This Resort Is Hosting ‘Barbecue University’ Over Father’s Day Weekend With a Celebrity Chef

Summertime and Father’s Day are both right around the corner, and the Montage Palmetto Bluff in South Carolina’s Lowcountry wants to make sure you’re prepared.

From June 17 through June 20 (AKA Father’s Day weekend), the hotel is hosting its own Barbecue University alongside renowned TV Host Steven Raichlen.

“We’re firing up our grills (more than 30!) to salute Raichlen’s greatest hits. Expect the unexpected — and unexpectedly delectable — in this, our most electrifying, smoke- and fire-blasted session of Barbecue University yet,” Raichlen’s website, BBQ Bible, explains.

At the “fantasy camp for coal heads,” guests will gain firsthand experience barbecuing alongside the masters in the hotel’s lodge and restaurant, which also happens to come with a state-of-the-art classroom and outdoor burn area.

During the hands-on education, guests will learn the five methods of live-fire cooking including the basics like how to light and control a fire, how to harness the “flavor-enhancing power of wood smoke in everything from appetizers to desserts,” and so much more. Each class runs for three hours followed by a lunch based on the day’s menus and lessons.

What can you expect to eat? “Think Lowcountry oyster roast. Wood oven salmon (with wood oven pita to go with it),” Raichlen’s website says. “Magisterial whole smoked beef tenderloin. Grilled seafood tower. Plus, spectacular salt slab-grilled chocolate brownie s’mores for dessert.”

Tickets to the event include a daily breakfast, a welcome reception, and three days of classes. In between classes, students can also take advantage of all that Palmetto Bluff has to offer including a plethora of outdoor activities like boating, hiking, horseback riding, sharpshooting, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, and fishing, so guests can work off all that food in between meals. Or, guests could just head to the spa for a massage because this is vacation after all.

Rooms must be booked separately, but the hotel is offering special rates for students. See more about the weekend and book your spot here.

Stacey Leasca is a journalist, photographer, and media professor. Send tips and follow her on Instagram now.