[Country Waltz Music playing]
I'm Tootsie Tomanetz, Pit Master at Snow's Barbecue in Lexington, Texas.
I keep everything very low profile. I don't...
I don't let nothing go to my head.
I mean I have received many awards in the past three years.
I just take them as a wonderful gift that has been given to me, to inspire me
to continue with my work.
I enjoy the work, I enjoy meeting people, I enjoy being around people.
[Kerry Bexley] Miss Tootsie is my Pit Master. She's been cooking for about 50 plus years.
We just make a good connection and a good combination and work good together.
[Miss Tootsie] It's dirty, it's greasy, it's long, it's hot, it's hard hours...
But if you enjoy it, you enjoy it.
If you can't stand the heat, don't get in the kitchen. [laughs]
So, if you can't stand the heat, don't get around the pit.
[Kerry Bexley] Crucial part of Texas Barbecue is the time and love you give it.
It's not a "set it-and-forget it."
This is being manned from the time it goes on till the time it goes inside.
[Miss Tootsie] To make a great barbecue, it takes a lot of tender love and care.
[Chef Einav Gefen] And so what do you think sets you apart from other places?
[Kerry Bexley] The customer service you're gonna get here. The hospitality you're gonna get right here.
Every piece of meat here is getting personal attention.
But the main thing is: the meat being good. And a lot of times we'll pull some of it for our shipping,
and I want it -- when somebody warms it up in New York next week -- to be as good as it was here today.
I'll go through everything, when we're done, that went to the cooler and if it doesn't meet my standards
there, it doesn't get shipped.
We season everything with salt and pepper only. It has nothing else to it.
The brisket, once it goes on, it gets no mopping, as we call it.
The pork and the ribs and the chicken get a mop in the latter...
third of the cooking process. And that's just a combination of
water, onions, mustard, flour, Worcestershire sauce, butter, vinegar.
A lot of people use a lot of butter, I mean...we... I mean that's the only butter we use is in that mop.
And that's more of a combination of seasoning and moisture.
It keeps the moisture. But most everything we cook keeps a high end of moisture.
We take a lot of pride in what we have here. It's....it's we're in the middle of nowhere.
with a population of a thousand. If people take the time to drive out here, we've got the time to visit
with them and make their whole experience good. And that's....that's very important to me. I mean, my
daughters do a wonderful job. The ladies inside do a great job. It's a good group. It's not one or two
that makes all this possible. It's a whole group.
We were recognized in '08 as Number One in Texas, and at that point, things just blew up and went crazy, I mean....
Ninety-five percent of our customers are from out.....
Out of town, or out of state, or out of the country. But to see the happiness in the people that come
to see us.... And the quality of people you meet in barbecue is second to none.
It is a genuine group of people...I've been in the chamber, in the fire department, and different associations and....
different businesses....
You don't meet a better quality of people that travel for barbecue.
[Miss Tootsie] I don't know if Carrie told you.
I lost my son and my husband.
They were right here with me.
I came right back
because this was family.
And my barbecue family gave me great support.
My school family gave me great support, my church family...
My family, everyone....
It has just been wonderful.
And I don't plan on quitting.
I want to keep going.
As long as I've got a clear mind and two feet that'll carry me.
[End Music]