About Brice
Founder & Chief of Curiosity, Smoked and Soaked
Storyteller | Explorer | Champion of Remarkable People, Food, Fire & Drink
If you spend enough time around me, you'll probably notice something.
I'm endlessly curious.
Not just about food or beer or grills or the latest country I visited. I'm curious about people. I want to know where they came from, why they do what they do, what they're proud of, and what story nobody ever asks them to tell.
Looking back, I think I've always been this way.
As a kid, my best friend Tim and I built forts in the woods, rode BMX bikes until we couldn't see anymore, and found every excuse we could to make something with our own hands. If I was grounded, I'd somehow find a way to cook soup on the baseboard heater in my bedroom. Tim and I caught trout and cooked them over a fire in the backyard. My favorite book was My Side of the Mountain, and I was captivated by the idea that a person could learn, adapt, and build a meaningful life through curiosity and determination.
Later, I discovered the writings and films of Dick Proenneke and admired not just what he built, but the quiet satisfaction he found in learning and doing things the right way.
Tim and I eventually graduated from forts to brewing our own beer, making wine, and experimenting with projects that, in hindsight, were probably more ambitious than wise. Looking back now, I realize we weren't really trying to make drinks—we were trying to understand how things worked.
Travel only expanded that curiosity.
Puerto Rico in grade school challenged my view of the world. Living in Brazil and traveling to Uruguay and Bolivia changed me as a teenager. Studying in Australia and traveling to New Zealand and Tahiti inspired me during college. Thailand & Singapore humbled me. South Africa, Mexico, Ireland, France, and countless other places left memories that had very little to do with landmarks and almost everything to do with people and the food we shared.
There were also people I never met who, in their own ways, helped shape how I see the world and what I hope to accomplish with Smoked and Soaked.
Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern showed me that food could be far more than something on a plate. Their cultural and culinary curiosity opened doors into places, traditions, and communities that many of us might otherwise never experience. What fascinated me wasn't simply what they ate—especially when Zimmern ventured into foods completely foreign to the American palate—but their willingness to sit down, ask questions, listen, and understand the people and culture behind it. Food became the passport, but people were always the destination.
Julia Child and Jacques Pépin inspired me in a different way. Watching two extraordinary cooks approach the same ingredients or the same dish in completely different ways taught me that there isn't always one "right" way to create something. Technique matters. Experience matters. But so do personality, instinct, experimentation, and the willingness to make something your own.
Then there was the original Iron Chef Japan. Long before cooking competitions seemed to be everywhere, I was fascinated (although challenged by the voice over dubbing) by the combination of extraordinary skill, creativity, unfamiliar ingredients, and seemingly impossible time constraints. Chefs were handed an ingredient that might had been second nature to them or one they may never have worked with before and challenged to figure it out. They had to trust what they knew, adapt to what they didn't, and create something remarkable. I loved that.
And while Mike Rowe wasn't standing over a grill or exploring a market halfway around the world, his curiosity struck me in much the same way. He genuinely wanted to understand the people behind the jobs—the work they did, what they endured, what they knew that the rest of us didn't, and why their work mattered. He showed that some of the most interesting stories aren't necessarily found in famous places or told by famous people. Sometimes they're standing in a workshop, climbing into a sewer, working on a farm, or doing a job most of us pass every day without ever wondering who does it or why.
Looking back, I can see pieces of all of those influences in what I'm trying to build today.
Bourdain and Zimmern reinforced my desire to explore cultures through their food and their people. Child and Pépin taught me to appreciate the many different paths to creating something extraordinary. Iron Chef fed my fascination with skill, creativity, ingredients, and improvisation. And Mike Rowe reinforced something I have come to believe very strongly: everyone has a story, and some of the best ones belong to people nobody has thought to ask.
I don't aspire to become any of them.
But I do aspire to bring that same kind of genuine curiosity to the people I meet—to walk into a kitchen, a smokehouse, a brewery, a butcher shop, a vineyard, a workshop, a food truck, or someone's backyard without pretending I already know the answers.
I want to ask questions and I want to taste something I've never tasted, try something I've never done, understand why someone has devoted their life to a craft, and give them the opportunity to tell their story in their own words.
In many ways, that's what Smoked and Soaked—and ultimately Curiosity'D—is becoming: not simply a project about food, drink, travel, or craftsmanship, but an excuse to remain curious about the world and the remarkable people who make it interesting.
The People Who Shaped the Journey
Early in adulthood I was fortunate to have an incredible neighbor, Bob Takacs, who became one of the greatest teachers in my life. Together we rebuilt mowers, Jeeps, skid loaders, barns, and sheds. Bob taught me that understanding something is far more rewarding than simply owning it, and that craftsmanship deserves respect.
My wife, Sherry, has shared many of those adventures with me. In Thailand, we spent days talking with local vendors, not because we were shopping but because we genuinely enjoyed getting to know them. By the time we left, there were hugs, tears, and friendships that had nothing to do with transactions.
Back home, I've found myself grilling for construction crews rebuilding water lines in our neighborhood or spending hours talking with people whose paths I simply happened to cross. Somehow, ordinary conversations have a way of becoming invitations, shared meals, and lasting friendships.
Professionally, I spent 3 decades helping solve problems for people in healthcare. Ironically, despite spending much of my career in sales, I've never considered myself much of a salesperson. My greatest strength was always listening first, understanding deeply, and building solutions around what people actually needed.
Smoked and Soaked grew from that same instinct.
What Smoked and Soaked Is
Yes, you'll find stories about incredible barbecue, unforgettable meals, bourbon, craft beer, local wineries, and outstanding products focused around food and beverage.
For me, the food is the invitation.
The drink starts the conversation.
The real story, however, is sitting across the table, being curious and listening.
My hope is that Smoked and Soaked becomes a place where curiosity is celebrated, craftsmanship is respected, and remarkable people—whether they're pitmasters, brewers, distillers, butchers, farmers, food truck owners, or lifelong backyard cooks—have the opportunity to share what they love with the rest of us.
If, somewhere along the way, you discover a great meal or your next favorite beverage, that's wonderful.
But if you leave feeling like you've made a new friend or discovered the story behind the story, then we'll have accomplished exactly what we set out to do.
Welcome to Smoked and Soaked.
Let's travel, taste, learn, and share together.
Stay Curious My Friend!