Meet Chef Rosie, Elizabeth Morse of Rosie’s Barbeque

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chef Rosie, Elizabeth Morse.

Hi Chef Rosie; thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstories.
When you tell someone you’re a chef, they ask you, “What’s your specialty?” or “What’s your favorite thing to cook?” The answer to that question can be challenging. After culinary school at Johnson and Wales, I have worked everywhere, from fine dining to dive bars. Finally, after over 10 years in the industry, I have landed on the genre that is my specialty and my favorite thing to cook: barbeque. I worked as a pitmaster and sous chef for a restaurant in Charlotte for about 4 years and moved to Raleigh to start a new business and be part of the glowing and growing barbeque scene here. Having a smokehouse of my own has always been my ultimate goal, not only because of my passion for the food that I create but because I have worked in places that have undervalued the staff I work with. I cannot wait to create an inclusive culture where people enjoy coming to work and learning.

Would it have been a smooth road, and what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I hate to say it, but as a female in the chef world, it can be difficult to carve your career path through the “boys club.” This is especially so in barbeque, where female pitmasters are needles in haystacks.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Rosie’s Barbeque?
We are a brand-new business! We focus on the barbeque, specifically chopped pork with all the fixings: potato salad, smokey pepper pasta salad, cornbread souffle, and cole slaw. As we grow, we will adapt our menu to fit what we want to feed the public (think mac and cheese, baked beans, and collard greens). I have come up with a French classical-traditional Carolina hybrid style of smoking my pork, encrusting it in brown sugar, rendering it tender and sweet, and pairing perfectly with our Flame Cutter barbeque sauce (an east-meets-west style vinegar-based sauce). Rosie the Riveter and the women of the 1940s have always inspired me in this industry to keep on pushing when I have felt down. Therefore, everything is inspired by that particular period, from my makeup to the names of the barbeque sauces. You can catch us all over North Carolina with our pop-up events, and we are available to cater any party!

Who else deserves credit for your story?
I have had an immense team of both personal and professional assistants. I will list them by name and how they have helped. My family-they had never told me no when it came to my aspirations. I would jump, and they would always say, “how high do you want to go, and how can we help you get there?” My professional team at the restaurant I last worked every single line cook, dishwasher, server, and busser- had an incredible influence on the chef I am today. I could cry thinking about how much of their lives they gave me, and I can only hope I was a fraction of a good boss for them as they were great employees and friends to me. I want to shout out Jarrod Warren, my old Executive chef, for forever having my back, and Michael Wagner, who showed me the ropes inside and out of a smoker. I will miss working with these two—Tootsie Tomenance-at Snow’s Barbeque in Lexington, TX. I do not know her personally, but her persistence in smoke housing and creating the best brisket I have ever known is career inspiration at its finest My boyfriend- who has existed to make my dreams come true (his words, not mine); he handles everything that I don’t want to do and holds me up, down, and around. His love gets me out of bed, and the barbeque keeps me out of it.

Pricing:

• Pork, by the #: $18.00
• Brisket, by the #: $28.00
• Ribs, full rack: $30.00

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rosiesbarbeque.com
• Instagram: @chefrosietheriveter
• Other: https://gofund.me/d380acb6

Image Credits
All photos shot and edited by Rosie and Company