"Big Will" Tolbert is without a doubt the most talented person with a grill that I know. After a successful career in the NFL, he has continued his love of football by coaching, mentoring and filling the bellies of his teams. He is loved by all for his indefatigable nature, his dedication to and caring for his players and his mouthwatering culinary extravaganzas.

He is famous in the area for not only his unbelievable cooking but for his grill. He constructed it himself and can be seen pulling it behind his truck. It is more than just a grill, however. It has become a symbol of his impact on football and the boys who have played the game in our area. For years he has hosted an annual pig roast for the high school football team and parents. He has served pregame meals and become legendary for his tailgate parties. From seafood gumbo to barbecued chicken, ribs and shrimp and all the trimmings, he cooks in such huge amounts that no one ever goes home hungry. He is as ready with an encouraging word as he is with a morsel from his grill. He is a role model and a local grilling legend.

"Big Will" Tolbert is a big guy with a big grill and an even bigger heart. Using a grill and his mouthwatering food as a starting point, he spreads his enthusiasm to an ever wider circle. And here we thought that grilling was simply a cooking method.

Family/background: "I grew up in Hastings, a small town in North Florida that sits between the Atlantic Ocean and the St. Johns River. I met my wife, Terrie, while playing in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles. I have three boys and a dog named Georgia."

Career: "I work for a company called C.S.U., a software and high-speed printer/copier service provider."

Hobbies, interests: "Football, coaching football, coaching Special Olympics, gardening, golf, fishing and oh, yeah . . . cooking."

Who taught you to cook? "I learned a lot from just watching my mother when I was younger. [Cooking] was one of my chores that I had to share with my three sisters. I had a great-uncle who taught me grilling skills in a ground pit. Since then, I've designed and built grills with help from my friend Russell Cox."

How did your love of cooking develop? "When I went into the NFL, I would cook for some of my teammates. Tuesday was our day off, so Monday nights a lot of the single guys would meet at my house with ingredients and a recipe from their moms or grandmothers, and I would make the dishes for all of us."

Cooking style: "Good old-fashioned American country style. A little bit of this . . . a little bit of that."

Early food memory: "I think I was about 14 years old, and I cooked a meal for my mother. It was Mother's Day, and I wanted to do something really special for her. I prepared a meal of roast beef, succotash, rice and corn bread. She still says that was the best meal she ever had."

Who do you cook for? "I love to cook for my wife and the boys. They are probably the best food critics in Atlanta. And of course my friends -- all 2,000 of them!"

What is the most enjoyable aspect of cooking? "It is music to my years to hear people say, 'Mmmmm . . . mmmmm. Can I have some more please?. . . Is there any left? Can I have that recipe?' "

Specialties: "I can cook anything on the grill. I have a big grill that I tow on the back of my truck for tailgating and such. I roast a mean pig, too. Usually I get requests for my smoked salmon, smoked turkey and crab cakes. Just the other day at a friend's house, I prepared some prawns on the grill. They said they were the best shrimp they ever tasted. That was a real compliment, being that they were from Louisiana and they have such terrific food there."

Culinary achievements: "I had a small catering company in Philadelphia. I also won several local barbecue cook-offs in Philadelphia. (But that was not fair considering the best barbecue is homegrown in the South.)"

Culinary ambitions: "I would like to open a small barbecue shop so I can hear the ongoing mmmmmms."

Memorable flop: "I once roasted a pig for a friend of mine, and when we went to remove it from the grill, it fell into the fire. We let the flames die down, pulled it out, scraped away the ash and then ate pig!"

Do you favor a particular ingredient? "Fresh garlic and sweet onions."

What's the magic ingredient that makes some cooks turn out great food? "Buy fresh ingredients. I am lucky to have a friend, Kurt Mulberry in Gainesville, who has a farm. I always know whatever I get there is fresh."

Favorite cookbook: "Joy of Cooking." My mother-

in-law gave my wife and me a copy when we first got married. It's like a basic reference book."

Favorite chef: "Justin Wilson. I enjoyed watching him because he was laid-back and funny."

If you could prepare a fantasy meal for anybody, who would it be and what would you cook? "If I could get all the leaders of the world to sit down at a picnic table with a checkered, red-and-white tablecloth and feed them barbecue for about two hours, wash it down with some sweet tea and finish it off with some homemade banana pudding, that just may be a good step to world peace. It's hard not to be real and honest when you're licking sauce off your fingers in front of others and you're rolling your tongue around in your mouth just to experience that taste just one more time. That's just my slant on things."

-- Betty Parham

MAIN DISH

Stuffed Smoked Salmon

Makes 8 servings Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

"This recipe came about because one of our friends is allergic to shellfish. One day I was eating a mango while I had salmon on the grill, and that's how it got started. I love onions so it seemed natural to add them, too."

Tolbert fillets and splits a 6-pound whole salmon and then butterflies each side. He then stuffs one side with a crab meat mixture and the other with mango and sweet onion (for his guests who might be allergic to shellfish). For most of us, butterflying two large pre-cut fillets and cooking them on their own would be easier. Just adjust the amount of stuffing accordingly, using his recipe as a guide and watching to make sure the fish isn't cooking too quickly. Tolbert recommends grilling for the smoky flavor, but in a pinch you can bake the fish in a 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through.

1 large salmon (about 6 pounds) gutted and filleted

6 Key limes

2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning

2 tablespoons ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

8 to 12 ounces fresh crab meat

1/4 cup bread crumbs

2 green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon hot mustard

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce or to taste

1 large mango, peeled and chopped

1 sweet onion, chopped

Preheat a grill to medium.

Fillet and split the salmon with sharp knife. Butterfly each half. Place each piece on foil. Squeeze limes on each piece, using 3 limes on each half. Let sit for at least 10 minutes. In a bowl, combine Old Bay, both peppers and paprika. Sprinkle evenly over both pieces of fish. Let this sit while you prepare the stuffing.

In a bowl, combine crab meat, bread crumbs, green onions, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Add the egg and mix well. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine sweet onion and mango.

Stuff crab mixture in the pocket of one fish half and mango mixture in the other. Place both pieces with the foil on grill. Cook over indirect heat (turn off one side of grill if using gas) for 20-25 minutes or until both sides are cooked through.

Per serving: 516 calories (percent of calories from fat, 28), 76 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 16 grams fat, 227 milligrams cholesterol, 435 milligrams sodium.

Who are the best cooks? We're looking for Georgia home cooks who deserve recognition for their talents and who have interesting recipes to share. Fax at 404-526-5509, e-mail kitchen@ajc.com or write to Betty Parham, Food Department, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 72 Marietta St. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30303. Give us your name and phone number, as well as the name and number of the cook you'd like us to consider. And tell us a little about what makes this cook special.