Executive Chef • Live-Fire Authority • Founder of OWN THE FIRE®

Where Fire Meets Steel and Legends Are Made
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"We take the ordinary and turn it into extraordinary"
Mike Riddle, Executive Chef and Founder of OWN THE FIRE®
OWN THE FIRE® - Media Feature
New Release

Started as a Dishwasher, Built a Culinary Empire

Key Topics

  • 20+ Years in NYC's Top Professional Kitchens
  • From the Line to Founder of OWN THE FIRE®
  • Argentine Asado & Brazilian Churrasco Mastery
  • Building the Member Vault: 80+ Pro Recipes
  • The Forge Mindset: Excellence Is Forged, Not Given
  • Building a Brand Without Shortcuts or Celebrity Endorsements

"Everyone else has the romantic story of leaving everything behind. I didn't. I built OWN THE FIRE® the hard way, on top of a full career, on nights and weekends, with no safety net and no shortcuts. That's the real entrepreneurial story."

Mike Riddle, OWN THE FIRE®

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Professional biography, credentials, brand portfolio, and interview topics

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Everything you need for coverage, interviews, and collaborations

• MEDIA READY ANGLES •

Stories That Matter • Hooks That Land
DUAL EXPERTISE
20+ years Executive Chef + 25 years building brands
UNIQUE ACCESS
Exclusive Brazilian knife craftsmen and custom steel fabrication
REDDIT AUTHORITY
Top 1% Poster and Commenter • ~2M views
VIRAL REACH
YouTube asado 16K in 6 mo • IG heat-mgmt ~50K
THE OWN THE FIRE® HOUSE
Member Vault, Brasero Grills, Ember & Salt Co.™, Artisan Knives
FIRST VIDEO, NO FOLLOWING
Santa Maria build hit 60K+ views cold on Facebook
NYC STORY
Culinary school to Executive Chef to founder of a live-fire brand
NO BS APPROACH
Zero celebrity endorsements, 100% earned expertise
BUILT THE HARD WAY
On top of a full career, no safety net, no shortcuts
THE BOTTOM LINE
"We take the ordinary and turn it into extraordinary"

Mike Riddle, Executive Chef and Founder of OWN THE FIRE®, cooking live-fire asado
Executive Chef turned Marketing Executive — building the future of culinary education through proven business strategy.
Mike Riddle brings a combination rarely seen in the culinary industry: professional kitchen training from NYC's high-end restaurants paired with executive-level marketing expertise built across Fortune 500 brands. The kitchen earned the credibility. The marketing knows how to scale it. Most chefs have one. He runs both.
  • Corporate Excellence: VP of Promotional Marketing for 25 years, driving multi-million dollar programs and managing a $230M division
  • Culinary Authority: Executive Chef with 20+ years in high-end NYC restaurants, bringing professional fire technique to a national audience
  • Proven Growth: Built OWN THE FIRE® into a content engine with consistent viral reach across Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook
  • Community Validation: Top 1% Reddit Poster and Commenter with consecutive #1 posts across r/BBQ and related communities, nearing 2M total views
  • Premium Positioning: Launched the Member Vault alongside Brasero Grills custom steel and Brazilian artisan knife lines
This is not a side hustle or a retirement project. Mike applies the same strategic thinking that drives corporate success to culinary education, treating content as campaigns, audience as segments, and education as product. The marketing bridges the gap between knowing the craft and building something that lasts. That bridge is what makes him different.
The Member Vault is where the two careers meet: 80+ recipes built on frameworks earned behind the line in professional kitchens, structured and delivered with the discipline of a built brand, now in the hands of the home cook.
"We take the ordinary and turn it into extraordinary."

One Fire. One Standard. Every Brand Earned the Hard Way

"¡Un aplauso para el asador!"
In Argentina, the asado is not a cookout. It is an hours-long ritual, and the asador is its undisputed hero: the one who wakes early for the best cuts, who stands in the smoke and patiently commands the coals so everyone else can enjoy the day. When the final cut hits the table, the meal ends the way it always ends, with a round of applause for the asador. That title is not bought. It is earned at the fire, over years. This is the story of earning it.
None of this started as a business plan. It started with the asado, a chef learning the way of the asador the only way it is learned: over open flame, over years, from the tradition itself. Every brand that followed came from the same place, a standard the market couldn't meet, so it got built by hand. The grill. The tools. The blades. The leather. The recipes. The seasonings. In that order, because that is the order it happened.

It Started With the Asado and the Steel

Learning the way of the asador, then forging the grill to honor it

THE WAY OF THE ASADOR
The asador is the master of the asado, trusted with the fire from the first coal to the final cut. Mike learned Argentine asado and Brazilian churrasco the traditional way, over years, from the craft itself. The tradition set the standard everything else had to meet.
THE GRILL HE FORGED
No production grill held fire the way the asado demanded. So he hand-forged his own Santa Maria parrilla in quarter-inch steel, built to take decades of live fire. Became Brasero Grills
BRASERO GRILLS
Argentine Soul. American Steel. Hand-fabricated Santa Maria, parrilla, and gaucho grills, commissioned one at a time and built to outlive their owners.

Then the Tools the Tradition Demanded

Authentic asado equipment and Brazilian artisan blades

ASADO TOOLS
Cooking true Argentine asado meant authentic asado equipment, proven against the tradition, not a big-box approximation of it. Became the Asado Tools line
BRAZILIAN ARTISAN KNIVES
The tradition demanded the right blade. Mike built direct relationships with Brazilian master craftsmen and sourced premium churrasco knives at the source. Became Artisan Knives
THE STANDARD
Every tool earned its place at the fire before it earned a place in the line. Sourced by a chef who uses them, not a catalog.

Then the Leather That Could Take the Fire

Professional aprons built to a working chef's standard

BUILT FOR THE WORK
Mike wanted an apron and goods that could take a working live fire and a chef's abuse. Nothing on the market held up, so he built the line himself. Became Artisan Leather
ARTISAN LEATHER
Professional-grade live-fire aprons and leather goods, built to working-kitchen standards and standing on their own as a brand.
THE STANDARD
Made to survive the fire it's worn in front of. Function first, earned in use, not designed for a shelf.

Then He Put It on Paper

Twenty years behind the line, written down and opened up

THE MEMBER VAULT
Two decades of professional method, finally written down: 80+ recipes built on frameworks earned in working kitchens, structured for the home cook. Direct access to the way Mike actually cooks.
FIRE & STEEL CHRONICLES
The journey in his own words: the dream smoker, the Santa Maria discovery, the build years that spawned the brands.
SMOKE SIGNAL
The monthly newsletter that turns live-fire technique and pro recipes into a standing relationship with the audience.

Then the Flavor to Finish It

The blends developed at the fire, last because they were built on everything before

BLENDED BEHIND THE LINE
With the fire, the tools, and the method proven, the last gap was the seasoning. Mike had mixed his own dry compositions and finishing salts for years because nothing on the shelf was built for live fire. Became Ember & Salt Co.™
EMBER & SALT CO.™
A chef-driven seasoning and finishing line. Dry compositions and finishing salts developed at the fire, formulated for heat and smoke, now in the hands of the home cook.
THE STANDARD
Built last on purpose, on top of everything proven before it. Nothing in the jar that wasn't earned on a cook.
The Result
Top 1% Reddit Poster & Commenter
~2M Total Views
One Fire Six Brands
20+ Years Behind the Line
"¡Un aplauso para el asador!"
The applause is for the one who earned the fire. This is the work behind it.
Press & Media

Stories that land. Segments that cook. Audiences that stay.
Great Interview Topics
01
The Journey
  • Grew up in restaurants, culinary school, then 20+ years in professional kitchens to Executive Chef
  • A parallel 25-year career as a Marketing VP, now applied directly to building OWN THE FIRE®
  • Why the marketing career is the edge, not a detour: the chef who can also build the brand
  • Learning the Argentine asado the traditional way, over fire, over years
02
Business & Brand
  • Reddit authority: Top 1% Poster & Commenter, consecutive #1 posts, nearly 2M views
  • An organic content engine across Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook with no paid push
  • Building a brand house from one fire: Brasero, Artisan Leather, the Vault, Ember & Salt Co.™
  • Premium positioning earned, not bought: no celebrity partners, no gimmicks
03
Fire & Steel
  • Hand-forging a Santa Maria grill in quarter-inch steel, the build that started Brasero
  • Brazilian artisan knives sourced direct from master craftsmen
  • Argentine asado and Brazilian churrasco technique at a professional level
  • Live-fire heat management, the most-saved content he produces
04
Mindset
  • The forge mindset: excellence isn't given, it's forged
  • Built the hard way, on top of a full career, no safety net, no shortcuts
  • If it doesn't earn a place at his fire, it doesn't make it to yours
  • Turning the ordinary into extraordinary, the standard behind every brand
“
I didn't get lucky. I forged this the hard way, through years of burns, lessons hammered into method, and an obsession with turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Media Inquiries & Bookings

Available for interviews, live-fire demonstrations, and speaking engagements. An Executive Chef who can break down technique on camera, a brand builder who can speak to how it was made, and the founder of OWN THE FIRE® bringing real craftsmanship to your audience.

i
Podcast & On-Camera Interviews
The journey from professional kitchens to Executive Chef to founder of a live-fire brand house.
ii
Live-Fire Demonstrations
Argentine asado and Brazilian churrasco, professional technique made accessible, on a custom Santa Maria build.
iii
Steel & Equipment Showcases
Hand-forged Brasero grills and Brazilian artisan blades most pitmasters will never see in person.
iv
Technique Workshops
Heat management to advanced live-fire method, drawn from 20+ years behind the line.
v
Brand & Business Talks
Building OWN THE FIRE® without shortcuts, and the marketing edge behind it.
vi
Food & Beverage Segments
Repeatable on-air formats: fire challenges, knife skills, asado from coal to final cut.

Partnership Opportunities

Direct relationships with premium manufacturers and a brand house built around battle-tested equipment. Built for honest product showcases, gear features, and reviews an audience will actually trust.

Book The Interview.

Tell us about your outlet, format, and timing. We respond within 24 to 48 hours.

Received

Booking Request Locked In.

Expect a reply within 24 to 48 hours from mike@ownthefire.com or 917.387.6156. For urgent deadlines, call directly.

Let's Build Something Worth the Fire
Mike Riddle
Executive Chef & Founder, OWN THE FIRE®
Live-Fire Authority  ·  20+ Years Behind the Line
Emailmike@ownthefire.com
Phone917-387-6156
Webownthefire.com/pages/contact
BasedLong Island, New York
Crafted in Smoke. Forged in Fire.
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