Jess Pryles

Jess Pryles is a US-based Australian chef, television show host of Aussie Barbecue Heroes, meat expert and a live fire cook. She co-founded the Australasian Barbecue Alliance. She is also the author of the book Hardcore Carnivore. She was born in Melbourne, Australia and now lives in Austin, Texas.

Early career
Pryles earned a degree in Communications before starting a blog called Burger Mary. The blog led to a website which focused on her own recipes. Pryles then toured Texas visiting butchers and ranchers, before co-founding the Australasian Barbecue Alliance. She moved to Texas in 2015.

American career
She has worked as a spokesperson for Gerber Knives and Kingsford Charcoal and she promotes her own cookbook and her products: a line of Hardcore Carnivore meat seasoning and tools. In 2018 she was named a spokesperson for Lone Star Beer. In addition to slow cooked barbecue, and smoked meats, Pryles is considered an expert in live fire cooking. She also teaches workshops in how to cook meat with live fire.

In 2022, she completed a graduate course in Meat Science from Iowa State University.

Television
Pryles is one of the hosts of the television show Aussie Barbecue Heroes which is an Australian reality competition television series on the Seven Network. The series features nine teams competing in a series of barbecue cooking challenges for A$100,000 worth of prizes. Other hosts on the show include chef Ben O'Donoghue, and former My Kitchen Rules contestant Robert Murphy.

She has also been featured on "Beat Bobby Flay" as a judge, and "The Today Show" and "SEC Nation" as a special guest.

Beginning in 2018, Pryles appeared in the pilot episode of Hulu's "BBQuest" series. Then in 2022 she went on to co-host Season 3 of the popular Texas-based barbecue show, alongside Kelsey Pribilski. Season three took a "beyond the pit" focus, shining a spotlight on ranches, cattle raisers and feed yards.

In 2023 she appeared as a special series judge on season 2 of TVNZ's series "Cooks on Fire", airing in New Zealand.

Later in 2023, she also announced that she was working on her very own 10 episode TV series on a soon-to-be-revealed US network.

Appearances
In 2023, she was the first chef invited to cook and host the inaugural Vivid festival Fire Kitchen at the famous Sydney festival.

Books

 * Hardcore Carnivore