As soon as I stepped into the Christian County Extension Service’s Expo Center early Saturday afternoon, one of the volunteers running the Garden and Outdoor Living Expo told me I needed to go see Clayton Dixon’s booth. “He’s an eighth-grader,” she told me, and pointed toward the center of the huge building.
Clayton did stand out. And not just because he appeared to be the youngest entrepreneur at the expo. It turns out Clayton was probably the most charming vendor among dozens who were selling plants, garden supplies, home goods and food.
What made him charming? Think of a 14-year-old boy with a shy smile, an old soul and a Southern drawl who begins every answer to your many questions with a genuine, “Yes, ma’am.”
- MORE PHOTOS: Scenes from the Garden and Outdoor Living Expo
A student at Christian County Middle School, he is the son of Ryan and Jill Dixon. His business, All Fired Up with Clayton, sells meat dry rubs and sauces from a company called All Q’ued Up. Clayton also helps with a vegetable stand, Triple G Produce and More, on his family farm just north of Hopkinsville.
I asked Clayton how someone so young gets into the business of cooking meat and selling rubs and sauces.
“Well, the dude I’m partners with, John Lindsey, and my uncle [Adam Dixon], he works with him, too, they taught me how to cook,” he said.
Clayton cooks on barbecue pits, griddles and cast iron. He’s been at it for a little over a year and he’s creating a following on social media. His videos cover a range of food lessons, from cooking a whole pig to smoking cream cheese and making bang bang shrimp. His said his personal favorites are ribs and brisket.
Next month, Clayton will be in his first barbecue competition, and it’s a top-tier event — the BBQ Smokeslam in Memphis. It might sound like a huge leap for such a young competitor, but his dad has faith and says, “Go big or go home.”
I didn’t expect to go to the Garden and Outdoor Living Expo and come home with a story about a boy who wants to be a champion barbecue cook. But that’s the thing about stories. Sometimes the best ones show up where we least expect them.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
