Our team

Founder & pitmaster — ST Oliver

ST Oliver is the founder and head pitmaster of Dreamteam BBQ. He started the company in 2015 after five years abroad — learning low-and-slow technique in Texas (with BBQ masters in Austin and Lockhart) and knife work and yakiniku-style cutting in Tokyo.

Over the last 10+ years Oliver has personally led more than 500 events across Estonia and Finland — from intimate 20-person backyard birthdays to 5000-portion festival days. He writes hand-written notes the morning after every single event — what worked, what didn't. The collection now spans 800+ pages.

Oliver has spoken at Estonian BBQ community conferences, been interviewed by Eesti Päevaleht and food bloggers, and mentors two Finnish pitmaster apprentices.

Numbers we can publicly share

2015

Year Dreamteam BBQ started

500+

Events over 10 years

47

Events in 2025

38

Birthdays and milestones in the last 12 months

11

Events in Finland in 2025

4,600

Largest festival day in portions (Pärnu, 2024)

280

Largest private milestone in guests

19h

Longest single brisket smoke (Saaremaa, 2023)

Our kit — specific models

• Primary smoker trailer: custom offset-style smoker trailer with a 1800 L cooking chamber, built 2019 in an Estonian metal workshop to our spec. Holds up to 60 kg of brisket at once.
• Mobile small smoker: more compact 600 L chamber for smaller 20–40 person events.
• Yakitori grill station: binchotan charcoal grill for Japanese-style cuts.
• Cold-chain containers: three 200 L insulated containers for pre-event transport.
• Generators: Honda EU22i (primary) plus a backup EU10i for critical milestone events.

Where our meat comes from

• Beef (Black Angus brisket, ribs): Eesti BBQ Beef OÜ, a Lääne-Virumaa farm operating since 2017, specialising in Black Angus. Cattle averaged 22–26 months, pasture-raised.
• Salmon and trout: Saaremaa fishery, Nordic waters.
• Pork: Põlvamaa farms, free-range.
• Vegetables and plant-based sides: local Estonian farms, rotated by season.
• Every supplier has been visited personally and every delivery arrives with a specific batch number traceable from farm to plate.

Specific events from the last 12 months

• 70-guest 60th milestone at a private cottage in Harju-Madise (May 2026)
• 94-guest 50th birthday at a Viimsi private garden (June 2026)
• 42-guest afternoon get-together at a Pirita garden (May 2026)
• 180-guest tech company summer day in Tallinn (August 2025)
• 4,600-portion festival day at the Pärnu summer festival (July 2025)
• 8 events in the Helsinki region (over 2025)

We only disclose client names with prior written consent. We default to not naming clients — that's their call, not our marketing.

Weddings only in the intimate format — honest positioning

Over 10 years I've received about 400 wedding enquiries and for years the answer was no. The position is now sharper: we do take intimate weddings and pre- or post-wedding dinners for up to 30 guests, in the Private Chef or small grill-catering format. We do not take classic large wedding catering — that needs a precise 45-minute service window after the ceremony, while our brisket cut is a 90-minute show.

We made two large-wedding exceptions (2019 and 2021) and both times the quality was below our standard. In the small format it is the opposite: with 15–30 guests around the fire there is no service-window problem, because the cooking itself IS the evening's programme. We chose instead to be the best in the world at events where the food and live cooking are the centre of the enjoyment — birthdays, milestones, get-togethers, festivals, corporate events.

This is the honesty we chose over trying to do everything. If you are planning a large wedding on a tight schedule, still write to us — we'll recommend providers we respect.