What picture pops into your head when you hear the words “barbeque expert”? Is it a big beefy guy, tongs in hand, maybe a bit red-faced from hovering over the coals and the beer can in his other hand; his ball cap and t-shirt or apron inscribed with the logo of his favorite barbeque competition, festival or sauce?

Steven Raichlen couldn’t be more different.

Slight of build and slightly rumpled, bespectacled, with salt and pepper beard and thick curly hair, he looks more like an academic than a good-ole-boy. But his appearance is the least of the reasons he’s known as “The professor of barbeque,” that his first PBS cooking series was titled “Barbeque University,” or that millions of copies of his barbeque books have been sold and translated into 15 languages.

He sounds more like an academic, too, though not at all stuffy. Before a recent appearance in Chicago to promote his latest book, Planet Barbeque, Raichlen told me about his sideways journey into the world of barbeque: “I’d graduated from college with a degree in French literature – my senior thesis was on an obscure medieval French poet. And then I was lucky – I got a fellowship from the [IBM founder Thomas J.]Watson Foundation.”

Raichlen used the fellowship to study medieval cooking in France. Which, of course, was all done over live fire. “I became fascinated by the interface of food and culture,” he says. That fascination extended itself not just to medieval France, but also to the development of cooking over fire and how it has developed and is practiced all over the world.

Literally. In Planet Barbeque’s introduction, Raichlen says that “grilling over live fire is practiced 24-7 on all seven continents,” noting that even in Antarctica, Russian scientists recently braved double-digit below zero weather to grill pork shashlik (shish-kebabs).

He writes: “For some people (especially if they live in the southern half of the United States) barbeque means the low, slow, smoke roasting of [such things as] Texas brisket or North Carolina pork shoulder. For others…the vast majority of citizens of Planet Barbeque…the process involves direct grilling steaks, chops, kebabs, burgers, breads, vegetables and fruits quickly over a hot fire. . . .

Thus, for practical purposes, [my definition of] barbeque embraces the ancient art of cooking with live fire, a specific cooking technique involving wood smoke, a series of iconic dishes, a meal prepared and eaten outdoors, and a communal food experience. When I say barbeque I mean…all of the above.”

In Chicago, “Professor” Raichlen delivered a lively and fascinating lecture on the evolution of barbeque and its influence on humans’ physical evolution (cooked food is easier to digest and metabolize as well as to eat, with consequently less time spent chewing, lead to smaller teeth and jaws, making the mouth and tongue more agile for speaking) as well as social evolution (shared communal activities of cooking, eating sitting and sleeping around a fire). He noted similarities between grilled stuffed egg preparations in medieval France and Cambodia and illustrated differences and similarities between barbeque methods and preparations around the globe. And he said that, unlike chefs [and passionate amateurs] “most barbeque folks in third world countries are pretty far down on the socio-economic scale. Every culture creates the kind of barbeque that fits its resources, customs, and so forth.” And most make fantastic barbeque without fancy/expensive equipment.

His audience couldn’t have been more enthusiastic. “You’ve changed my life,” said one. “You’ve given me a hobby as well as a passion.” Two high school teachers told Raichlen they’d used his books and techniques