Bad Wolf BBQ Wins St. Francisville Food & Wine Festival, Caskey Recognized as Louisiana Cookin’ Chef to Watch
Ruston’s Bad Wolf BBQ was awarded first Place at the St. Francisville Food & Wine Festival on Sunday, November 9, 2025, at The Myrtles. The craft-style BBQ food truck participated in both the Bubbles & BBQ event on Saturday and the festival’s Grand Tasting on Sunday. They impressed festival goers with their elevated BBQ dish of smoked brisket served over mashed sweet potatoes and topped with their signature Louisiana white sauce, syrup, pecans, and fresh rosemary.
Experience Ruston partnered with Bad Wolf BBQ and Utility Brewing Co. to showcase flavors of Ruston at the event. Andrew Caskey, owner of Bad Wolf BBQ in downtown Ruston, competed alongside 25 chefs serving unique dishes from across Louisiana and Mississippi. The festival saw roughly 2,000 attendees, all of which had the opportunity to vote for their top three favorite dishes.
“When I opened Bad Wolf, one of my main goals was to put Louisiana on the map for great BBQ and change people’s minds about what BBQ can be,” said Caskey. “We’ve really just focused on serving elevated BBQ dishes and letting our work speak for itself. Taking home first place at the St. Francisville Food & Wine Festival is such a win not only for our team, but for North Louisiana and BBQ as a whole.”
Just three days before earning top honors in St. Francisville, Caskey was named a 2025 Chef to Watch by Louisiana Cookin’ Magazine. He was presented the award at the Chefs to Watch Dinner on November 6, 2025 at The Greenwood in Covington, LA.
Louisiana Cookin’ introduced Chefs to Watch in 2002 as a way of recognizing talented up-and-coming chefs from restaurants around the state who show passion for traditions while delivering fresh, new concepts. The annual roster features talented individuals from diverse backgrounds who are leaving a mark on their communities. Caskey is the second chef to represent Ruston & Lincoln Parish since the recognition was created, the first being Desi Bourgeois, owner of Grown & Grazed, Staple Sandwich Co., and Heard Freighthouse Food Park.
“Chefs to Watch was a special recognition for us, especially as a BBQ food truck,” said Caskey. “It was a cool experience to serve BBQ as an elevated, plated dish in a fine dining setting. It shows that although we typically serve our food in a more casual format, the food we’re making is high quality and we’ve been able to break traditional BBQ boundaries with our dishes.”
All six chefs featured a signature dish during the Chefs to Watch Dinner. Caskey served his famous brisket and sweet potato dish that won first place at the St. Francisville Food & Wine Festival. Experience Ruston was a sponsor of the Chefs to Watch Dinner and attended the event to support Caskey and his continued commitment to developing Ruston as a culinary destination.
"We’re thrilled to see Andrew be recognized on a statewide level for the creativity and quality he’s bringing to Ruston’s culinary scene,” said Amanda Carrier, Prescient & CEO of Experience Ruston. “These awards are both so well deserved, and we look forward to seeing how his creativity, talent, and entrepreneurial drive continue to elevate our community.”
To taste Chef Andrew’s culinary creations for yourself, visit his food truck, Bad Wolf BBQ, located at the Heard Freighthouse Food Park in downtown Ruston. More information about Bad Wolf can be found at https://bad-wolf-bbq.square.site/.