About Us

Hogback Mtn BBQ began as a competition barbecue team in 2007 and opened as a catering business in 2010. We have a great team that is very experienced in the catering industry. We cater everything from drop-off meals to complete on-site wedding packages with set/breakdown, bar service, and more. Ruben and Jennifer Showalter reside in Fairfield, Virginia. and have two children. Their BBQ adventure started in 1998 when Jennifer gave Ruben a BBQ Smoker for Christmas. Their passion for BBQ kept growing for the next several years, and in 2005, they started feeding larger crowds of family and friends. In 2007, Ruben decided to build a sizeable trailer-mounted BBQ pit. During the process, he decided to form a BBQ competition team and put the BBQ skills he had learned over the years to the test. During the 2008 and 2009 competition seasons, their team proved to be contenders on the National KCBS BBQ Circuit, winning several awards along with top ten finishes in chicken, ribs, beef brisket, and pork in the Virginia State BBQ Championships, including a 1st Place BBQ Beef Brisket Virginia State Championship in 2010. In 2010, they decided to take their BBQ passion to the next level, opening Hogback Mtn BBQ to make it a premier barbecue catering company. Ruben and Jennifer are ServSafe certified and members of the Kansas City Barbecue Society, and Ruben is Virginia ABC MARTS Certified, both KCBS Certified BBQ Judges.