Edward Bouquillon

Big Head Ed began his BBQ journey in the 1980s, cooking whole hogs in cinder block pits built by hand on-site for friends, family, and community gatherings. With a background in animal science from the University of Connecticut and Penn State, Ed quickly became the guy aspiring pitmasters called when things did not go quite right.

As requests for pig roasts and BBQ catering grew, customers encouraged Ed to enter the respected Memphis Barbeque Network whole hog contest in New Hampshire. Armed with passion, homemade sauce, and a deep understanding of animal production, Big Head Ed arrived with plenty of enthusiasm — and very little understanding of how contest BBQ or on-site judging actually worked.

After a weekend of fun, smoke, and fast learning, the team took home 5th place in Shoulder, 4th place in Ribs, and 2nd place in Whole Hog in their very first competition.

Since then, the Big Head Ed BBQ Team has competed in regional and national BBQ competitions, consistently placing in the top tier of competitors. Ed has also proudly joined friends on the Bare Bones BBQ Team, helping earn a Top 10 finish at the World BBQ Championships in Memphis.

For many years, Ed balanced his love of BBQ with his work as Superintendent-Director of Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District in Lexington, Massachusetts, where he led the development and opening of a new $145 million vocational technical high school. True to form, that new school included a real smoker in the student-run restaurant kitchen. Each year, Ed also taught a weeklong “BBQ Institute” for Culinary Arts students, sharing the craft, science, and joy of BBQ with the next generation.

Today, Big Head Ed BBQ continues to bring together great food, family, friends, teaching, and tradition — one pit, one plate, and one good story at a time