Page 144 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2019

on the side
UNDERCOVER
Hobbyists
story by Lynn Lofton
photos courtesy of Barbara Allen, John Favre, John Rogers and Arthur Matthews, M.D.
It’s easy to think that men’s hobbies consist of watching sports, hunting and fishing. But some Coast men’s hobbies are none of those
things and are a far cry from the work they do every day.
Scott Allen
Scott Allen of Allen Hyundai in Gulfport has spent countless hours on eggheadforum.com picking up recipes, learning cooking principles that carry way farther than a grill, and making friends. “I always liked hanging out in the kitchen when I was growing up,” he said, “and in college I was the first one to start manning the grill. I didn’t really get excited about cooking until I bought a Big Green Egg.”
His first love is barbecue but his favorite dish to cook is beef ribs.
He also makes smoked chili spiced pineapples wrapped in bacon that people go crazy for. He cooks for charities, plus lots of cooking for family and friends. “We even have a managers’ meeting for Allen Hyundai once a month over breakfast at my house,” he said.
He’s not sure how relaxing cooking is, but it’s definitely a fun change
of pace. “I love being able to get my
hands in it and seeing someone’s face light up when they take a bite,” he said.
Allen admits he cooked a lot of bad barbecue early on but feels he has the bad stuff out of his system
now. “I like to research so when I do something new I know the whys and hows that help lessen the learning curve,” he added. “I find that really understanding helps with the perfection process.”
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