After almost 20 years in the security and private protection field, during which he kept a close eye on some of the country's most public figures, Brooklyn native Billy Durney has fulfilled a longtime dream by becoming head pitmaster and owner at Hometown Bar-B-Que. Billy first learned to smoke meat as a youngster during visits to his grandparents' cabin in rural Pennsylvania and has spent years obsessing over his barbecue, traveling around the United States and abroad perfecting his techniques, knowing that opening his own restaurant was the fulfillment of his barbecue passion.
Since opening Hometown in September 2013, Billy has been featured in national media such as Good Morning America, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Men's Journal, CBS’s Morning Show The Dish, The Food Network, The Cooking Channel, and many more. For the past three years, he has been selected among a small group of pitmasters nationwide to be a part of Big Apple Bar-B-Que Block Party in New York City, and in September of 2016, he was featured as a guest chef at Music City Food and Wine Festival in Nashville, TN.
Q: What goes through your head when you first wake up in the morning when you BBQ?
A: I wake up every morning hoping the cook turned out perfect and appreciating all the hard work that went into it.
Q: Where is your favorite place to BBQ?
A: My wife and I have a home in the Mountains north of New York City. Sitting around the fire and cooking with friends and family is certainly some of our fondest memories.Â
Q: If you could do anything better, what would it be?
A: Everything
Q: Who are your heroes?
A: This one is super simple - my father. My goal is to be half the man and father that he is to me.
Q: If there is any love-hate relationship with any aspect of what you do, can you describe what that is?
A: I'd like to think that I have very few regrets in life but sometimes being away from your family and friends is a drag.
Q: What sound or noise do you love?
A: My daughter Emma laughing
>Q: What would be your day job if you weren’t doing what you currently doing?
A: I'd be managing Sam Jones music career.
Q: If you could bring anybody in the world with you to do what you love (dead or alive), who would it be?
A: I wouldn't mind spending a night tending fires with Willie Nelson and Miles Davis.