Chad Cryderman and Cryderman’s Barbecue is, in a lot of ways, the antithesis of Rang Tang: Chad & Cryderman’s are larger than life; Rang Tang is a little more demure. Some of what him and I have in common is that we are both front-of-the-house type people who ended up cooking/preparing food for our own business, and that we’re both continually trying to get better. As Chad says, I’m (L.R.) cooler than the other side of the pillow; Chad most definitely runs hotter. He’s fully self-expressed, a talented cook, a savvy businessperson, and in the two years before we had this convo he was an incredible resource and mentor, spending hours on the phone with me while I sorted out cooking briskets for larger numbers of people. I like to think that I would have figured things out anyway and Rang Tang would still be more or less where it is now even if I didn’t know Chad; but the reality is that I don’t know that Rang Tang would be anywhere near where it is now without him. I was lucky to meet him and lucky to now be friends with him.
Some people intrinsically know how to succeed (depending on your definition). Chad is one of them. If you’re interested in what it takes to be a success while being true to yourself……
