Kent Rathbun, a Kansas City-born chef and four-time James Beard Award nominee known for restaurants like Abacus and Jasper’s, is seeking the return of a stolen smoker, offering an $8,500 reward for information leading to its recovery.
The theft occurred between July 17 and July 21 at his catering kitchen near Irving Boulevard and Mockingbird Lane, an industrial area west of I-35. Rathbun, whose catering business relies on the 18-foot smoker trailer rig, discovered it missing on July 21 after returning from a trip.
“One of our chefs found the gate open — it looked like it had been damaged,” he said, per Culture Map Dallas. “But it wasn’t until I went to pick up the trailer that we realized it was gone.”
The smoker trailer rig, a 2001 gift from Baxter Brinkmann, CEO of The Brinkmann Corporation, features custom upgrades and laser-cut “Chef Kent Rathbun” tags, making it distinctive.
“He gave me this rig as a birthday present on the day of my first Taste of NFL at Abacus,” Rathbun recalled, noting Brinkmann’s promise to maintain it as long as his name remained on it, Culture Map reported.
Frustrated, Rathbun posted a video on Friday on social media, saying, “Somebody the other day decided they liked one of my smokers better than I like it, and I am pissed off. I’m putting it out to you … anybody that comes to me with information that leads to the return of my trailer, I got $1,000 for it, OK? And probably a good amount of barbecue.”
Support poured in, with donations boosting the reward to $3,000 by Friday evening, $7,500 by Saturday, and $8,500 soon after.
“I’ve had calls and emails all morning upping the ante on this reward,” he said Saturday. “Let’s find this guy, but most of all, man, I’m humbled … and I just can’t tell everybody how much I appreciate everybody’s concern here.”
Police have been notified, and efforts are underway to review security footage. Rathbun, who launched Rathbun’s Curbside BBQ in 2020 amid the pandemic, urged anyone with information about the smoker to call him at 214-704-0907.