This is a sponsored interview in partnership with Tecovas.
Live fire cook Jess Pryles is a meat science grad who has made a name for herself as the “Hardcore Carnivore,” which is the name of her cookbook and spice line. We caught up with Pryles to learn about her work:
Let's walk a mile in your boots. What do you do on an average day?
“It could be anything. If I'm out of town, it's usually filming for my TV show, which is also called ‘Hardcore Carnivore.’ I was in Nashville last week doing an event with Kingsford. I speak at a lot of events. I do a lot of demos.
I often get asked like, ‘What do I do during the day?’ And sometimes I sit back and think, ‘I can't even tell you what I did today. I can just tell you that I did it for at least 12 to 14 hours because I ran out of time.’”
Why does your work matter to you?
“I think my work matters to me because it contributes something. In today's social media climate, it's very much just about entertainment, and shock value, and quickly digestible and disposable videos. And I still like to make videos that have a purpose. So maybe they're teaching someone something. Maybe someone can learn to be a better cook or more confident in how they cook or how they choose their meat.”
Why does your work matter to Austin?
“Austin changed my life when I moved here. It wasn't just about coming to Texas and falling in love with the Texan lifestyle. I fell in love with Austin. I love the great spirit of this city. It's so welcoming and so open to all groups of all kinds, but then you can still dip in and go to learn to two-step at the Broken Spoke, or you can drop your deer at Hudson's on South Congress.
It still has these wonderful quirks of a really Texan lifestyle in a fantastic modern cosmopolitan city. And that's what's allowed me to bloom here.”
