Backyard SmokeMaster BBQ is a county-permitted Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKO) in Clayton, California. Pitmaster Kenyatta Robinson smokes brisket, spare ribs, beef ribs, tri-tip, chicken, and pork belly to order, seasoned with rubs he blends himself, and sells on a pre-order pickup basis to neighbors — many of them close enough to walk over. Below is where that work has been covered, along with everything a reporter needs to write about it.
Featured In
The San Francisco Standard — September 21, 2026
“SF could soon let people sell hot food from their homes”
By Jillian D’Onfro, The San Francisco Standard
San Francisco moves toward legalizing MEHKOs as Supervisor Jackie Fielder introduces an ordinance; Backyard SmokeMaster BBQ is cited as an example of what’s already working in counties like Contra Costa.
“I didn’t want to take that type of risk.”
Kenyatta Robinson, Backyard SmokeMaster BBQ, in The San Francisco Standard
The Epoch Times — August 25, 2026
“California Residents Welcome Program Letting Them Run a Restaurant at Home”
By Helen Billings
A look at California’s MEHKO program and the Contra Costa County operators building businesses under it. Contra Costa County Health reports it has issued more than 100 MEHKO permits since 2024. Backyard SmokeMaster BBQ is featured alongside several other local kitchens.
The permit process provides confidence to our customers.
Kenyatta Robinson, Backyard SmokeMaster BBQ, in The Epoch Times
Patch / Bay City News — May 12, 2026
“Home-Based Restaurants Get Green Light In Contra Costa County”
By Andres Jimenez Larios, Bay City News
Coverage of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors clearing the way for permanent home-based restaurant permits. Kenyatta Robinson, one of the Clayton operators working under the program, is quoted on why he pursued it.
I needed a way to generate income for my family while also being present for the people who needed me most.
Kenyatta Robinson, quoted by Bay City News
The Short Version
For reporters and editors on deadline.
- Business: Backyard SmokeMaster BBQ
- Owner and pitmaster: Kenyatta Robinson
- Location: Clayton, California (Contra Costa County)
- Permit: Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKO), permitted by Contra Costa County Health since 2025. Kitchen inspection and food manager certification on file.
- Founded: Kenyatta bought his first smoker, a Weber Smokey Mountain, in 2015.
- What’s cooked: brisket, spare ribs, beef ribs, tri-tip, chicken, pork belly, plus house sides. Own rubs, slow-smoked. Sold whole or by the pound.
- How it’s sold: pre-order only, scheduled pickup weekends and holidays.
- Legal limits of a MEHKO: 30 meals per day, 90 per week, $100,000 in gross annual sales. Food is prepared, cooked, and served the same day, sold directly to the customer.
- Also runs: a YouTube channel and a weekly livestream podcast for backyard barbecue cooks, and the Backyard SmokeMaster Society, an online community for people learning to cook better barbecue at home.
- The program: MEHKOs were created by California Assembly Bill 626, effective January 1, 2019. Counties opt in individually. Contra Costa County made its ordinance permanent in May 2026.
About Kenyatta Robinson
Short bio
Kenyatta Robinson is the pitmaster behind Backyard SmokeMaster BBQ, a county-permitted home kitchen in Clayton, California. He cooks brisket, ribs, and tri-tip to order for his neighbors and teaches thousands more to do it themselves through his YouTube channel and weekly podcast.
Long bio
Kenyatta Robinson bought a Weber Smokey Mountain in 2015 after his father-in-law’s smoked ribs got the better of him. What started as weekend practice turned into a YouTube channel, a weekly livestream podcast, and an online community of backyard cooks trading notes on fire management and bark.
In 2025 he took the next step and got permitted under California’s MEHKO program, which lets residents run a licensed food business out of their own kitchen. Backyard SmokeMaster BBQ now sells slow-smoked whole meats on a pre-order pickup basis from his home in Clayton, seasoned with rubs he blends himself. Most of his customers live within walking distance.
He argues the permit is the product as much as the barbecue is: a county inspection and a food manager certification are what let a stranger order dinner from a house and know what they’re getting.
Media Kit
Available on request:
- High-resolution photos of the food, the cookers, and the pit
- Headshot
- Footage and stills from the YouTube channel
- Kitchen visits and cook-alongs, by appointment
For interviews, quotes, or photography:
Kenyatta Robinson
kenyatta@backyardsmokemaster.com
Reporters working on California MEHKO stories: happy to talk on the record about permitting, the daily and weekly meal caps, pricing a small-batch kitchen, and what the program does and doesn’t make possible.
Hungry?
Pre-orders open ahead of every cook. Get the menu and the pickup window before it fills.