Elizabeth Karmel

North Carolina native Elizabeth Karmel, a.k.a. Grill Girl, is a nationally respected authority on grilling, barbecue, and Southern food. She launched CarolinaCueToGo.com, an Online Barbecue Shack, in 2015 to make whole-hog barbecue more easily accessible.

CarolinaCueToGo.com ships hickory-wood-smoked whole-hog barbecue seasoned with Karmel's signature North Carolina-style Vinegar Sauce nationwide.

She is the founding Executive Chef of Hill Country Barbecue Market in NYC, Brooklyn and Washington, DC, and NYC and Brooklyn’s Hill Country Chicken. She developed the award-winning menu and flavor profiles from the meats to the sides and desserts for both restaurant concepts. On July 4, 2012, The New York Times awarded Hill Country Barbecue Market NYC 2 stars and a glowing review that read like a love letter to barbecue and the Hill Country concept.

As a sought-after media personality, Karmel writes for, and is frequently featured in an array of national magazines from Bon Appetit to Better Homes & Gardens, and was named one of the top 100 chefs by Saveur Magazine and one of “12 Pitmasters You Need to Know Around the U.S.” She appears regularly on all the network morning shows and is a guest judge on Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay and Iron Chef. She has appeared on a number of Food Network shows and hosted her own special on The Cooking Channel. She recently launched www.EAT360.tv; a food show with a fitness component.

She writes a bi-monthly column for the Associated Press called The American Table and is the author of four acclaimed cookbooks: Taming the Flame (2005), Soaked, Slathered & Seasoned (2009), Pizza on the Grill (2014), and Steak and Cake: America’s Favorite Saturday Night Meal (2019).