food, and I wanted that reflected in the name.”

Lipe’s sauces are packaged as 16-oz. Mason jars and half-gallon moonshine-type jugs with wax seals, both with craft-paper labels. “I wanted to take a different approach with my sauces, so people see chunks of real ingredients and can tell they’re handmade—no high-fructose corn syrup,” Lipe says. His dry rubs, similarly, come in brushed-aluminum tins with hand-stamped labels, further conveying a feeling of craftsmanship.

Visit www.heritagesmoke.com for more info.