Aaron Franklin and the Best Brisket in the World. Today we continue the countdown of the Most Influential People in BBQ with the 14^th most influential person in BBQ. Coming in as the 14^th Most Influential Person in BBQ is pitmaster and owner of Franklin Barbecue in Austin, TX, Aaron Franklin. 

Aaron Franklin is in a league all by himself when it comes to accolades being showered upon a BBQ restaurant. You name the publication, from Bon Apetit to Texas Monthly to Food & Wine to the New York Times) and Franklin's Franklin Barbecue has probably been heralded as one of the top BBQ joints in America, if not the top BBQ joint in America. If you want to talk about influence over eating, Franklin has so much influence over the taste buds of his customers that they will wait in line for hours in hopes that they arrived early enough to reach the meat counter before the SOLD OUT sign goes up on the door. Perhaps the most remarkable part of this success story is that Franklin opened his restaurant in 2009 and obtained his status as one of BBQ's few celebrity chefs in only a few years.

Franklin gained even more notoriety on Destination America's hit TV show BBQ Pitmasters, where he joined Myron Mixon and Tuffy Stone as a judge. Franklin opted to retire as a full-time judge on BBQ Pitmasters in 2013 to focus more on his restaurant and other projects. We can't wait to see what Franklin's next project will be, but we're certain he will continue to influence the world of BBQ restaurants like no one else to the point where they have been elevated to and compared to fine dinning establishments.