Jay Makes Appearance on CBS's Tailgate Fan from The Grove

Jay Ducote and Nick Stevens film Tailgate Fan

While at The Grove on the campus of Ole Miss in Oxford, MS last weekend I felt like a bit of a celebrity tailgater. Not only was Bon Appetit there to cover the party and my cooking for their magazine, but I also had encounters with both Louisiana Travel and CBS's Tailgate Fan. Plus Taylor Mathis from the Southern Tailgating Cookbook (of which I am on the cover!) hung out for a while! Tailgate Fan, hosted by Nick Stevens, travels the country exploring tailgate parties and the debauchery that they entail, as well as the cuisine, of course. They caught me as I had ribs on the smoker and chicken stock cooking for the gumbo. It is always fun to show off the Monstrosity while at tailgate parties and barbecue cookoffs. It is incredible how much attention it brings to the tailgate party. In addition to ribs and chicken and andouille gumbo, I also made a big pot of braised mustard greens and some Creole potato salad. Needless to say the tailgate party, including all the Ole Miss fans that allowed us to set up next to them on the edge of the Grove, were well fed and very happy to have me around. The entire trip went extremely well despite the LSU loss. In all seriousness, the Rebel Nation proved to be extremely friendly and accomodating. I was told multiple time "Thanks for being here" and "I'm glad you made the trip," and that was by fans who weren't eating my food. Also, while The Grove is a completely different experience than LSU, the novelty of it is truly worthy of all its high praise. The amount of people that they pack into The Grove is incredible. It is like if all LSU tailgate parties had to be on the Parade Ground. It seems insane, and I'd dislike it if it were the case at LSU, but making the trip to Ole Miss should absolutely be on everyone's must-do tailgating list.

The Monstrosity began billowing smoke on the edge of The Grove before Ole Miss fans arrived.

I'd like to thank Logan Leger for making the trip with me to Ole Miss, for being my sous chef at the party, and for the ticket to the game! Big thanks to Charles Caldwell with Tin Roof and Carr at Ole Miss for helping us line up the spot. While no open flames are allowed in The Grove, we found a way to get around that by setting up our cooking station on the street, so technically right outside The Grove. Also thanks to Dustin and Kyle for being the first people to show up to the party after Logan and I. I was also very glad to see a lot of old LSU friends there like Fred Neal, Brandon Haynes, Chelsea Potts, Natalie Ieyoub, and more. Man, what a trip! Enjoy the video from Tailgate Fan: