— OC Register, 12/22/2024

We are highlighting people who made a difference in 2024. All, in some way, inspired. You may know their names, but others will be surprises. And many are based on the suggestions of you, our readers.

— PR Newswire, 12/3/2024

Lee Kum Kee, pioneering maker and global market leader of authentic Asian sauces and condiments, has teamed up with Chef Winnie Yee, finalist on Food Network's BBQ Brawl (Season 3) and head chef at the award-winning Smoke Queen Barbecue, to introduce a limited-time holiday BBQ dish that's turning heads: Sticky Pork Ribs with Chili Crisp Cranberry Glaze!

— SFGATE, 4/19/2024

At Southern California’s newest barbecue hotspot, there is no white bread available for sopping up the sauce. Instead, Smoke Queen Barbecue fills its trays with unique smoked meats and an array of sides seen nowhere else before.

— Houston Chronicle, 3/18/2024

The sign at the entrance to Smoke Queen Barbecue in Garden Grove, Calif., spells out the word “Welcome” in four languages: English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese.

It’s a nod to both the diversity of this city in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, as well as to the remarkable story of how an Asian American woman became one of the best new barbecue pitmasters in the United States.

— Eater LA, 3/13/2024

Part of the experience of eating barbecue is the initial hint of smoked meat, the faint whispers of slow-burning embers, and the sight of repurposed propane tanks that transform slabs of beef, chicken, and pork into mesmerizing feasts. That’s the first impression that chef-owner Winnie Yee intends to give smoked meat aficionados visiting her Asian-inflected restaurant.

— OC Register, 3/8/2024

After more than three years as a groundbreaking Chinese-American barbecue popup, Winnie Yee-Lakhani’s Smoke Queen Barbecue opens its first stand-alone restaurant in Garden Grove on Saturday, March 9. What began as a side project has since turned into a barbecue innovation that’s taken hold of the Southern California food world.

— LAist, 9/1/2023

American barbecue is often defined by its origin, whether coming from Memphis, Texas, or Kansas.

But Winnie Yee-Lakhani, known as the Smoke Queen, is crafting a new narrative by adding her own style of Asian barbecue.

— OC Register, 5/4/2022

Winnie Yee-Lakhani, of Fullerton, will appear on Season 3 of Food Network’s “BBQ Brawl” with superstar chefs Anne Burrell and Jet Tila, challenging the undefeated champion, Bobby Flay, for the title “Master of Cue.”

— The Kelly Clarkson Show, 11/22/2021

Chef Winnie Yee teaches Kirsten Dunst, Brooke Shields and Kelly Clarkson how to make her brisket bao recipe, and they taste test some of her most popular dishes, including a giant dino bone, truffle mac and cheese, and crispy pork belly.

— Eater LA, 11/18/2021

One of Orange County’s best barbecue makers is going legit in Garden Grove, with plans to build a full restaurant and on-site smoker setup similar to what has been accomplished further south in San Juan Capistrano by Heritage Barbecue.

— Spectrum 1 News, 10/11/2021

In the food industry, the most stereotypically masculine role is that of the pit master.

But in Los Angeles, more women are leaning into that role and breaking the mold. Two female pit masters in particular are not only changing the stereotype, but also infusing their own culture and tradition into barbeque.

— KTLA 5, 9/3/2021

Smoke Queen Barbecue founder Winnie Yee was live on KTLA 5 Morning News with Frank Buckley and Mark Kriski to tell share food from her Orange County based pop-up restaurant that specializes in fusing American barbecue techniques with traditional Asian flavors.

— New York Times, 7/20/2021

Ms. Yee-Lakhani is a self-taught pitmaster who learned the craft simply through cooking, again and again, and by picking up tips on YouTube.