RD’s Southern BBQ: A Love Story
By: Cherileigh Co
Petra Dean and Jean Rimpel, business owners and married couple of RD’s Southern BBQ in Brampton, Ontario.
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, ripe. talks to Jean Rimpel and Petra Dean, the married couple behind RD’s Southern BBQ, Brampton’s sole Southern take-out restaurant. Since recently moving their 10-year business this past year from Mississauga, they have continued to present an establishment full of Creole flavour.
“In Brampton, we have worldly cuisines in the palm of our hands that we don’t need to travel to Toronto or elsewhere. We just need to make the effort to go out. During Valentine's, everybody is going to do one thing for sure, they’re going to enjoy a good meal,” says Rimpel.
As a former Montreal chef, Rimpel handles all of the cooking, whereas, former Toronto hair stylist Dean takes care of the business and administration. The pair is an unlikely star match as Jean is an outgoing sagittarius and Petra is a feisty scorpio, yet they have known each other for 32 years, together for 16 and married for 14 years.
In full force, this is a family business. Rimpel and Dean have mentored their son, Osei Bonsu through it all. “We’re a team. But I bust their balls, they drive me crazy. I bust their balls again, they drive me fucking crazy,” says Dean.
The RD’s namesake comes from each of their last name initials. “The name is always stuck on your mind,” says Rimpel. “Everybody always asks, ‘Is this a franchise?’” adds Dean.
Rimpel learned how to cook from a young age by his Haitian mother, Zaza. In every dish he creates, he brings his Creole roots into factor. In fact, his ancestry goes back to 1898 New Orleans where his great-great-grandparents had lived.
“Jean doesn’t take shortcuts with food, he’s going to cook it to its fullest potential,” says Dean.
Court Bouillon: catfish and jumbo shrimp on a bed of jasmine rice, seasoned with Rimpel’s secret Creole spice blend.
In 1972, Rimpel and his family immigrated to Montreal from Haiti. As a result, Rimpel met Dean when they were both 19-years-old at a Montreal wedding through mutual friends. The best gesture Rimpel made Dean was a wine and cheese charcuterie board full of dried fruits, nuts and several varieties of cheese. “I’m a big cheese lover. He got me with the cheese and fruit platter. We still get my favourite, Balderson cheddar at Costco,” says Dean.
Originally, they started RD’s Southern BBQ out of the joy of hosting get-togethers in their Brampton home. “We love to entertain at home because Jean is always known to cook. I already know who’s coming over on Sunday. Maybe that’s why we can work together and go home together, because we’re not loners. We both like having love and laughter around us,” says Dean.
At home, Rimpel cooks every type of cuisine ranging from a Filipino kare-kare to most recently, a Southern staple, Court Bouillon that’s full of seafood, his special Creole spice blend and the Cajun Holy Trinity (celery, bell peppers and onions). “Food is the essence of where we are. Why stay in our cocoon, when we can explore and discover different flavours? That’s the way I grew up. I always need to cook something new and make sure my family does, too.”
Most of RD’s popular menu items are inspired by their die-hard regulars. More specifically, their group BBQ platters such as the Caveman Platter and Max + Henry’s Good Time, as well as all-time favourite sandwiches: the Big Daddy—grilled chicken breast, breaded jumbo shrimp with veggies, RoRo dressing and aioli sauce; and Dean’s Bad Habit—pulled pork and beef brisket smothered with their house BBQ sauce in between a toasted brioche bun.
“Max and Henry were teachers that used to come to our original Mississauga location every Thursday and bring a large group of coworkers at RD’s. So, we created a group platter full of BBQ and sides with no boundaries,” says Rimpel.
Dean’s Bad Habit available at RD’s Southern BBQ. Slow-cooked pulled pork and beef brisket slathered with RD’s special BBQ sauce.
Through times of tribulation, Rimpel and Dean always push the business forward and continue to excel at what matters most to them: love. “When we fight, we always resolve it and the love continues. He’s my soulmate, I know I can rely on him when we get older,” says Dean.
“She’s my best friend. Without friendship there’s no love and vice versa,” says Rimpel.