Some took up pickleball. Many perfected a sourdough recipe.
But Chance Cozby’s prowess in the kitchen was his pandemic hobby that made him a social media sensation.
By day, Cozby is the executive director of The Thunderbirds. In his free time, he shows more than 1.5 million of his TikTok and Instagram followers how fun and easy cooking can be.
“I try to present good food in a really easy presentation and format that people can follow and feel like they can make it themselves,” Cozby says.
In 2021, Cozby’s son Catcher, then 14, had the idea to film his dad making the family breakfast, lunch, and dinner and put it on TikTok. He created the account and Cozby chose to name it 3 Pieces of Pecan, a nod to his late father who was an avid griller and smoker who regulated the fire with three pieces of pecan wood.
They started filming and posting.
“We didn’t know what we were doing. Not that we do now,” Cozby says with a chuckle. “Everyone was on their phones at the time, and we got a big following pretty quick.”
Within eight weeks, 3 Pieces of Pecan garnered 125,000 TikTok followers. Seven months later, Cozby started an Instagram account. After a few months, he gained a huge following there, too.
Cozby’s videos are primarily a minute long and composed of one- to two-second clips of what he’s making. His signature sign-off is him taking a bite, repeating the name of the dish he just made, and saying, “Damn good.”
Hailing from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Cozby grew up in a golfing family. His father, Jerry, was the head golf pro for decades at the Hillcrest Country Club in their hometown and was inducted into the PGA Hall of Fame.
Cozby followed in the family business, golfing since he was a kid and playing for the University of Oklahoma.
But he had another interest. And that started around the age of 8, when he began helping his mother Karole—who he says was a phenomenal cook—prepare the family meals. Making omelets together is among his earliest memories.
“I just liked food,” Cozby says. “I grew up in a golf and food family. It’s a very fortunate way to grow up.”
After college, in 1999, Cozby took a job with Ping Golf, which brought him to Arizona. He stayed with Ping for 20 years. He was the vice president of sports marketing when he left to take on the executive director post for The Thunderbirds.
Cozby cites a statistic stating that 56 percent of golfers enjoy food and drink when they’re on the course. While it may not seem like golf and cooking have much in common, Cozby sees what they do share.
“For me, food and golf have always gone together,” he says. “A lot of deals are done at the dinner table and on the golf course.”
Because of Cozby’s booming social media presence, he’s often asked to cater weddings, bachelor parties at private homes, and company holiday parties. Even the Oklahoma City Thunder organization asked him to cater an event in his home state.
He appreciates the requests but has turned every one down.
“It’s nice to be asked but it’s a pretty quick conversation,” he says. “I’m not a caterer. I’m not a chef. I’m just a home cook who cares about food.”
Cozby’s videos are mostly created indoors to accommodate what most viewers have at home. But once in a while he’ll mix it up with a recipe on his smother or pellet grill.
The best advice he received from his cooking enthusiast parents? Cook with love. This means always buttering and toasting the hamburger bun and thoughtfully dressing the burgers, for example.
“You can see when something was made with love or rushed,” he says.
And the thousands of positive messages and comments Cozby receives from his posts show that his philosophy is being embraced.
“The rewards are getting messages saying, ‘I found your page and you’ve inspired me to cook for my family and now, because of your page, inspiration, and recipes, I cook for my family twice a week,’” Cozby says. “I think that’s pretty cool.”
“For me, food and golf have always gone together. A lot of deals are done at the dinner table and on the golf course.”—Chance Cozby