This summer, join us for the debut of Campfire Chefs—one more way The Resort at Paws Up has turned camping into glamping. While each of our camp’s Dining Pavilions is normally staffed with an exceptionally talented chef who prepares your daily breakfast and dinner, this series allows you to dine on the cuisine of chefs who are at the pinnacle of culinary success. These include award-winning names such as Chef Charlie McKenna:
When he opened Lillie’s Q in 2010, Chef Charlie McKenna brought award-winning BBQ and timeless Southern cooking to the city of big shoulders. McKenna and Lillie’s Q have garnered critical praise and awards from both local Chicago and national media, including being named Best New BBQ Restaurant in the Country by Food & Wine magazine in 2011.
A Florida State University alum, McKenna graduated from New York’s Culinary Institute of America in 2000 and cooked under legendary chef Norman Van Aken before becoming a sous chef at two of Chicago’s four-star fine-dining landmarks: TRU and Avenues in the Peninsula Hotel. During that time, McKenna also won numerous awards on the BBQ competition circuit, including a first-place win at Memphis in May, widely regarded as the world championship of BBQ.
Opening Lillie’s Q (named for his South Carolinian grandmother, Lillie, and his father, Quito) allowed McKenna to return to his BBQ roots—slow-smoking pork shoulder, tri tip, baby back ribs, hot links and chicken in custom-built smokers over peach wood and lump charcoal. Shortly after opening the restaurant, McKenna rolled out a food truck, the Lillie’s Q Meat Mobile and then opened a Lillie’s Q outpost in the Chicago French Market. McKenna also co-owns a Lillie’s Q in Destin, Florida, with his parents, who operate the location.