Smokin’ for the People: Smokin’ Dick’s ‘Feast with Friends’ kicks off Chautauqua Food Festival

SAM HUFFMAN
Staff Photographer

On the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 16, as more than 500 Chautauquans enjoyed a community barbecue on Bestor Plaza, Dick Erickson lived out his lifelong dream.

The Director of Accounting has served Chautauqua Institution since 2004 and has made lifelong connections with the community during his time here. While returning to the grounds each summer to work with colleagues and guide interns in his department is rewarding, his true passion in life has always been cooking.

Erickson began his cooking journey at 16 years old, working for various catering businesses. He became proficient in cooking various barbecue staples, such as chicken, pork and mac and cheese. In college, he would barbecue for his fraternity brothers. Through spending his years mastering his craft, the true rewards of his cooking are the connections he made with family and friends who have gathered throughout the years, thanks to his passion.

“Food is really a gathering,” Erickson said. “I love the people.”

For a number of years, Erickson put his passion on hold, during which he only cooked for family and friends. When he isn’t in the office overseeing the Department of Accounting and working to support his wife Lisa and his three children, he said he likes to spend time outdoors, hunt and, of course, smoke barbecue meats. Without a traditional smoker at his disposal, Erickson practiced alternative smoking methods, such as assembling wooden planks into a makeshift meat rack or using old wooden cabinets, techniques that impressed his friends and family. 

In the past year, Erickson made the decision to pursue his lifelong dream of cooking again; he bought a custom-made meat smoker and created his barbecue catering business, “Smokin’ Dick’s BBQ,” a venture that has since brought him closer to his community, even if said community teases him on the business name from time to time. 

“It’s a name that’s been with me for a number of years,” Erickson said, “This is something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Erickson and the Smokin’ Dick’s crew catered to Chautauqua Institution staff ahead of the 2026 Season during a staff celebration, but made their community debut at the “Feast with Friends” community barbecue event last Sunday to kick off the first week of the Chautauqua Food Festival. After being asked by Director of Business Development Sam Nelson to bring his thoughtfully prepared dishes to Chautauquans, Erickson and his wife, Lisa, set up camp on Bestor Plaza to smoke pork butts, brisket and mac and cheese for more than 20 hours. During their campout, the Ericksons were met by friends who showed up to keep them company, catch up on their lives and tell stories of their friendship. They were also met with curious, late-night Chautauquan visitors who came to their campsite to talk about the barbecue. Through these late-night conversations under the stars and connecting with his community, Erickson knew that his lifelong dreams would soon come true. 

“Cooking is really a story,” Erickson said. “You show people (the food), and they see the passion, and they can see and smell it, they’ll begin to believe in it.”

The next morning, after getting little to no sleep, the Smokin’ Dick’s crew served pulled pork sandwiches, smoked mac and cheese, coleslaw and ears of corn to hungry Chautauquans, who connected and shared space over the meal. Erickson said he sees it as the first of many more Smokin’ Dick’s BBQ ventures to come. 

“We’re inviting all of our neighbors, we’re cooking out, having a gathering and having a good time,” Erickson said.