We were lucky to catch up with Chris Henderson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Chris, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

You know I do wish I would have started my business sooner. I started in June of 2020 during covid, and I mean with covid and everything it was a little odd to start something. However I did and we hit the ground running. We started doing bbq rubs and sauces. When I decided I wanted to start this I was working full time for a small corporate catering company and I was doing everything in that store. Some time’s I would come home and not wanna fill out orders for customers because I was tired. I do believe things would have been a slight different if I started earlier. June 2023 I went full time with the rest of the business which we do caterings for all occasions. Now that part, I really do wish I had started a lot sooner.

Chris, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Well for Starters my name is Chris “Big C” Henderson, I am the Owner, Chef and Pitmaster of Big C’s Barbecue. I am originally from San Antonio, Tx, but in 2015 I made the move to Austin, Tx where I currently reside now. I wasn’t always in the food industry, although I have always had the love for cooking. I started out at a grocery store at 16 as a bagger and then moved to cashier. At the age of 18yrs old I moved out of the house and was working a full time job with the city of San Antonio, where I made decent money but wasn’t happy. I ended up leaving that job and started working with some friends as a Banquet Waiter, which I loved. Not only was I working with friends, but I was working with food! I was always cooking at home with my grandma and would try to cook with my dad, but he would kick me out of the kitchen. Hahaha My grandma always had us helping in the kitchen making Tamales, rice, cleaning beans, you name it we did it. Out of all my cousins and brother I think I spent the most time around the kitchen or bbq pit. In 2012 I left the Waiter job to take another job working with K9 Dogs, however I missed doing caterings, so when income tax came around I went out and bought brand new Chaffing Dishes and catering equipment to get started. My main focus was bbq, so I practiced doing briskets. Not sure what I was thinking, because that Is an expensive meat to practice with. Fast forward to 2015, I’m moving to Austin to be with my girlfriend and she convinced to go into culinary school. Come 2017 I’m graduating with my Associates Degree in Culinary, had one small catering job in Austin, and about a dozen bbq competitions under my belt. Yes, we compete and we are good at it! I thank my parents, and grandparents for instilling me with a great work ethic and to never give up, because this isn’t for the weak. It takes discipline, hard work, sweat and tears. There are days that I question everything I’ve done and the path I have chosen, but deep down I know I’m happy to be working for myself. Over time we have achieved so much from starting our own line of bbq rubs, bbq sauces, fresh fruit glazes. We take pride in our line of products, because we source out the best quality ingredients, not just that but this products have helped us win at many competitions. Today we do caterings for all type of occasions, we also provide private chefs for private parties. Along with all of this we are able to help future bride & grooms build a menu from scratch to what so that it fits what they are looking and takes one less thing off of their plate. We pride ourselves on quality, honesty, customer service and some of the best food you’ll ever eat!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

In my opinion I’d like to think that doing bbq competitions, has helped build our reputation. What happens when you compete especially if nobody knows who you are, and you start winning you start building a name for yourself. But alongside that friends and family have been great help. Using them to try my food and get feedback is always best.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I’ll tell you what, building clientele is not easy. One way we have succeeded in building that is by word of mouth. Social media is always your best friend, not to mention doing Pop-Ups, markets, collaborations with other chefs or even breweries/Wineries.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigcsbarbecue?igsh=YTVlZ2M4Ynh0ajQ3
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/3kiHYPLvNTyauxHy/?mibextid=qi2Omg
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@bigcsbarbecue?_t=8kTJpWwP4Oo&_r=1