For almost two decades, Dr. BBQ aka Ray Lampe swore by cooking his prized meats on the Big Green Egg—you know, those egg-like circular grills. Lampe even published a Big Green Egg cookbook and has repeatedly served as a judge for its various cooking competitions, like the annual “EGGtoberfest” and Florida’s Gulf Coast EggFest—which just happened a few weeks ago in Tampa.

Wherever you saw Ray Lampe, you probably saw a Big Green Egg next to him.

But on March 2, the acclaimed pitmaster announced that his spokesman contract for the grill company came to an end—after nearly 17 years.

Dr. BBQ’s Twitter read, “I’m very proud of my work with them [Big Green Egg] and everything we’ve accomplished together. We’re still friends and we hope to work together in the future.”

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Lampe stated that his departure from Big Green Egg was a mutual decision. When the Atlanta-based grill company offered a restructured contract, Lampe decided to decline and part ways.

It looks like Dr. BBQ is looking for a new sponsorship, because he also tweeted, “As of March 1st, 2020 I am available and seeking new projects in the barbecue world. Ray@drbbq.com.”

So if you want the one and only Dr. BBQ to endorse your product, shoot him an email and hope for the best. In the meantime, visit the Dr. BBQ restaurant in downtown St. Petersburg at 1101 1st Ave. S., where Lampe still uses his XL Big Green Egg grill everyday.

After an amazing 17 year run, my contractual agreement with Big Green Egg has ended.
I’m very proud of my work with them and everything we’ve accomplished together. We’re still friends and we hope to work together in the future.
— Ray Lampe (@DrBBQ) March 2, 2020

Want to know everything going on with Tampa Bay's food and drink scene? Sign up for our Bites newsletter.