DJ BBQ  ‘crusts’ a move at the Stockholm Pie & General Store

Rachel Kroeger

Staff

June 23, 2025

STOCKHOLM – An international entertainer accustomed to smoking “meats and beats” recently gave baking treats a shot at the Stockholm Pie & General Store in West Central Wisconsin – home of the Best Pie Shop in America, as designated by USA Today’s 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards in 2024 and again in 2025.

Alan Nugent, co-owner of the Stockholm Pie Company, recently welcomed DJ BBQ and the crew of the national television show “Lost In” to his store to film a segment on the shop and its award-winning pies.

“This is incredible,” Nugent said of the show taping. “And we have to give credit to the West Coast of Wisconsin organization, which is the local destination marketing organization that represents communities from Bay City to Nelson (and) along Lake Pepin. They’re the ones who did the work to get this put together.”

The “Lost In” series, according to its website (lostinseries.com), was created to put the most “unique and up-and-coming” communities on a national stage – immersing viewers in “a new place through awesome adventures, great food and good times.”

Its host, DJ BBQ – a.k.a. Christian Stevenson – said the “Lost In” series is just the latest project of his extensive career in broadcasting, live entertainment and barbecuing.

“I was born in Washington, D.C., raised in Maryland, spent my summers in between Iowa and Virginia Beach and left America about 30 years ago to go walk the earth,” he said. “So, I’ve been making films and TV shows for 30 years all around the world. I’m now based in the United Kingdom.”

Following the broadcast of its inaugural season last fall, Stevenson said the “Lost In” team is on the road again to expose its viewers to hidden gems in West Central Wisconsin and beyond.

The DJ BBQ Experience

Kicking off his media career covering Xtreme Sports events – “skateboarding, snowboarding, BMXing, surfing (and) all the action sports” – Stevenson said he realized he couldn’t “grow old” in the industry.

“I’m not Tony Hawk,” he said, “but I can grow old in my love of barbecue. So, I reinvented myself as DJ BBQ.”

Raised by his single father in the 1970s, Stevenson said he’s been barbecuing since he was a child.

“The first thing I learned when I was about six or seven years old was how to cook barbecue, because (my dad said), ‘I need help – you kids need to learn how to cook,’” he said.

Later in life, at about 16 years old, Stevenson said he discovered his passion for music and live performing.

“I love throwing parties, (and) I like making people dance – that just feels really good,” he said. “I’ve done everything from heavy metal to funk, to soul, hip-hop, indie rock – you name it. I can do it all. I call it ‘the kitchen sink.’”

However, similar to Xtreme Sports, Stevenson said he recognized the entertainment industry was not one he could grow old in – prompting him to combine his love for barbecue and live entertainment into a new, European-based venture.

“I imported a bunch of (meat) smokers from America, and I cook Carolina-style barbecue in Europe,” he said. “I have a sound system, we have pyro(technics), I DJ (and) I cook barbecue. The quickest way to someone’s heart is through their stomach and their ears. So, we just throw parties, and we like to have a good time.”

Prior to moving to Nottingham, England, to take care of “the missus” and his one-year-old child, Stevenson said he was living in London – “probably one of the top three best cities in the world for food” – when he created the DJ BBQ live catering experience.

“It’s a labor of love, it’s stupid (and) it’s silly…,” he said.

Stevenson’s back-of-house crew, he said, consists of the same chefs one would find working on the popular cooking shows “Great British Menu” and “MasterChef.”

“My two main chefs, Sam and Choppy, do the back-of-house on those shows,” he said. “Whenever you watch a cooking show, there’s someone behind the scenes making the dish that they’re going to have the contestants make later, but making it look amazing. That’s what my guys do. So, I have the best (chefs) because it’s difficult food, and that lets me concentrate on the entertainment.”

Lights, camera, pie!

Similar to the DJ BBQ experience, Stevenson said working on and hosting the “Lost In” series – produced by Bluewater Media out of Clearwater, Florida – he is likewise surrounded by some of the best chefs in the world, allowing him the opportunity to always improve on his craft.

“Bluewater (does) a lot of commercials, and they really want(ed) to (break) into entertainment,” he said. “They met me, and they go, ‘Well, we think we can now make this move into entertainment.’ So, we shot a (“Lost In”) pilot (episode) in Florida, and it works.”

Bringing viewers to “off-the-beaten-path towns” and shedding light on the accomplishments of businesses like the Stockholm Pie & General Store, Stevenson said he and his crew are always surprised by the places they discover on the road.

“It’s amazing when you go to these hidden gems and find the Best Pie Shop in America, or find a James Beard (Award)-nominated restaurant, like Chef Shack. I mean, the two ladies who work there have worked in some of the best restaurants in New York, in Paris, in London – their pedigree is insane.”

Stevenson said learning from the chefs, bakers, butchers, brewers, mixologists and more who he visits while getting “Lost” across the country is one of his favorite parts of the job.

“I’m always learning, and that’s the beauty of the show,” he said. “I get to go around the world, talk to people, talk to chefs and just watch what they do. I’m constantly taking notes (and) I’m asking questions – not just for the audience, but I’m asking questions (for myself, too).”

For the “Lost In” episode on the Stockholm Pie & General Store, Stevenson said he got the opportunity to make a pie himself alongside Nugent and his team, and sample the shop’s award-winning lemon lingonberry pie – “voted one of the best things to eat in the world by Gourmet magazine.”

“Not Wisconsin, not America – the world,” he said. “(The) lemon and lingonberry pie (with a) homemade secret recipe crust (has) a classic southern custard, fresh lemon zest on top and then the important lingonberry. You’ve got to keep it Swedish (to) represent Stockholm and the culture that built this town.”

After trying the award-winning pie for the first time, Stevenson said it tasted so good, he wanted  “to crawl back into the womb.”

“I like savory things, and I do like a bit of sweet, but I also love tang and tartness,” he said. “I can see why this pie was one of the best things to eat in the whole world.”

A little slice of heaven

Founded in 2008, The Stockholm Pie Company is co-owned by Nugent, Steve Grams and Nugent’s sister Janet Garretson.

“She’s now retired, and we lovingly refer to her as ‘her Pie-ness,’” he said.

In 2004, Nugent said he and Steve owned “a tiny space” of the building they now fully own and operate out of (located at N2030 Spring St.) when Janet moved from Kansas to the small village of roughly 80 people.

“She was a nurse and always wanted to have a little coffee shop (or) pie shop,” he said. “So, we thought, ‘We got this little space, let’s do this for fun.’”

Nugent said they began selling her pies there on the weekends, and “within months” – per stockholmpie.com – press from across the U.S. were writing about the delicious dessert Janet “learned (to make) from a friend in rural Kansas many years before.”

“Now, all 8,000 square feet of this building are involved in pie somehow,” he said. “Whether it’s the retail stores or production or shipping – we ship on goldbelly.com, which is (where) the most iconic foods of America get shipped.”

During and following the COVID-19 pandemic, Nugent said business took off as both pie and West Central Wisconsin became “a safe space for people.”

“Wisconsin had more of an open atmosphere than Minnesota,” he said. “So, a lot of people discovered us during COVID, and it just kept going afterward.”

Opening the general store the same year they bought the building and founded the Stockholm Pie Company, Nugent said it was initially its own separate business.

“We kind of merged all the businesses and then added a marketplace now a few years ago, and it’s been incredible to see the growth,” he said.

The top floor of the building, Nugent said, housed Stockholm’s “original opera house” where he and his staff now hold pie-related events.

“We use it for pie flights, pie pairings – we just did a candy bar inspired pie flight, (and) we had a cream pie flight just a little bit ago, there’s so much going on,” he said. “We did a whiskey, cheese and pie pairing flight, (and) everything is Wisconsin-made.”

Products both made by and sold at the Stockholm Pie & General Store, Nugent said, primarily use Wisconsin-sourced ingredients – something he said is a pillar of their business operating out of a rural, Wisconsin village.

‘Selling comfort’

Being “an hour and a half from four million people” in the Twin Cities, Nugent said it’s not uncommon to “see 600 or 700” people at the shop on any given weekend.

“We sold something along the lines of 35,000 slices of pie last year,” he said. “It is the perfect escape, and we’re not just selling pie. We’re selling ‘grandma,’ we’re selling comfort, we’re selling an experience that takes you back to a different time, which I think people really need.”

Nugent said he was recently informed that the Stockholm Pie & General Store was named the Best Pie Shop in America for 2025 – making it two consecutive years of the recognition.

“The fact that so many people shared our passion for this place… I was blown away (and) teary eyed,” he said. “My sister’s recipes and what my sister created, there is none better, but it’s way more than that. Beyond the experience, it’s the people that are getting it (and) that are understanding or are embracing this… Thank you to all the folks that voted because we can’t fathom how many people had to do that for us to win (again).”

Based in a small, close-knit community like Stockholm, Nugent said the authenticity of his establishment attracts both pie and travel enthusiasts from across the country – similar to the many other West Central businesses DJ BBQ and his crew targeted for the Lost In episode.

Along with Chef Shack, “Lost In” crew members said the Wisconsin episode of the show’s second season will feature segments at the Lake Pepin Marina and of water skiing at Legacy Skis, as well as at Township 23 Distillery, Villa Bellezza and the National Eagle Center – spotlighting the “food scene, outdoor recreation, music and local icons” of Wisconsin’s West Coast.

The second season of “Lost In,” per Bluewater production coordinators, is expected to premiere this fall.

For more details on the show and where to watch, visit the Lost In website or its social media pages.

And, for more information on the Stockholm Pie & General Store – or to order one of their award-winning pies online – visit its website as well.