Home Team BBQ
Greenville, Charleston & Columbia, SC
Participating In: Party in the Park
Aaron Siegel
Founder & Pitmaster
Atlanta native and University of Georgia graduate Aaron “Fiery Ron” Siegel moved to New York after college to pursue his passion for cooking, enrolling at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Following an internship at Atlanta’s Nava under Chef Kevin Rathbun, he graduated with his culinary degree and relocated to Aspen, CO, where he spent two years at Pinion’s Restaurant under Rob Mobillian.
Siegel joined his longtime friend and mentor Chris Lanter as Sous Chef at Aspen’s Cache Cache in 2000. There, he began shaping the culinary perspective that would define his career: blending the discipline and technique of classical cuisine with the soul and accessibility of comfort food, barbecue, and Southern fare. Siegel returned to the South in 2002 to join Hospitality Management Group Inc. (HMGI) as Executive Chef of Blossom Café in downtown Charleston, a role he held until 2006. During that time, he worked closely with Executive Chef Craig Diehl at sister restaurant Cypress, further refining his approach to smoking meats and developing a barbecue philosophy rooted in technique, patience, and flavor.
In 2006, Siegel brought that vision to life, opening the first Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ in West Ashley alongside partners Taylor Garrigan, Tony McKie, and Madison Ruckel. The concept quickly gained a devoted following, leading to expansion to Sullivan’s Island in 2009 with operating partner Sean Daniher. Additional locations followed in Downtown Charleston and Aspen (2016), Columbia (2019), Greenville (2021), and Mount Pleasant (2022).
Today, Aaron “Fiery Ron” Siegel remains at the helm of Home Team BBQ, overseeing the growth of the brand while staying true to its roots. He lives in Charleston with his wife, Darby, and their two kids, Mac and Witt.
Taylor Garrigan
Executive Chef & Operating Partner
Taylor Garrigan began his culinary career in Atlanta in 1998, cooking at Dick & Harry’s alongside his brother, Chef Todd Garrigan, and chef-owner Harold Marmelstein, before relocating to Charleston to pursue formal culinary and hospitality training at Johnson & Wales University.
While completing his studies, Garrigan worked as a line cook at both Magnolias and Middleton Place, graduating with a degree in hotel and restaurant management. He then joined The Beach Club at Kiawah Island as a cook, working with chefs including Paul Tinsley and Tom Colicchio. In 2005, he was hired at FIG, where he cooked under James Beard Award–winning chef Mike Lata, further refining his approach to ingredient-driven, technique-forward cooking.
During this time, Garrigan met Aaron “Fiery Ron” Siegel, forming a close professional partnership that led to the creation of Home Team BBQ. When the first location opened in West Ashley in 2006, Garrigan served as Sous Chef before moving to Sullivan’s Island as Executive Chef at its opening. His leadership and culinary vision played a key role in guiding the brand’s early growth, and he rose to become Executive Chef and Partner overseeing all Home Team BBQ locations.
Garrigan is a winner of Food Network’s Chopped, a national recognition that reflects the technical range he brings to his leadership at Home Team BBQ today.