Rob Magee graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and spent a long career as a hotel chef, including more than a decade as executive chef at the Hilton Kansas City Airport. He started competing in barbecue in 2002 with his Munchin' Hogs team, then opened Q39 on 39th Street in Midtown Kansas City in 2014 with his wife, Kelly. He died of colon cancer in December 2021, and Kelly Magee continued to lead the restaurant.
Technique
Magee favored cooking brisket "hot and fast" rather than low and slow. At Q39, briskets cooked in gas-fired Southern Pride pit-ovens for about seven hours and were wrapped in foil about halfway through; most items also got smoke and char from an oak-fired grill.
Recognition
- Q39 — No. 7 on Zagat's 15 hottest new BBQ joints in the U.S. (2014)