By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Jul 08, 2024 at 6:31 PM Photography: Lori Fredrich

Still hungry for Milwaukee chefs roasting the competition on national TV after "Top Chef" and Dan Jacobs' impressive run through to the finale? Here's another course to help sate your appetite: Brew City chef Ashley Turner will test her pitmaster prowess against several other barbecue beasts on Food Network's "BBQ Brawl," starting tonight at 8 p.m.

The food show – entering its fifth steason, hosted and produced by food TV all-star and famed grillmaster Bobby Flay – sends some of the best BBQ-ers down to Texas where, across ten episodes, they'll try to smoke their fellow competition with their most spectacular smoked meats, guided by Food Network star Sunny Anderson and former "Top Chef" winner Michael Voltaggio.

Amongst the food fight this season is Ashley Turner – no stranger to Food Network's culinary competitions after taking a hack at "Chopped" last year, finishing second. Originally from barbecue hub Texas, Turner moved to Milwaukee in recent years and quickly made her mark on the Milwaukee culinary scene at locales like East Troy Brewing Co., Hacienda Taproom and Kitchen, and the Milwaukee County Zoo. She's also left quite the impression on that ultimate Sconnie food feast: the Wisconsin State Fair, where her "Glazy Boy" – aka a sweet and spicy pork sandwich but with donuts instead of bread holding it all together – became a Sporkie-winning smash back in 2021. 

It's that kind of crave-worthy creativity that'll help her hopefully go far on "BBQ Brawl."

Will Turner cook her fellow competition low and slow – or will her time on the show go up in flames? Tune in to Food Network on Monday nights at 8 p.m. to find out. (If you miss the first show, the premiere will re-air at 11 p.m. on Monday as well as Thursday, July 11 at 9:30 p.m. New episodes may also be available for streaming after their live debuts on Discovery+ and Max.) 

For more showtimes and a quick bite of what to expect from the show, visit Food Network's website

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.