Meet Ryan Gaede | Pitmaster

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan Gaede and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?

We bought a smoker about four years ago and started cooking tons of smoked recipes. I was sharing all of the photos to my personal facebook page so my wife suggested we create a food page which led to us starting The Smoked Culture brand and business. We enjoyed the process of cooking new creations, photographing them and started growing our social media pages. About one year into it and we have a food trailer that serves the Sioux Falls and surrounding communities. We’ve also launched a smoked snack mix that is currently being carried in a few local stores.

When I was younger living with my mom, we would all go grab steaks and skateboard in the driveway, and we would grill out. It kind of feels like the same thing we’re doing now with our business. Everybody is our friend. Everybody is hanging out, getting food, and having a good time. All of our menu items are nods to skateboarding which is a lifelong hobby of mine.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

My wife and I are both creatives who went from professional jobs to food trailer owners. We knew it would be a lot of hard work but we didn’t realize how much goes into something like this even after doing all of the research before we pulled the trigger. We knew from the get-go we wanted to do things the right way with getting our permits, food certificates, and training to ensure everything tastes amazing and is served with the utmost care. There is a lot that went into this whole process and it did feel challenging at times but it has been so worth it. We are finally finding our groove and feel so thankful to be launched and up and running in the Sioux Falls area.

A lesson we’ve learned during all of this is to believe in yourself, be true to yourself and keep grinding. If you stick to it and manifest your dream no matter how hard it is or how many obstacles you face it can still happen for you if you keep moving forward, step by step into it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Some of our favorite food joints in Sioux Falls are Roots of Brasil, Bread and Circus Sandwich Kitchen, and Chef Lances on Phillips. Roots of Brasil and Bread and Circus have amazing menus with a super cool vibe while Chef Lances is more of a fine dining experience. We love all of them!

Downtown Sioux Falls has so much of everything you need. It has a great art and music scene, a lot of cool bars and breweries, the Arch of Dreams, Falls Park, and more. We love to shop local so we would recommend exploring any small businesses in the area.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This couldn’t have been done without my partner in business and my wife, Jess. She’s been a major help in branding, marketing, and helping alongside me and our kids. Our family, friends, local business owners, and supporters have been a tremendous influence. Local small businesses support each other here in Sioux Falls and that is special to experience.

Website: www.thesmokedculture.com

Instagram: @thesmokedculture

Yelp: thesmokedculture

Youtube: @thesmokedculture

Image Credits
Image Credit @thesmokedculture. We photograph all of our own food.