I'm humbly known as "The Legend" in the world of barbecue. People travel from all over the globe to my original bar and grill in Murphysboro, Illinois for a taste of our world famous food.

All this attention began in 1988 when some friends and I formed the Apple City Barbecue Team and began competing in local, state, regional and international barbecue competitions.

We placed third in our first contest and soon began bringing home the blue ribbons. Between 1988 through 1994 our team and I won hundreds of awards and accolades. I'm most proud of the fact that we hold records that have never been broken- we were World Champions four times and Grand World Champions three times at the International Memphis in May BBQ Cook-Off- otherwise known as the "Superbowl of BBQ." I guess you could say we perfected the art of barbecue.

I have to confess that I inherited these abilities from my family. My father, Leon, began barbecuing in the 1930s, long before barbecue was fashionable. He would dig a hole in the ground and place a metal grate over it- grills hadn't been invented yet. We lived in Cape Girardeau, Missouri at that time and my dad cooked for the school PTA and other city holidays. My older brothers operated a refreshment stand at the town pool and served our famous barbecue. As a family we often went on camping trips and the aromas from my dad's nightly barbecues drew many campers to our location. Time and again the whole campground would join us for dinner. Back home in Cape Girardeau, people often brought meat to our house for my dad to barbecue. I learned lots of important tips and secrets from my dad- most importantly low and slow cooking for the best flavor. My maternal grandmother, Mama Landess, developed the vinegar barbecue sauce used by my family.

That sauce helped me win our many awards, including the Jack Daniels Best Sauce Award in 1992. My mom and dad moved to Murphysboro, Illinois in 1941 and had dreams of bottling the sauce, but sadly my dad died at the age of 42, leaving Mama Faye (as my mom is known to her family and friends) alone to raise five children. She continued to sell the sauce by the gallon to her friends. When I first opened my bar and grill, Mama Faye cooked gallons of sauce each week. Only family members are trusted with the recipe, but none of us can seem to make it as well as Mama Faye. Today, at 95, she still makes her original recipe, one gallon at a time, for her children and grandchildren. My contribution to the family business is "Magic Dust"- a combination of 18 different spices. We first developed the dust for preparing meats for competition. Today Magic Dust is so popular you'll find it on every table. In fact, we had a hard time keeping it on the tables, so now it's also available for purchase. Ask your server for details.

The barbecue you eat at Memphis Championship Barbecue is the same award-winning meat that earned me the nickname "The Legend" in the world of barbecue. We even import apple wood from Murphysboro to give the meat a sweet, smoky aroma. When I'm in the restaurant, I'll be stopping by your table to fill you in on some of my tricks of the trade. I'm proud of what we've accomplished here. As you can see, Memphis Championship Barbecue is all about family and tradition and the best barbecue in the world. We sure hope you agree. Enjoy!

Mike Mills