By Carol Fisher-Linn
Dean Wells – Jack of all trades, Master of many. Interesting biography of one of The Villager contributors who wears many hats.
As a local writer, life presents me with many wonderful opportunities to cross paths with some very fascinating people who step out of the box and create their own interesting life-course. We, as humans find that we wear many hats, some temporarily, while others seem to sit one atop the other like a caricature from Dr. Seuss. Such would be the case with Dean Wells: dad, musician, caterer, and award-winning journalist and BBQ chef.
Dean’s story begins with music, falling in love with it when he was about five. He grew up continually learning about and loving music, always wanting to be Elvis. He’s all about ‘70’s Rock, The Stones, Blues, and Johnny Cash Country. Music sustained him as he played in bands in high school, college and in Maryland, where he lived for a time. He married and had children. He wanted to give them his time so he took a hiatus from music as he created lasting memories with his girls, Rose, now 23, and Grace, 21, both working toward college degrees. He’s back into music now, telling this writer: “I have original music on all major streaming services, including Amazon, Spotify and Pandora under my name. I released a 3-song EP titled “Let your Soul Fly,” along with a cover of the Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter.” I am currently working on new material in my home studio, where I do all my recording.” Find Dean at his next gig at Wicked Warren’s in Warren, PA on March 5th and Poverty Knob Brewing, Waterford, PA on March 6th.
Not only does Wells write music, he is also an award-winning journalist, having written since elementary school. You can find Wells’ byline on articles in The Villager describing the amazing history and significance of the Robert Jackson Center in Jamestown, or a visit to Kabob’s at the historical Option House in Bradford, and of course, he enticed you to the Winter Music Jam in Ellicottville, as only a true musician to the depth of soul can. In this week’s edition, he has featured the work of another talented chef and restaurateur, Martin Danilowicz of Roost in Buffalo, NY.
By 2012, Wells felt it was time to put on yet another hat and plunged into another business, establishing Hog Wild BBQ in Warren, Pennsylvania. Since grass can’t seem to grow under Wells’ feet, he took his BBQ show on the road, traveling to pitmaster festivals all over the US. He and his team learned from trial and error, which spices are good, which are “meh,” which woods work best, when to tend the fires and when to let them simmer. This, from their website: “Their barbecue has been compared to some of the most well-known BBQ restaurants in America in Texas, Memphis and the Carolinas. In the meantime, they opened a catering company in northwestern Pennsylvania and were soon serving food for events as large as 1,800 people. Next stop? A BBQ joint in Warren, Pa. in 2012. And now they are working on expansion to Erie and Pittsburgh.”
Since Warren PA, or any of the adjoining regions are not known as BBQ areas, his travels taught him the secrets of Traditional Red Sauce to Kansas City Sweet, Texas Based Chili Sauce, and of course, along the way, he created his own, which brings me to his Peach Bourbon Sauce, which sounds to me like something that will greet me at the gates of Heaven! His travels took him into competitions where he gathered up 17 awards along with several awards for Business Excellence and a commendation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for Business Excellence.
I invite you to visit the Hog Wild BBQ website and be prepared to drool over the menu which can satisfy the wants of a single person, a large corporate celebration or wedding party – as Pit Boss Wells says, “any small group or up to 2500 hungry people.” Their menu will invite you to you consider their barbeque, their ribs, pulled pork, brisket, chicken or a whole hog. All this, lavished with their small batch sauces made in their kitchen, and their homemade sides, like Grandma Rose’s potato salad and their famous to-die-for cornbread.
Hog Wild BBQ is closed for the season as they patiently wait for spring to arrive with an eye to opening sometime in later March when the weather is more comfortable. In the meantime, you can find Wells catering, writing, playing music or at the local coffee shop with his girls. Check their website for their announcement and plan a visit.
http://www.wellshogwildbbq.com/home.html