Spearheading the BBQ revolution from her hometown of Chicago as a pitmaster, Chef Dominque Leach, who owns South Side's Lexington Betty Smokehouse (named "The Best BBQ in Chicago" by Good Morning America) with her wife Tanisha Griffin, has teamed up with Vander Farmers, a family-owned company and the leading source of F1 American Wagyu in the Midwest, to formally launch her own line of Wagyu Dogs nationally on Tuesday, Jan. 10th. The premium gourmet product received the USDA stamp of approval to distribute in a retail setting and is available now online for nationwide shipping through Lexington Betty's online store.
The release marks the first of multiple BBQ products to be announced for national distribution in 2023 by Chef Leach and Vander Farmers. Additionally, the LBS x Vander Farmers team are pledging a percentage of sales of all Wagyu Dogs sold for the first month of the launch to Chicago's 501C3 charity, Coffee, Hip Hop & Mental Health, founded by Christopher LeMark, to help further mental health advocacy work across the city. "Mental health in the chef and restaurant industry is an important topic to me personally, knowing how hard it has been in my journey and what I've seen others endure as well, particularly in marginalized communities, which is why I'm supporting CHHAMH with this launch," says Leach.