(Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of profiles that will appear over the next month, highlighting the chefs that will create the meal served at the Dinner on Main event May 31.)
When it comes to barbecue expertise, there may not be many who have more than Matt Register.
It all started 12 years ago, back when Register had only an idea and a fire pit.
“Our origin started right across from where we are now,” Register said during a recent interview. “We set up on the corner with a pit sitting right across the street, selling barbecue sandwiches to see if it would be viable in Garland. We opened up, and I had no intentions of being in magazines, writing a book, all these things, and being able to travel all over the south.”
Register has owned Southern Smoke BBQ in Garland for over 12 years. In just a few weeks, he, alongside a few other local restaurant owners, will put on their chef hats and stir up something for the Dinner on Main event in downtown Clinton, Sunday May 31 at 5:30 p.m.
“I’m so excited,” Register explained. “Debbie (Roberts) came and sat down with me, because I have been extremely fortunate and lucky to be able to do dinners, all over the south like this. When she and I first talked, I told her that I loved this idea. I hope this will grow our food community, and being closer. We all know each other, but my wife and I laugh. We travel to big cities and stuff that the food community is so tight knit. Yes, you are ultimately competitors, but you’re still pulling for each other. That’s one of the things I’m excited about. I’m excited to be working with other restaurants, it’s gonna be fun, it’s gonna be a unique and cool experience. We gotta go ahead and start praying for no rain or bad weather that day. But I am really excited: I think it’s a unique way to just celebrate the community, the food. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.
While he couldn’t reveal what was on the menu at the time of the interview, Register gave an idea of what the dinner event was going to be like.
“It will be plate service. You’ll get something unique from each restaurant that is taking part in it,” he said. “I’m pretty much gonna cook everything on live fire. We’re gonna be doing some stuff for our VIP tables that I’m really excited about. We’re gonna keep the menu close, because I might tweak it up until a couple of weeks out of the event, but it’s gonna be fun. Tickets are already sold out, they sold out in, I think, 15 minutes. That’s pretty incredible.”
To Register, hosting an event like this is a special opportunity for unity.
“I just wanted everybody to come together as a community and really just break bread,” he emphasized. “I’m a true believer that a lot of the world’s problems can be solved with music, sitting down and having dinner together. This is one of those steps for our little community in Sampson County, to really get the ball rolling.”
Last month, Register and Southern Smoke BBQ were chosen to represent the NC East Alliance regional storytelling initiative, which aims to tell the stories of food owners, musicians, artists and other professions that bring eastern North Carolina the culture that it has.
“I was interested but I didn’t know if it was the right fit for me,” Register explained during a recent interview. “Once we got to talking and I learned more about the project and met with the stakeholders, then I felt like it was a great fit. This is about promoting Eastern North Carolina and getting people to understand that we have a lot of people that drive through Sampson County, through Duplin and they’re just passing over counties. Well, what we want people to understand is that Eastern North Carolina is a place where you can come, you can live and you can make a living while raising your family.”