Frederic Casagrande, known as “The Ace of Flames,” is a French-born BBQ champion, pitmaster and live-fire chef based in the UAE. Founder of Smoking Beards, he turned a lifelong passion for fire cooking into an award-winning range of spice blends and a competitive BBQ journey that saw him crowned UAE BBQ Champion and compete at world level.

A self-confessed spice mixologist, Fred blends French roots, global influences and a healthy disregard for culinary boundaries to create bold flavors over live fire. Beyond the flames, he is an entrepreneur, international keynote speaker and executive leader – worlds he connects through a shared philosophy of preparation, patience, creativity and performing under pressure.

‍

‍