Russ Cornette is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He learned to cook in “Bayou Country” by watching his Mom, Mawmaw, and other family members prepare tasty Cajun creations as he grew up. This has greatly influenced how he cooks barbecue today. When trying to come up with a name for the company, it just made sense to go back to his roots and use “Bayou Barbecue.”

When Russ graduated high school he went into the Navy and moved away from Louisiana. He was stationed in Charleston, SC when he got out of the Navy. He had already met Kristen, and he stayed in Charleston to be with her. They got married in 1997 and now have two wonderful children, Cole and Graydon Cornette. After getting married, Russ continued with his college education, graduating from The Citadel with a degree in Civil Engineering in 2000. With more free time on his hands, he got involved in competition barbecue.

After competing in numerous barbecue competitions (Bayou's Team >>), many people insisted he should bottle his sauce and start selling it. Russ and Kristen have now started bottling their first sauce, Smokin’ Cole’s Original Bold n’ Spicy Barbecue Sauce. Smokin’ Cole’s name comes from a play on words with Russ and Kristen’s first son, Cole.  Bayou Barbecue will be expanding their line of products to include a vinegar based barbecue sauce, a dry barbecue rub, a steak seasoning, a Cajun seasoning, and a mustard based barbecue sauce.