A native of Washington, D.C., Abe grew up with Southern Italian cooking on his mom’s side and Southern Virginian cooking on his Dad’s side. After graduation from Vanderbilt University, he spent eight years in the US Navy as a Seahawk helicopter pilot before earning his MBA at the London Business School. In 2013, Abe and his family returned to the US and he worked as Director of Innovation for a charity to launch a direct trade Ugandan coffee with social impact. This experience introduced him to the food industry, and in 2015, Abe made the decision to combine his passion for healthy cooking with his entrepreneurial spirit to create True Made Foods. He now lives with his wife and four kids in Alexandria, VA, where what little spare time he has is spent shuttling kids between multiple sport practices and events.

Known as “The Pitmaster” in barbecue circles, Ed Mitchell has been cooking traditional whole-hog barbecue since he was a teenager in Wilson, North Carolina. A grandson of a small farmer, Ed was surrounded by natural, good-tasting food as a child. Thanks to a chance launch and Ed’s habit-forming barbecue, Mitchell’s Grocery soon morphed into Mitchell’s Ribs, Chicken & B-B-Q. As the business grew, so did Ed’s reputation. In 2017, Abe reached out to Ed to collaborate on new barbecue sauces. True Made Foods fell right in-line with what Ed was looking for—Ed had recently been diagnosed as pre-diabetic and was worried about the sugar that had crept into his family's life and his beloved barbecue over the years. An immediate bond was formed, and True Made Foods and Ed launched the Pitmaster line together in 2018 at the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party.

Ryan Mitchell grew up in barbecue. He was prepping hogs and tending the coals alongside his dad, Pitmaster Ed Mitchell, for as long as he could remember. While barbecue is in his blood, growing up alongside it was a constant chore. The unrelenting work around barbecue pits initially made Ryan want to forge his own path. Ryan earned a scholarship to play football at East Carolina University, and after graduation, went into investment banking. The 2008 financial crisis then changed everything for him—Ryan was given the choice of taking a severance or moving to Singapore. He chose the severance and turned the experience into a growth event. He took a look at his life and realized that his heart and heritage was really back in barbecue.

A native of the Bronx, NY and a daughter of Indian Guyanese immigrants, Vanessa grew up with various culinary influences, from the Caribbean to Asia.  Vanessa graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York and began managing restaurants in New York City. She has managed some of the busiest and most famous restaurants in the City, from Harlem to downtown. Vanessa now lives on Long Island and manages True Made Foods’ various marketing programs.