We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Thomas Witte. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Thomas below.
Thomas, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
I spent most of my life in the Art world and trying different Art forms. From traditional stuff like drawing, painting, ceramics to having a career in graphic design, video/film and painting murals on the side I love all forms of art. I also worked in the service industry for around 20 years at many different styles of restaurants as I am a Huge foodie at heart so it was a way to continue following my art passion while making money and eating delicious food. When I opened Smoked Love I knew I would have a Rotating Menu each week in Order to highlight something new or different to challenge myself and continue to be creative. Doing something different and new is important to my creativity and also my mind. Always changing things up allows me to continue to keep my creativity alive and thriving.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I started Smoked Love not only to bring some Delicious and Unique BBQ Dishes to Bastrop Texas but to also help out and become closer with my community. I first moved to Bastrop about 7 years ago with my wife and daughter and we really didn’t know anyone here. After living here a short time Neighbors soon became friends, complete strangers lent a helping hand in times of need and people for the most part are just extremely friendly here. When we first moved here I worked as a free lance graphic designer and raised my daughter for the first few years as my wife is a RN and works long hours so during this time I started turning my love for BBQ into a true passion. Over the next few years I spent many hours and days trying out different bbq techniques and recipes, watching videos, reading articles and joining groups to discuss BBQ. After years of learning and experimenting I decided to start taking things seriously and figure out the business side of things. I wanted not only for it to be a Unique BBQ experience but I also wanted to get involved with the community and help give back. I started working with a lot of Non Profits in the Area helping raise awareness, donations and working with them on events. This is something that is the backbone of Smoked Love and we still work with Non profits and others in need everyday. Food is Love and we Make Smoked Food so the name Smoked Love was a perfect fit for what we are all about.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Spending my life in the art world and most of my adult life in the food world are definitely two of the biggest skills that helped me get where I am today. The combination of Art and restaurant knowledge was what led me to opening up my own food truck. But the most important was becoming an alcoholic. I deal with mental health issues in depression and have my entire adult life and unfortunately I used alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with it. This is another story completely but fighting through the struggles of mental health and addiction and being able to come out on the other side has given me a strength to allow me to get through anything. Wether it’s working four twenty hour days in a row or pulling a all nighter to make sure I have the bark set just right or planning a event all week on little sleep, nothing compares to the battle of addiction and alcoholism. I do not think I would have the strength or stamina to keep going everyday without that experience in life and though it was terrible at the time it has turned me into the person I am today and I’m grateful for it.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Working with my Community also means working with other Chefs and restaurants in the area and we are all about Collaborations! We have two Meat pies, one stuffed with Slow smoked pulled Pork in a buttery flaky crust and the other is a cheddar jalapeño cornbread muffin stuffed with pulled pork we make with Chef Mary Jane of Cutie Pie Wagon, a Brisket Crepe at Abelitos crepe cafe, smoked coffee beans at sunshine sister coffee, Brisket Kolaches out in Smithville Tx with the Sunshine Chef, we carry freshly made pretzel buns from Tough Cookie Bakery for our Smashed Lamb Burgers and we have an amazing dessert Collaborations with the Bearded Baking Company called “The Smokey Turtle”,. We have also done special collaborations for events with other restaurants like smoked boudin and Smoked Boudin Dip from LeJunes and a few others as well. We absolutely love doing collaborations and have more coming soon. You can contact us at info@smokedlove.com for more info
Contact Info:
- Website: www.smokedlove.com
- Instagram: @smokedlovebbq
- Facebook: Smoked Love
