Today we’d like to introduce you to Mercy Baron.
Hi Mercy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After starting out life as a working musician playing rock, funk and blues, I got a real job after earning a college degree, as an archaeologist. I worked in the field and lab for over 20 years. Essentially, I went from gigs to digs. Oy! Throw in a few years trying to book TV commercials in Hollyweird and did a movie with Danny Trejo and Sean Young, I moved down to San Diego about 15 years ago. After retiring here as an archaeologist, I got certified as a BBQ judge. Eventually earning my Master’s certification as a judge. I judged BBQ competitions in several states and and started writing restaurant reviews for various web sites. I then decided to start a site called Baron’s BBQ Beat to review BBQ restaurants everywhere I ate. Through that, I became known in the San Diego area as a BBQ expert and was given the title, the Baroness of BBQ. I then branched out and judged not just Q, but many different categories at the World Food Championships-5 times. I was even a celebrity judge one year and judged all of the top Chef dishes. I started a couple of podcasts interviewing chefs and restaurant owners and you can still hear and see those podcasts on Facebook at All Forked Up. I also spent 3 yrs living in Las Vegas just a couple of years ago and I tapped into meeting up with restaurant owners, chefs and PR people, making some great friends in a town not known for community. I know all the best places to eat off the Strip! Just ask me! In the last few years I’ve done restaurant consulting on dishes and continue to admin a small, but diverse group of food lovers on San Diego Food Fanatics, a Facebook group. What makes us a bit different is that we like to gather together for lunches every month or so. I’ve retired from judging BBQ competitions because of the amount of food you have to eat! With 4 categories and 6 entries in each category, even taking only a couple of bites, you end up eating almost 2 lbs of meat! I still judge at the occasional local food festivals and love to hang with my fellow food lovers, pitmaster buddies and try new dishes wherever I go.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When is life ever a smooth road?! I think one of the things I’ll never understand is how people treat each other, especially on social media. People can be downright cruel! My boyfriend hit the nail on the head when he said, the more popular you become, the more haters you’ll have. Truth!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
The creative side of my life took me many places with some amazing people. My father was also a musician and my mother was a sculptress. I was a drummer like my Dad. He played with some of the jazz greats growing up in New York. Gene Krupa, Ella Fitzgerald and so many more. Our lives in Hollywood were touched by many well known people. Lenny Bruce and James Coburn were family friends. In high school, I was close with the guys who became Toto and I just ended up a month or so ago in a new biography of their drummer, Jeff Porcaro. We were in high school marching band together and the author devoted several pages to my stories about Jeff along with photos. Jeff passed away too young, but played on most every hit song by major artists from Bruce Springsteen to Michael Jackson. Sadly, I also appeared in another deceased drummer friend’s biography. Nick Menza from Megadeth. He was in my band, No Mercy at only 17 years old. It was his first band. Someone called me a black widow because when I was only 13 years old, I took drum lessons from the brother of Randy Rhoades and Randy and I were in his mother’s music school orchestra together. For those that may not know, Randy was Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist when he went solo after Black Sabbath. I’m very proud and blessed to have had these incredible musicians in my life as friends.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
What has worked well for me is social media. But you have to get out there and meet people in person! Human contact is still number one.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: BaronsBBQBeat
- Facebook: BaronsBBQBeat
- Youtube: Mercy Baron
Image Credits
Pitmasters Rick Daniels (at Smokin J’s BB) and Tim Eylens (at Del’s Hideout) Chef Claudia Sandoval (winner Season 6, Master Chef) San Diego Magazine owner and celebrity judge Troy Jonson My podcast co host of All Forked Up, Michael Gardiner Pizzaiolos Vinnie Rotolo (owner of Good Pies in Vegas) & John Arena (partner at Metro Pizza in Vegas) Chef /Owner of Caesar’s in Tijuana, Javier Plascencia
