Two Cowboys: Cracking Claws at the Inaugural Lobsterfest at Big Sky BBQ in Okotoks, AB

Lobsters Beware

There is a time of the year when every Atlantic Lobster should run for cover. It is Fall in Alberta, and Rob Bolton launched the inaugural Big Sky BBQ Lobsterfest.

No one told the lobsters. Before they knew it, almost 1,000 of them made the airplane trip to the Prairie town of Okotoks. It is the beginning of what is to become one of the largest events of its kind. You can mark our words. Rob is not going to hold back this time. He already has plans to double its size next year.

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He served the lobsters boiled, with lemon butter and bacon wrapped smoked corn on the cob to 420 hungry local folks. It was the second of two jam-packed entertaining evenings. Many of the guests made sure they got their tickets almost a month in advance. The ones that didn', lost out, or had to bootleg it from a local Okotokian on the Lobsterfest black market.

Observations

If you know the quality of BBQ at Big Sky, you will also know that Rob is a perfectionist. He will not relent until he's done it all perfectly and until every guest is thrilled with their experience. We were just excited to have an invite from Rob and to show you how it gets done at Big Sky BBQ.

By the way, the Lobster was delicious! You should have been there.

Hendrik van Wyk

Atlantic Cowboy

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Photos

In the Sun

In the Smoke

Lobster Grooming

Introductions

Machines

My Precious!

o-CNN: Chocolate and Coffee Show in Auckland, New Zealand

Artisan Collaboration

What do you get when you put cheese and chocolate together, beer and candy, or even better: Bourbon and Honey? We are not sure what you call these creations. Individually they are amazing. Together, we discovered them to be phenomenal!

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The Two Cowboys accepted an invitation from Dale Spencer to attend the annual Auckland Chocolate and Coffee Show. It happened at The Cloud on the Auckland Waterfront, during the recent Fathers Day Weekend (The Kiwi's do Fathers day on a different day to the rest of the world. Here it is done in Spring. As part Kiwi and part Canadian, I get to have Fathers day twice in a year.)

The show made a bold promise: "You will be enticed by irresistible aromas and exotic flavours, amazed by the diversity of products, surprised by the skills displayed, informed about techniques to use at home and excited about everything on offer for two days only at The Chocolate and Coffee Show."

It sounds like poetry, doesn't it? Enticing, amazing, surprising, informing, and exciting. We had to find out more. Come with us...

Observations

We think New Zealand is an oasis in the Producer and maker universe. The sheer number of artisan businesses in this beautiful country is mind-blowing if it is compared to other similar populations, like our native Alberta, Canada. A lot of these businesses are involved in the production of high quality food products. Chocolate and Coffee is no exception.

This makes sense given the agricultural abundance and climate of the two New Zealand Islands. Add to this old-world craftsmanship, with new-world innovation from a growing and ever more energetic immigrant population, and you have a winning recipe for creative artisan enterprise. People come from Italy, France, Brazil, England, South Africa, China, and almost every other nation of the world and end up within a melting pot of reinvention and new creation.

This energy produce quality products, better processes, and all round deliciousness. New Zealand as a country is better off for it. I don't think they know just how lucky they are.

To illustrate my point: In this small market, and in one room on a Sunday morning in downtown Auckland, we've found the worlds best Limoncello, the world's second best Blue Cheese for 2015, a beer that tastes like Rocky Road Candy, Beer Jelly, Chocolate Salami, Pilsner Ganache, Gourmet Nut Butter (with maple Syrup). The list goes on and on.

It is amazing to think that this is only one tiny sliver of a food show, amongst many that take place throughout the year. True food innovation is happening in New Zealand. It is delicious.

How can this be possible?

Here is a theory on why New Zealand has flourishing artisan food businesses:

• New Zealand Attracts Amazing Talent: People from all over the world flock to the safety and lifestyle of New Zealand, with a moderate climate and friendly tolerant people. This talent brings important and unique knowledge and skill from their home countries. They know how to produce some of the worlds best products and they have not choice but to give it a go in an environment that makes it easy to do. 
• Ingredients: Talent is married with amazing ingredients and access to processes and equipment. New Zealand produces some of the best ingredients in the world. Its dairy products are well known. Other ingredients are imported with little effort from all over the world. Equipment is locally manufactured by equally enterprising entrepreneurial engineers, or acquired from Asia, Europe and America. Training and education is accessible, and people are encouraged to be entrepreneurial.
• It is Easy to Do Business in New Zealand: Yes, the mandatory registrations, labour laws, safety compliance, and permitting is around as is expected (overbearing in some cases), but people tolerate the overhead in a flourishing economy. It is going well in New Zealand financially, compared to some of the other markets in the world. People have hope, stability and are encouraged to produce. 
• Access to Customers and Markets: For small artisan food businesses there are a number of market opportunities that stand out. Farmers' markets are abundant and well supported. Food shows and festivals take place often and give exposure to up and coming and established businesses. Online retailing is easy. Shipping locally and internationally is effective and affordable. It is a small country, and people travel easily. Enterprise mobility is encouraged. (New Zealand hasn't really woken up to the mobile food/goods truck scene, but it is only a matter of time before you will find them in main centres. Towns like Nelson (I've heard) have already embraced the movement.)
• Tourism: People from all over the world enjoy New Zealand's products and love to visit for the scenery. Tourism is now New Zealand's largest industry. Businesses serving this discerning market is encouraged, popular and does well financially. If small businesses cannot go to large markets, it is better to encourage these markets to come to you. New Zealand is doing a good job of marketing the country with visitor numbers growing year-over-year. 

As you can see. A lot is going right in New Zealand's small and medium producer business. We love to tell these successful stories. Keep an eye out for more from the Chocolate and Coffee show, and others as we discover them on our amazing journey. We promise to keep it coming.

Hendrik van Wyk
The Cowboy.

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Photos

Honeylicious

Someone said beer...

Like Mamma Used to Make

Cold One Candy

Feel It

Like Old Country

Macadamia

Macaroooon

Marbles

o-CNN: Destination Marketing Just Tanked in Canmore, Alberta

The Mountains Are All We Need

Or is it?

Canmore Business and Tourism (CBT) packed it in, closed, retired, ceased operations and left the building. The voice of, and for Canmore business is silent. Call it what you will, but things are not going to be what they've been before.

I am not going to make this a long post. Watch the video for our thoughts on the matter. 

Alberta's businesses are hurting, and as a result its people are hurting. For a short while, here in the mountains we thought we may be immune to the contagion that is murdering the enterprising spirit of Entrepreneurs and Producers in the rest of the province. Business is good in Canmore we tell ourselves. Tourism is up. We are lucky. People can work. While it is famine everywhere else, the mountain towns are thriving. 

It is then unfortunate that here too finally we have to face the reality that maybe our own community is not really as immune as we thought. No, we are not referring to the fall in oil revenues as the driver for our misfortune and the supposed cause for the Alberta recession. Rather, we are pointing to a lack of realization and understanding of what makes a community and a Province's future possible and successful in the first place: It is its Producers, the entrepreneurs, their businesses that follow, the jobs that are created as a result, and the opportunities it presents for people to move here, live and thrive. We profile them and make videos of what they do. You can see who they are on this site.

Contrary to (more recent) popular belief: Without a healthy and thriving business base, there is no community. As they say in the country of my birth - Africa: "If you eat the chicken, you have no more eggs." Give businesses a reason to be here and Entrepreneurs the encouragement to establish themselves, and see how well the rest of the people do as a result. Why is this so hard for our politicians to get? Market this destination.

Every weekend, thousands of cars drive by our town. Thousands of opportunities are lost until we flag them down and tell them our story, and show them what we have on offer. Canmore Business and Tourism was tasked to do this job, and they've done well with what they had at their disposal.

While the model for Canmore Business and Tourism was less than ideal, its motive, commitment and results were exemplary. Surely, there was a way to make it work then, Mr Mayor?

Canmore is not a business friendly town. Ask any entrepreneur and established business owner that tries to start or operate here, and they will testify to the hazards of navigating high operating costs, stupid property lease fees, labour shortage, skewed zoning laws, high living cost, autocratic and overbearing permitting, and a less than business friendly Town Council. Then add the more recent Provincial Government's taxation and legislative agenda, and it is a wonder any business is left in Alberta.

It is sad to see the one party, who was seen to be standing for the success of businesses in this town decide to call it quits. I personally don't blame them.

CBT just had to finally do what most businesses do under similar circumstances: They close down and/or leave. As a community we are going to be worse off for it. I cannot fathom what our Town Council was thinking to let this happen. Someone will have to take this one for the team.

Hendrik van Wyk

Canmore Business Owner

P.S. If Canmore Town Council think they can step in and do the job of destination marketing, then it will be time for us to reconsider our commitment to this lovely town too. I hear Nordegg is looking for new businesses... and they have mountains!

Who we are: We are a social enterprise. We are funded through donations and sponsorship. 
All our earnings are applied back to covering our costs of marketing and promoting Producers and inspiring local communities. Please support us to bring you more (www.forwardthefavour.com)

Two Cowboys on a Journey: Business Innovation Rodeo at Calgary Stampede 2016, Alberta Canada

Innovators Take Note

Entrepreneurs. Innovators. Producers and Makers. Grab your Cowboy hats. Put on your boots, and saddle your horses for Calgary's first Innovation Rodeo.

Now, you have the best excuse ever to make the trip to the greatest outdoor show on earth: Calgary's Stampede.

How about combining it with an annual business pilgrimage to the Calgary Innovation Rodeo to meet with Alberta's best Innovators, Entrepreneurs and business minds? These are people that can give you a hand in making your idea the next big one. They can help move your businesses to the next level. Maybe, they can connect you to a better business future. The opportunity is here. Your next move is to grab it with both hands.

What is the Innovation Rodeo?

A group of switched-on business people decided that the best time to innovate is when you have to reinvent yourself. This is exactly where Alberta's businesses are during the recent economic downturn. As Entrepreneurs in Alberta it is time that we look at new ways of doing things, or find new things to do.

The next best opportunity is when you have motivated innovators and business people from all over North America and the world visiting your town for fun and celebrations. That is when you make the connections and build your network. That is when you make your move.

Stampede week is when it is happening for Calgary. The whole city's summer energy is focussed on this epic celebration. Craig Elias and his team grabbed the opportunity of people visiting the city, to launch the Innovation Rodeo at the same time, and bring business people together.

The Innovation Rodeo is five days of education, collaboration, competition and celebration of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. You can attend individual sessions (if you need a day or two off) or buy tickets to the entire week. The Innovation Rodeo uses lunch and learns, innovation challenges, and panel discussions to help Innovators and Entrepreneurs connect with each other, to share and develop the relationships, and skills needed to commercialize their ideas faster.

Calgary's Innovation Rodeo connects out of town Innovators and Entrepreneurs with some of Calgary’s most promising Innovators and most successful Entrepreneurs, so everyone can develop new skills, solve innovation challenges, exchange ideas, and help each other commercialize their innovations.

On the last day the best solutions to the innovation challenges are pitched to celebrity judges who pick the winner of the grand prize.

We cannot tell you how excited we are about the launch of this initiative. For months we've toiled away at showcasing Alberta's Producers, and inspire people to become Entrepreneurs. Now we get to sit in on a pinnacle event with all of Alberta's entrepreneurial energy combined that promises to be the catalyst for more and better business in Alberta.

Please help us and support Craig and his team. Please be there. We will see you there. Get your tickets here: http://www.innovationrodeo.ca.

Hendrik van Wyk
Producer and Entrepreneur.
The Two Cowboys

Get rewarded for supporting our local Producers. Receive special offers and invitations from the Two Cowboys.

Who we are: We are a social enterprise. We are funded through donations and sponsorship. 
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Taking Flight

o-CNN: Mountain Market Day in Canmore, Alberta

Market Day in the Rockies

The Canmore Mountain Market is a summer tradition for over twenty years. It is an opportunity for local businesses and budding entrepreneurs to step out of their buildings, into the downtown core, and meet fellow traders and customers in person. It is an all round fun day once a week, with friends and acquaintances.

Rain or shine, this market showcases a variety of locally and regionally produced items including fresh fruits and vegetables (with seasonal Alberta and B.C. options when available) elk meat, fresh poultry, gelato, nougat, toffee, olive oil, crafts and baked goods. Buskers perform, and the food scene at the market is growing with gourmet choices in burgers, cheese melts, crepes, waffles, gelato and more.

The Market is located next to the Canmore Civic Centre Plaza right in the heart of downtown on 7th Avenue and runs every Thursday from 10am-6pm May 26th to October 6th. This may be a problem in future, because according to Canmore Business and Tourism the market is three times over subscribed. There just isn't enough space in the allotted downtown core to accommodate everyone.

You need to know a local to get a spot. It may be time for Canmore to consider expanding the market, or find a new location where more businesses can be accommodated. We want more businesses in Canmore and more people to enjoy our great town, don't we? If Canmore misses this opportunity, another location is bound to accommodate the demand and Canmore may lose out. That is just how business works.

It is inspiring to see so many people wanting to trade in Canmore and to see the quality of businesses that make it to this market. Who knows, the next step may well be an all season market for Canmore. It has my vote, for sure.

Enjoy the promo. More news from the market to come soon.

Don't forget to join our mailing list for special offers and experiences from our Producers. You can join here for special offers from Canmore's Mountain Market.

Hendrik van Wyk
Market Vendor

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Who we are: We are a social enterprise. We are funded through donations and sponsorship. 
All our earnings are applied back to covering our costs of marketing and promoting Producers and inspiring local communities. Please support us to bring you more (www.forwardthefavour.com)

Photos

You can take the Waffle out of Belgium, but not Belgium out of the Waffle.

An Institution

Samples!

Bling

This Way to the Future

Fun Market!

o-CNN: Food and Friends at Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta

Where Else?

Let's be honest. You don't really need an excuse to make it to Waterton Lakes National Park in the South Western corner of Alberta, Canada. The scenery there is so breathtaking, the air so fresh, and the water so spectacular that you have to make at least one pilgrimage in a lifetime to this place. It is a "bucket-list" visit.

The Two Cowboys had an excuse. We came for the breathtaking scenery. But, it was the food and the people that made us want to stay.

In 1858 Lt. Thomas Blakiston, originally a member of the Palliser Expedition, embarked on an expedition of his own looking for a railway pass through the mountains. On his journey, he encountered members of the Kutenai tribe who told him of the South Kootenay Pass. Taking their advice, Blakiston re-crossed the divide, traveling along what would later be called Blakiston (Pass) Creek and out to a chain of three large lakes.

On September 6, 1858, he wrote: "After two hours traveling on level ground along Red-stone creek (Red-Rock) we emerged on the Saskatchewan plains, just six geographical miles north of the 49th parallel and camped at the lakes... The scenery here is grand and picturesque...."

Blakiston named the lakes "Waterton", after British naturalist Charles Waterton, although the locals continued to call them Kootenay Lakes for many years after.

Food Festival

The Waterton Park Chamber of Commerce hosted the second annual Food Festival for the town. The Cowboy News Network managed to get an invite. It all happened on the last weekend of May and the first of June, 2016. 

For a town with less than one hundred permanent residents, we found Waterton surprisingly busy for late Spring. Locals tell us it is because they've had less snow this year. The warm weather drives people to make the trip. Wait until July to September, and you will have to share it with 600,000 other motivated visitors.

The business owners, many who don't overwinter in Waterton, usually open their doors beginning May to prepare fresh coffee, wieners, pie, ice cream and great Alberta fried chicken. This year it was no exception, and the Food Festival added incentive to get the cobwebs out, and the systems working early for when the really big crowds arrive. It all shuts down in October again.

The town was already bustling with tourist from all over North America and Europe when we arrived. A fair amount of people from Lethbridge, the nearest "big town", made it out for the festival too. "Local knowledge" dictates that you have to get your Waterton fill in June, else risk being stampeded and trampled during summer.

What more do you want in a holiday place that nature, friends and food? Waterton has plenty of it all. For our trip, the food was definitely outstanding. The Pie Cruise stood out as the highlight. You get to sample creative baking from local establishments, while cruising on the lake towards Montana. Even the eateries that don't serve pie baked for this trip. 

We were glad to finally make our first trip to Waterton Lakes National Park. Rest assured, we now have a good excuse to do many, many more. Now, we know the locals...

Hendrik van Wyk

Waterton Pie Enthusiast

Get rewarded for supporting our local Producers. Receive special offers and invitations from the Two Cowboys.

Who we are: We are a social enterprise. We are funded through donations and sponsorship. 
All our earnings are applied back to covering our costs of marketing and promoting Producers and inspiring local communities. Please support us to bring you more (www.forwardthefavour.com)

Photos

The View

Getting There In Style

Montana

Time Machine

Pie Heavenly

o-CNN: Cowboy News Network - Canmore Uncorked, Cooking Class

Did Someone Say Vodka?

We quickly dropped in for a shot of Vodka at Elana's Cooking Class. It is one of the many fringe events of the Canmore Uncorked Festival.

On the menu was Borscht and Cabbage Rolls, amazing wine, Ukrainian Vodka (which we didn't get to taste) and a hearty dose of fun and laughter. Did I mention that we missed out on the Vodka?

This class took place at the Paintbox Lodge in downtown Canmore.

The Paintbox Lodge is an intimate boutique hotel nestled in the heart of downtown Canmore, owned by Olympic medalist, Sara Renner and World Cup Champion, Thomas Grandi. The Lodge is a reflection of the local champions – relaxed, welcoming and professional.

Their intimate and well equipped kitchen is the venue for cooking classes from some of Canmore's best chefs throughout the year. For this one, it was thanks to Canmore Uncorked that we got to meet Elana and her attentive students.

Elana, previously from Mountain Mercato kicked off her teaching career by showcasing how to cleverly lure in a meatatarian with vegetables on the menu. We thoroughly enjoyed our drop-in. Elana assured me that you are not expected to cook your own food at these classes.  There was a lot of laughter, a great intimate atmosphere, and no more Vodka.

Next time Elana, I bring my own ;-)

Hendrik van Wyk
Aspiring Chef and Vodka Connoisseur

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Please help us to bring you more of these programs by supporting us on Patreon: www.forwardthefavour.com. 

Photos

The Lodge