The show was called Guy's Big Project. Contestants were required to
send in audition tapes and, if selected to appear on the show, would
go toe-to-toe each week as Fieri eliminated one of the eight candi-
dates. Fieri was looking for more than someone who could cook. He
wanted someone with knowledge and screen presence. The winner
would get his or her own show.
It was a big risk for Jones. He had to spend six weeks taping in Los
Angeles and did not get paid. But he knew it was an opportunity he
couldn't let pass by. The Food Network is how many an individual has
gone from just another cook to a wealthy celebrity.
Jones won. Big Lee's was on the map.
Jones's show was called Eat, Sleep, BBQ. Like Fieri's hit show, Din-
ers, Drive-Ins and Dives, Eat, Sleep, BBQ would be a traveling road
show. Jones would go around the country and visit barbecue joints
and tell their story. The show had a six-week run and Jones has not
been told yet if it will be renewed.
But even if it is not, it has changed the narrative when it comes
to Big Lee's. It's no longer an off-the-beaten-track food stand; it's
where a Food Network celebrity cooks what has been given Fieri's
seal of approval as some of the best barbecue in the land.
