{"id":212524,"date":"2019-10-17T14:21:06","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T19:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=212524"},"modified":"2019-10-17T01:09:42","modified_gmt":"2019-10-17T06:09:42","slug":"down-syndrome-matthew-barbecue-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/down-syndrome-matthew-barbecue-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Down syndrome didn’t stop Matthew from starting his own barbecue business"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Matthew Hessburg<\/span><\/a> has never allowed living with Down syndrome to get in the way of pursuing his dreams. That\u2019s how he managed to launch his brand of barbecue sauces on October 12th.\u00a0<\/span>A native of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, Matthew describes himself as a \u201chot and spicy guy,\u201d with a special relationship to food, and to family through food. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom an early age,\u201d says Matthew on <\/span>Instagram<\/span><\/a>, \u201cmy three brothers and I have always had a strong relationship with food. We have always loved cooking, grilling, baking, or our favorite – eating!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One of his favorite parts of the year involves gathering with his family at his grandparents\u2019 cabin in Minnesota, where they spend lots of time doing outdoor activities, but also gathering around a continuous bonfire. This childhood love of cooking and happy memories around a bonfire spurred him on to pursue a degree in Hospitality and Restaurant Management at Western Carolina University, where he also trained at the award-winning Haywood Smokehouse. The Smokehouse gave Matthew the idea to put his own personal spin on Carolina barbecue sauce, and he has even grown his own peppers to bring as much home and family to his sauce as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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My family doesn\u2019t usually wear matching outfits…but when we do, we\u2019ve got a lot to celebrate! \u2022 Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who came out and joined us to celebrate our launch today! I\u2019m excited to share plenty of pictures and details from the party, but for now I\u2019m looking forward to relaxing and hanging out with my family, my puppies, and my old college buddies who drove up all the way from North Carolina to help celebrate<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Bonfire BBQ<\/a> (@matthewsbonfirebbq) on