Two Cowboys is Celebrating What's Right With the World

The Trap

This year has been unprecedented on so many levels. We are lost for words at the madness of 2020. It is tragic that at a time when we need each other more than ever that we are being driven apart. 

As I am writing, months since my last blog entry, we still face lockdowns, mandatory mask-wearing, travel restrictions, closed borders, business closures, event cancellations, growing unemployment, layoffs, food shortages, deficits, increased inflation, cancelled contracts, snitch-lines, social distancing, riots, and death. 

Celebrating What's Right with the World!

No, it is not a coronavirus. It is not a thing that is doing this to us, our society, and our community. It is also too easy to blame the Chinese, the politicians, or the Government. With all the adversity, we are constantly reminded about the things that are wrong with the world. Are we in this mess because of Climate change, Big Oil, Capitalism, Patriarchy, Intolerance, Income Disparity, Racism, Hate, Colonialism, Apartheid, Trump or Bigotry? 

By imparting our responsibility for our salvation to the whiffs and whims of others, we are inviting 2020 to be our world. We blame instead of respond. It is someone or something else that is responsible for making it all a mess. They are screwing it up for everyone, we say. If only there could be fewer men, less money, more credit, lower carbon, less plastic, fewer cars, higher wages, a vaccine, more tolerance, fewer people.

The fault and the solution seem to conveniently be just out of reach - to be found elsewhere. You get the picture! 

Escape to '21

Why has it then become so incredibly challenging to recognize what is right with the world?

Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, our world is in large part the product of our thoughts and perception. We have the power to define our experiences and responses to the things around us. We contribute to our collective bubbles - our community, town, Province and Country. 

How we interpret our circumstances creates our reality and influences the behaviour of those around us. Yes, we are doing 2020 in large part to ourselves because we tolerate it. We are the dreaded virus. Unwittingly, we are also doing it to each other. 

The bad news is that we will remain trapped for as long as we continue to listen to the echo chambers of society's zombie hums of despair. Endorphin tapping amplifiers of desperation (referred to comically as "social media") will continue to milk our time and attention for calamity. It happens while we become more disconnected, separated from our friends, from our community, our partners, and even our children.

With a small shift in our perception, we should be able to recognize and create beauty again. We should be able to restore hope in the future. Trust our neighbour's intentions. With a simple decision, we can commit to extending the liberty we expect for ourselves, to each other. We can sidestep blame and engage for prosperity.

We need not look elsewhere for a new or better world. We have the mental power within us to make the call. We've had it all along within our grasp. The place to start is with ourselves. A simple decision of "No more!".

Nothing will change until something changes. Then, hit the uninstall button. Save yourself. 

Disconnect to connect. 

Share a Meal

For eons, food brought people together. We survived by pooling our resources for a meal. We joined forces with neighbours for safety and formed friendships around a fire. The moment we became human was when we shared a meal. This is where we will reconnect. 

By cooking and eating together again we can change the world for ourselves and for others. Going back to the beginning around a fire should be the best place to make new connections. It is where we can begin again to recognize what is right with the world. 

That is why the Two Cowboys encourage you to Eat, Drink and Live. Create a better future for yourself and for your community. Cook. Share. Invite family and friends to join. Meet strangers. Recognize what is right with the world. 

Welcome to tomorrow!

Hendrik

Cowboy Nouveau

Photos

Two Cowboys HQ

Cooking with Fire

A Feast

Cabin Fever in the Ou Transvaal - Cowboys Cooking with Acacia BBQ

Cabin Fever Remedies

January and February are cold months in Canada. By the time late-February rolls around, Canadians are grumpy. Cabin fever sets. Children and old people go missing. Ice Hockey referees resign, and parents get violent. Strange things that happen in the winter lands of ice and snow.

We've been living in Canada for 12 winters now. Every year we are still astounded to see just how much of an influence the winter blues have on people around us. Many lucky ones escape to warmer climates. Popular destinations include Mexico, the Southern United States, and a few lucky ones make it Downunder or to our homelands - Southern Africa.

This year we stayed home under our blanket of white. To counter cabin fever, we relied on our diligent preparation and applied remedies that didn't involve children, violence, sticks, or rock hard rubber disks. We saved items and happy thoughts for the occasion. Some things we used as crutch included a little Mieliepap, Old Brown Sherry, a few vintage Peppermint Crisps, Dry Wors, Jelly Tots, and some frozen slivers of Biltong.

Then we remembered our African lump charcoal from Acacia BBQ. Willie, one of the owners, left us a stash in the Fall with a mini-braai before he himself escaped to warmer climates. What a happy discovery!

DO YOU WANT YOUR BUSINESS OR COMMUNITY FEATURED?

The Bushveld Smell

Why bring Charcoal from the other side of the world to Canada?

Honestly, unless your first breath in this life was that of a Bushveld Braavleis fire, you will be hard-pressed to follow the logic. In reality, charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by removing water and other volatile constituents from plant materials (Wikipedia).

Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis - the heating of wood or other organic materials in the absence of oxygen. The advantage of burning charcoal, compared to burning wood, is the absence of water and other components. This allows charcoal to burn at higher temperatures, and give off very little smoke ("...regular wood can release a significant amount of steam, organic volatiles, and unburnt carbon particles - soot - in its smoke when it is not burned completely."). The end result is the solid-state of the one thing that drives the hysteria and New-World religion - carbon. Burn it, and you have pure carbon monoxide - plant food!

The charcoal you buy for your local BBQ or Braai at your supply store is close to, but not pure lumps of carbon. Where the mass and weight of the material is concerned, one chunk of plant material-derived carbon is much like the next. However, not all plant material is destroyed in the manufacturing process. There remains a faint memory of the origins of the wood due to some unburned content and volatiles. These are the remnants that impart the particular characteristics that differentiate Oak derived charcoal from Muskeet, Applewood, or in the case of Acacia BBQ, African hardwoods.

That is why a bag of Royal Oak differs from Kingfords, Canadian Maple, and the rest. The mass and density set the temperature, and the time it burns (hence briquettes are very similar in performance). The unburned material and volatiles impart the flavour. It is this flavour of the Bushveld smoke that took us home when we lit our first box of Acacia BBQ charcoal on a little Easy Grill.

Acacia BBQ charcoal is a product of HB’s Premium Char Imports Ltd. It is available in Canada and the USA. The charcoal they import is the result of 10 years of trials and tribulations to realize the dream of a family business.  Acacia BBQ searched all over Southern Africa to find producers that would bring the “braai” (BBQ) experience of Africa to North America.  They are conservation-minded and source the materials sustainably while remaining sensitive to the socio-economic issues and opportunities of Africa.

Observations

If you haven't breathed the Bushveld, then you will be forgiven for considering the Acacia BBQ product, just another premium lump charcoal. Burn-time and temperature don't set it apart, and you will be forgiven for thinking it is expensive. Remember, it did come from halfway around the world.

It is the flavour that sets it apart! We consider the profile baby perfume-like. Yes, we are biased because our memory receptors are triggered to take us to our happy place - a bushveld fire, the sun setting, jackals howling in the background, and a "tjoppie" sizzling on the braai (grill), fueled by African hardwoods.

We thank Willie and Acacia BBQ for this huge present at a time we needed it most. He gave us another glimpse of heaven and reminded us of where we came from. This is our Valhalla!

It made -25C a little bearable this time around. We escaped Cabin Fever for another year. If you want the smell of Africa for your meat, then cook with Acacia BBQ. That is why we do it.

Hendrik

Cooking Cowboy

Photos

Christmas Box!

Little Fire!

Eazy Grill

Wors!

Cooking with Fire

Two Cowboys Cooking in 2020!

Cooking Cowboys

Today marks the start of a new chapter in the lives and the stories of the Two Cowboys. We are embarking on the Two Cowboys' "Cooking" adventure.

"What will be different?" We are glad that you asked.  

The Two Cowboys Experience

We live the Two Cowboys Lifestyle, exploring local producers, small towns and celebrating great food. We film it and showcase our experiences through our online content. However, this time, we will also have an open invitation for people to participate. Come and do it with us. 

You've seen the movie, now drink the milkshake, pull the pork, rub the butt, bite the brisket, lick the sauce, and share in the adventure.

We will cook, cater, and eat our way through tremendous food experiences, and we invite you to enjoy it with us. You will be able to learn, cook, sample, and feast with the Two Cowboys and our partners.

The Two Cowboys Cooking adventure will be in three parts.

• The Two Cowboys HQ and Milk Bar: This Spring, we are launching the Two Cowboys Cookhouse (HQ) and Milk Bar "pop-up concept" in Greenwood, British Columbia. It will be our new home base where we will have our kitchen, cookers, and smokers on display as we cook because we love it. At this location, we will redefine what it means to hang out around a fire with friends. During the special events, we will sample-serve traditional hearty to-go fire-cooked favourites and unique and amazing gastronomical marvels. On special occasions, and by invitation, be prepared to bite into delicious apple smoked pulled pork, creative and flavourful arepa creations, boerewors, porchetta, ribs, lamb shoulders, and much, much more. We will complement it with locally sourced cheeses, ice creams, milkshakes, custards, cakes and chocolate dessert creations. We promise that there will always be something new, top quality, and out of the ordinary to savour from the community in Greenwood, BC, on Highway 3.
• Two Cowboys Exclusive Catering Events: With our partners, we are also taking the show on the road. We will be hosting exciting food events in unique and unusual locations in celebration of producers and seasonal local produce. During these events, we will be showing off our gear, instructing, cooking local ingredients, tasting, and enjoying exceptional dishes with our guests and supporters. You will find us at local craft breweries, vineyards, campgrounds, in a tent, on a vacant lot, at a food festival, parking spot, in a forest, or on a beach - wherever we can share the gospel of fire cooking local produce.
• Two Cowboys TV and Blog: All the time, we will continue to produce online content to showcase, chronicle, and entertain you with the adventures of the Two Cowboys lifestyle. 

DO YOU WANT YOUR BUSINESS OR COMMUNITY FEATURED?

Our travels and the time we've spent with many producers over the last three years made us realize one significant fact. Just how right we've been to celebrate the makers and producers in our communities. 

In particular, we marvelled at the dedication of our farmers and food producers to persevere in a world where quality and authenticity remain under threat. It is why we are motivated to showcase and celebrate even more of their work by preparing, cooking, serving, and sharing their products and those of our partners that allow us the opportunity to do it. 

There is a profound reward for makers in the simple act of creating and adding value. In its purest form, we've recognized how people change for the better in health and outlook when they embark on something as simple as regularly finding, cooking and sharing food. By doing it over a fire, it becomes even better - no matter the weather (Yes, we are cooking in the middle of the Canadian Winter). 

We continue to pursue and share our passion online and offline, for this highly rewarding and sacred ritual. We also endeavour to bring even more people into the fold of preparing and eating real, locally produced, and self-cooked food. We hope you can share the journey with us as this unique adventure continues and promises to become something impressive.

See you on the road!

P.S. If you want to partner with the Two Cowboys on any of the above, then please get in touch. We are on the lookout to feature produce, partners, chefs, hosts, and unique locations for the festivities.

Hendrik

Cooking Cowboy

Photos

Two Cowboys

Cooking School

Flame Grilled

Two Cowboys H-Q

Off the Desk and Into the Sauce with House of Q in Vernon, BC

Share It

If you are tired of mixing the same seasoning spices every time you cook a steak, then you have to meet Brian Misko. If you are not up to making your own BBQ sauces from scratch, when quickly needing to grill a pork chop, or slow smoking a butt, then House of Q is your home. You have something in common. If you are in need of tasty BBQ seasoning spices and sauces for your cooking hobby, there is a Q solution.

Brian built a business from it. He created base seasoning and saucing for his out-of-control hobby and then shared it with other like-minded BBQ and grilling enthusiasts. It quickly became the go-to for customers pressed for time, with no appetite for compromise. People that require award-winning foundations for their love of meat. He called it House of Q.

Successful companies come from innovative entrepreneurs that invent products or services out of necessity. People who take their products to market for others to also enjoy. Brian is one of the best examples of how to start such a business. He is selling something he made, like, and use regularly. By doing it, he is adding value with his products, advice and support, to other like-minded enthusiasts in his BBQ industry.

This is part of the TWO COWBOYS' EPIC GLOBAL TRAVEL & CULINARY EXPERIENCE - 2019! 

Episode 1 - Cooking with Yoders

Episode 2 - Cooking with Q

DO YOU WANT YOUR BUSINESS OR COMMUNITY FEATURED?

Escaping the Pod

It is an all too familiar, yet, still an inspiring story. According to Brian, it started around 2004. His cubicle in the software industry became too small. His escape was the discovery of his love for cooking. More and more of his time went into this passion. BBQ competitions followed. Before long, a little media attention, and voila! House of Q was born as a byproduct of this drive for award-winning food.

BBQ'ers have few choices for making a living from their passion. Some will call it art. Many cater to functions. A few start restaurants or smokehouses. Even fewer become entertainers. Starting a manufacturing business and launching a consumer brand with the name "House of Q" is probably one of the hardest and gutsiest ways to earn a living.

Brian escaped his pod. Today he spends his time honing his competitive cooking streak, developing new products, promoting them where he can, and inspiring others to discover their own food passions.

What he makes, promises to deliver a little help on the way to BBQ salvation. It includes a cookbook, seasoning spice blends, and sugary smokey spicey sauces - the necessary base ingredients for old-fashioned low and slow Southern BBQ. In his free time, he is generous with his advice and his commitment to inspire healthy living through good eating, and the art of cooking with fire.

Observations

Here is where the House of Q meets the Two Cowboys. We eagerly promote something we enjoy.

The Cowboys likes using Brian's products. It saves us from assembling our own beef pepper seasoning, which mostly contains the same ingredients. Q's all-purpose seasoning works equally well on pork ribs and chicken. We cannot decide if we like the Rocking Red or the Apple Butter Sauce more. We guess it depends on our mood and the amount of beer lubricating our cook. All we know is that our pork has never tasted more "Appelly" and "Zingy" when combining the two.

When it comes down to it, we share a passion for cooking with Brian. We agree about the need to advocate for more people to cook, grill and BBQ at home. You eat better that way. We both buy from local food producers, sourcing in-season ingredients for our cook, and include more fresh vegetables and meat protein in our diets.

Above all, we love sharing our passion with the people we call our friends. There is nothing better than to cook with fire, doing it for, and with the people we love, and findings innovative ways of telling the world about it. That is why we like a little House of Q. It comes from the same place.

Enjoy!

P.S. Get your House of Q products here.

Hendrik

Cooking Cowboy

We earn our livelihood by producing great content and supporting inspiring people, businesses, and communities. Please book us here so we can tell your story too.

Photos

Getting the Sauce

Quality Control 

Recognize it

Do You Want A Healthy and Fulfilling Life? Start by Making Toast or Frying an Egg

The permutations and cultural preferences in food preparation are colourful as the people of the world. Every corner of the planet is full of uniquely regional ingredients. The way to prepare ingredients for a meal also uniquely developed with, and lead to the way people are living and working in a particular area. Our cultures, tastes, rituals and preferences developed around our food and meal habits. 

The best way to maintain and celebrate our identity is thus with our people’s unique foods. Our food not only feeds and nourishes but also directs our mental state and determines our physical health.

Catalysts

There are two ways we can grow or change. Either, life does it to us, or we do it to ourselves. In both these cases, a catalyst is required to get things underway. A catalyst is a person or thing that precipitates an event that leads to a change in circumstances or behaviour. If you want to have a healthy and fulfilling life, with good friends, you need a catalyst. 

There is ample evidence that because of the relationship with our food, we as humans developed into the uniquely dominant species that we are. When we prepare food, we learn, we share, and we make friends. When we are involved with our food, we are more likely to eat better, and as a result, live healthier and happier lives. Unfortunately, in our “modern” world, this involvement is fast becoming a casualty as the majority of people are losing the opportunity or the interest to cook. 

In this blog post, we are making the case that it is time for us to start cooking again. Our food is the catalyst for our health, fulfillment and we are likely to have more good friendships. It is as simple as starting with making toast or frying an egg.

This is part of the TWO COWBOYS' EPIC GLOBAL TRAVEL & CULINARY EXPERIENCE - 2019! 

You Need a Yoder!

More Yoder!

DO YOU WANT YOUR BUSINESS OR COMMUNITY FEATURED?

Make It

Our development and evolution are directly influenced by our relationship with our food. Consciously or unconsciously, a lot of what happens in our lives still have some connection with what, how, when and with whom, we eat. It is evident from the amount of information published about our diets, and about the ongoing conversations, we have with the people around us about what we choose to eat. Keto, Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, Meatatarian are now commonly used houshold terms and pops up often in day-to-day conversations. This blog is not about defining our relationship with food, but rather, making the case that our food is the catalyst for a whole lot more meaningful living. Let me walk you through the logic.

Our unique approach to nourishment turned us into responsible learning organisms. The best learning we can do is to discover how to feed ourselves. Knowing how to hunt, grow, prepare and enjoy our food was always the basis for our survival. Unfortunately, this knowledge is increasingly in short supply in a society where it became easier to UberEats or HappyMeal than to crack an egg or fire up a grill. Heaven forbid we find out where eggs actually come from or visit a pig farm for bacon!

Our fulfillment as human beings suffered when Google Search replaced hunting, opening the fridge replaced foraging, and the submit button on a takeout app or the on button of the microwave replaced food preparation and cooking. When we are no longer directly involved with what we eat, we deny ourselves the most primal and uniquely human opportunity for intellectual development - learning about our food and how to prepare it. Our chance and ability to learn through sourcing and preparing a meal is lost, and with that, a whole lot of personal value eliminated.

Yes, we are learning organisms. Our position in the food chain and dominance on planet Earth came about because of the energy we've put into building our intellect around food. It also influenced the development of our social structures to help us source and maintain our food supply. Even our physiology developed to make our minds our most dominant survival feature. Instead of physical strength, speed, or agility, our best tool to survive and evolve became our ability to learn, reason and remember how to stay safe, what to eat, where to find it, and how to prepare it.

To have a more fulfilling life, we should cherish the opportunity to learn about our food while preparing a meal. It starts with something as simple as making toast or frying an egg.

Share It

Our species' first priority for our intellect was and still is, to learn how to survive. Our survival depends on how well we can procreate, protect and nourish ourselves. We quickly learned as humans that we share this as a common goal with those closest to us. We learned a long time ago that it is easier to cooperate with those that have the same needs. It is more valuable to do it with those we care for most, like a spouse, parent, child, or sibling.

With this as a priority, our intellect developed to enable us to maintain and benefit from cooperation. The way it started was with our need to eat and survive. To meet this need, we learned to foster relationships and cooperate. The way we relate and interact with others followed a similar logic. It means that when we forage together, prepare and share a meal, we are more likely to have things in common and successfully cooperate as a result.

We are better able to foster meaningful relationships with those that share in the task. It satisfies another of our critical primal urges - our need for acceptance. It is how good friendships start and is maintained. People that cook and eat together are more likely to develop and foster healthy, meaningful relationships.

Love It

Preparing food is work. Not knowing what and how to prepare food makes it even harder work. Yet, herein lies the opportunity to learn and discover what makes each one of us healthy and unique. We have to eat. We may as well eat with a purpose and do it with the people we love.

The permutations and cultural preferences in food preparation are as colourful as the people of the world. Every corner of the planet is full of uniquely regional ingredients. The way to prepare ingredients for a meal also uniquely developed with, and lead to the way people are living and working in a particular area. Our cultures, tastes, rituals and preferences developed around our food and meal habits. The best way to maintain and celebrate our identity is thus with our people’s unique foods. Our food not only feeds and nourishes but also directs our mental state and determines our physical health.

When this alignment is violated, a delicate balance is destroyed with dire consequences for society. It has health consequences and ultimately contributes to the disruption of culture and identity. For example, societies not accustomed to high carbohydrate intake and sugary foods become diabetic and obese. It's been happening all over the world. The best model can be found in the Pacific Islands, where diabetes became an epidemic because of the change in the food supply. Where dairy isn’t a staple, people are lactose intolerant. This is the case in some Chinese populations. Yet, they are consuming more and more dairy because it became more readily available, and in some cases, even fashionable regardless of the health consequences. The biggest offender of them all, processed foods, introduced carcinogens that destroys unique and essential gut bacteria. Our gut bacteria help with digestion, and it has been proven that it also has a link with a person’s mood and mental health. Processed food leads to increases in the occurrence of gastrointestinal disorders like gluten intolerance, autoimmune diseases, and even depression. The Inuit needs their seal blubber not only to survive, but to be healthy, and to be Inuit. The same with the Bushmen hunting in Africa. They need their meat and to celebrate every hunt. It is who they are.

It is far too easy for us in our global convenience-driven societies to abandon cultural and meal conventions. Many of us cannot remember what and how our people used to eat. We have to revisit the cookbooks of our forefathers to rediscover our preferences and tastes. These conventions developed over thousands of years. It made us what we are physically, mentally and culturally. By abandoning it, we are not only risking our health. We are risking our mental state and who we are. It is becoming quite apparent that we are unfortunately too eager to embrace new meal conventions, and there is a price to pay for doing it.

The bottom line is, regardless of the improved availability of all kinds of ingredients and foods, thanks to globalism and large multinational food producers, we remain captive physiologically and culturally to what is our diet. If we violate this accord with a BigMac or SugarySlurpee, we risk physical and mental health.

When we prepare our own food, it is easier to pay attention to what is good for us to eat. We can source the right ingredients and cook it in a way that aligns with our preferences, cultural identity and, with our physiology. Not only will we be eating better. We will also be healthier and happier as a result.

Observations

I started this blog post with the statement that a healthy and fulfilled life, with good friends, begins with making toast or frying an egg.

It doesn’t have to be toast or eggs. What it should be is a daily dedication to source ingredients and prepare meals to share with those we love. The result will be a lifelong learning experience as we learn not only how to prepare our food, but also how our food brings our friends and family together for healthier and more rewarding lives. It is what we’ve been doing for thousands of years. We should do it again. At our very foundation, it is who we are.

Hendrik

Cooking Cowboy

We earn our livelihood by producing great content and supporting inspiring people, businesses, and communities. Please book us here so we can tell your story too.

Photos

Camp Cooking

Thirsty

Pork Chop

Foodie Friends

Food Love and Dedication

Good Food is Food You Cook Yourself - BBQ and Grilling is as Basic and Easy as it Comes in Alberta, Canada

What You Are Eating

"Fast food" is everywhere. It means, unfortunately, that bad food is too. 

Because it is easy to get cooked food fast, many people are forgetting how to prepare it themselves and are probably unaware of what they are really eating. I know this is a gross generalization. It may upset some people. These may be the very people that never paid attention to how grandma boiled potatoes or pulled a roast chicken from the oven. I bet they can't even fry an egg.

There is a whole generation of Millenials that think milk comes from a factory and burgers should be made in laboratories. Most of what they regularly consume comes from an oil fryer, and they have their local restaurants, and food establishments on speed-dial through technology like "Skip the Dishes" and "Uber-Eats". No wonder they gravitate towards veganism! They are unlikely to be eating enough good food.

Here is the revelation. Whatever you order from a restaurant is probably sub-standard. You can buy better at the supermarket, cook it yourself, and it will ultimately taste better, and perhaps be even cheaper. By cooking for yourself, you may learn something. You will definitely also make a few friends along the way when you also share your work with those around you. 

If you don't cook your own food, you are probably not eating well. Let's take a closer look at the economics of a food establishment in today's world.

This is part of the TWO COWBOYS' EPIC GLOBAL TRAVEL & CULINARY EXPERIENCE - 2019! 

Heritage Heat Ep1

Alberta BBQ Ep2

DO YOU WANT YOUR BUSINESS OR COMMUNITY FEATURED?

Buy vs. Cook

This is the scenario. It is a case that will probably be out of reach for most people. However, it will put in context what good restaurant food may look like. What will be a fair price at an upmarket downtown establishment, when we order a 450g rib steak, scalloped potatoes, another green vegetable and a salad?

Without the trimmings, side dishes and drinks, and excluding tip and tax, the steak alone will probably set you back around CAD$45 - CAD$50. How did they get to this price? Consider that you have the cost of the slab of beef, the skill of the chef/cook, some seasoning, the overhead of the facility and the margin built in as cost to the price of the meal?

According to "Forbes" magazine, the average gross profit margin for a fine-dining restaurant is around 60% with a food cost percentage between 38% to 42%. Because we are looking a premium piece of produce, there is a good chance that the portion of meat that is served in this scenario set the restaurant back around $21.

Remember that the meat is the star of the meal, and clearly, it is the most expensive part of what is served, so everything else should contribute to pay the rent and wages. The potatoes, vegetables, salad, wine, etc. must deliver substantially better margin than the 60% (charged over and above in this case).

Here is the surprise. The price the consumer is willing to pay ultimately determines the profit a restaurant can squeeze out of a meal. If you and I are eager to slap down $50 for a steak, then a good restaurant will creatively engineer their food and overhead costs to maximize the return from that $50 of wallet spend, without diminishing their brand or upsetting customers with a sub-par experience.

The question is, what can they get away with?

This is where creativity starts in the restaurant business. Either they have a heck of a deal to get prime produce really affordable (because they buy vast quantities, know the farmer, grow their own beef, blah, blah, blah, or let's just say it is where the cook/chef's talent come to shine. They likely take an average (or below-average) cut and dress it up to be served as a prime cut for a top dollar.

Now, think what you get served at a fast food restaurant. Where is the margin coming from in a $10 Happy Meal? Not so happy anymore, are we? No wonder, they try their best to obscure what you are really eating from the fryer.

You can cook for yourself. Visit the grocer or butcher and buy a prime piece of meat. Drop it on a hot grill for 4 minutes a side. Slap it with some garlic butter and a little S&P and another couple of minutes in the oven. See how that compares to your $50 barely adequate rip-off restaurant steak.

I cannot fathom why I would choose the restaurant's steak over my own unless I have money to burn or masochistically feel like tendering for a round of prime indigestion. The point is, you may ultimately spend the same money if you want to (if you pick the 90-day, dry-aged, prime cut that is actually the 90-day, dry-aged, prime cut). However, you will be eating better, because you know what you're cooking, and you have no incentive to cheat yourself out of a perfect meal.

Which brings us to barbeque and grilling.

Observations

We cannot wait for the BBQ season to start. Granted, we BBQ, grill and cook year-round. We are die-hard braai boere from South Africa. Before we came to Canada, we didn't know there was another way to prepare food!

The good thing about BBQ season is that there is a season for it. As with most things in Northern America, there is no half-measure. It is done with complete commitment, enthusiasm and dedication. Rain, snow or shine, the cookers will be running with brisket, pork, sausage, chicken and for the really adventurous they even do baked cheesecake, bread, and desserts, in what is really just a big woodfired oven.

The best part of the BBQ season is that you get to do something primal with good friends. You gather around a fire and prepare food as it was done for thousands of years. It is where every cooking adventure should start and where it ultimately provides one with better eating and a better quality of life.

If you cook your own food and do so with friends, you will be a better person. You will enjoy life more and likely to be happier and healthier. This is the Two Cowboys guarantee.

Come along. We'll show you how we do it.

Hendrik

Cooking Cowboy

We earn our livelihood by producing great content and supporting inspiring people, businesses, and communities. Please book us here so we can tell your story too.

Photos

Pork Chop

Steaks

Original

Beast

Salad!

Sitting Out the Alberta Winter with Fried Chicken and Spiked Frulattes at Marv's in Black Diamond, Alberta

Worth the Trip

The Cowboys have a few favourite ways to pass the time when it is cold outside. 

One way is to visit friends in Alberta to do some home-style cooking. Marv Garriott, the owner of Marv's Classic Soda Shop and Diner, invited us to Black Diamond for such a visit. He wanted to tell us more about his special fried chicken and unique peanut butter burgers. We had a little surprise installed for him too with a spiked Frulatte!

This is part of the TWO COWBOYS' EPIC GLOBAL TRAVEL & CULINARY EXPERIENCE - 2019! 

DO YOU WANT YOUR BUSINESS OR COMMUNITY FEATURED?

Winter is a particular time in Canada. Canadians find all kinds of ways to make the most of the snowy, frosty season. Ice Hockey, Ice Fishing, Skiing and Sledding are a few of the activities that make winter exciting and bearable. You also have the festivities of Christmas Markets and the Holidays that precede the big freeze.

However, by late February and early March, the novelty of winter has worn off. Canadians become grumpy and start to look for something new to do. These are also the hardest months for some of Canada's tourism-related small business owners. People avoid travelling when it is cold. It means that business is slow during the mid-winter months.

If you are in locations outside the main centres, you are hit harder. As a business owner, you really have only two options during this time. Either, you shut your doors and sit it out, or you find ways to draw attention to your store with something new or unique.

A fifties diner is not new or unique. However, Marv managed to add his own personal style to this iconic attraction in small-town Black Diamond. During the Summer months, weekends are busy when people stop for a malt shake, ice cream and his unique hotdogs, sodas and burgers.

During winter things are really slow. It is then that Marv comes up with new recipes and twists on old favourites like his trusty crispy fried chicken. According to Marv, it takes a little longer to properly prepare his chicken. That is why it is not on the menu during the busier summer months. He reserves the chicken for the slower winter months instead. It is hearty and worth the trip to have produce that he sources locally, brine, bread and cooks personally, for his loyal customers.

Observations

We've often seen in Canada that small business close down during the winter months. They do it to preserve cash and to prepare for when the warmer season starts again. It has a knock-on effect for others in the community. When small businesses close their doors, even if it is temporary, then casual staff go without wages, local producers don't sell their produce, and destinations don't attract visitors.

Surely, this cannot be good for their communities. Kudos to Marv for staying open and supporting his local clientele. All we can ask is that you give him a hand by stopping by for some fried chicken or burger, and a milkshake. Who knows, you may also be able to have a yummy Frulatte to remind you of the approaching summer? In the mid of winter, we know, it is a welcome reminder.

Hendrik
Frulatte Cowboy

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Eating Mopane Worms, Biltong, Pang and Pap at ATKV - Klein Kariba in Bela-Bela, South Africa

Coming Home

While Canada is in the middle of winter’s icy grip, we decided to head south towards the sun and to explore and rediscover our homeland of South Africa. After eighteen years away, not much has changed, yet everything is different. 

It is the start of the TWO COWBOYS' EPIC GLOBAL TRAVEL & CULINARY EXPERIENCE - 2019! 

Biltong Potjie at ATKV - Klein Kariba.

Township Tour - Bela Bela

Wildlife Safari

Pang!

Toeka se Dae

Cooking at the Koswerf

DO YOU WANT YOUR BUSINESS OR COMMUNITY FEATURED?

Coming to South Africa is coming full circle for the Cowboys. This is where it all started. We were born South African and grew up during some of the more turbulent times in the country's recent history. In 2001 we set out to see the world and broaden our horizons. We are still on that journey, and it is ironic to come home eighteen years later to find it a place very much the same as the one we've left behind, yet very different - good different - in many respects.

The international perspective of South African travel is mainly negative due to news coverage about safety, corruption, and ongoing conflict. It is an out-of-the-way destination with concerns for the traveller. It is why the destination is unfortunately frequently moved to the bottom of the travellers' priority bucket-list.

Mexico is similar in that it offers phenomenal vacations and experiences to travellers and at the same time it is also marred by adverse news reporting related to safety and corruption. The difference is that Mexico succeeded in positioning its travel and tourism products by addressing these concerns. They've done it through all-inclusive packaging, offered to the travel trade, and marketed accordingly. Travellers' concerns are addressed through "white-glove" handling in a controlled manner, from the moment they step off the aeroplane until they are safely back at the airport's departure hall.

South Africa offers as much, if not more, at an equally competitive rate. Wildlife, culture, cuisine, natural beauty, history, human capital and yet, it hasn't even started to fire up its tourism machinery. It lacks packaged products that overcome travellers' concerns and that are competitively positioned and highly rated. If you compare its positioning and messaging to other similarly developing world destinations, it definitely has the opportunity. It is now merely a matter of South Africans grasping it.

The Two Cowboys hope that we can play a small role in promoting this unique destination, its businesses and its people. We will be sharing content about our experiences. With our travel partners, we will be bringing you along for an incredible journey.

This is how our tour of South Africa started at one of the happy places we enjoyed as children, ATKV's - Klein Kariba Resort in Bela-Bela.

ATKV - Klein Kariba

Klein Kariba has a lot to offer as a typical South African family resort. It is a beautiful setting close to the main cities of Gauteng, with great weather, wildlife, beautiful camping, chalets, glamping tents, and hot and cold swimming pools. It has been a must-do family vacation spot for as long as we can remember. The resort continues to be a local favourite. Weekends and holidays are packed with visitors. Some have been patrons for generations.

I know the place well. After frequent trips tenting there during the early 1990s, I eventually wooed and married my wife at Klein Kariba, 26 years ago.

Our favourite spot at the resort, then and it still is now, must be the restaurant, Koswerf. “Koswerf” is the Afrikaans term for an outdoor kitchen or cooking area. This one is unfortunately mainly indoors. However, with the beautiful weather of the Waterberg Region, there is ample opportunity, all over the resort, to partake in cooking outdoors. Wherever you turn, the iconic cultural pastime called "braai" (cooking over an open fire outdoors) happens spontaneously, every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We were fortunate to be hosted by Riaan Maritz and his team. They reluctantly handed us the keys to the pantry, and we kicked off our week cooking up a storm in the Koswerf’s kitchen. On our menu was a Cuban-style Arepa with a South African Peri-Peri Chicken Livers and Mango-Salsa twist. To round it off, we were introduced to the local tropical passionfruit samba sensation of Pang!! (more about this later).

In turn, they reciprocated with a Biltong Potjie (a risotto-like stew made with a lot of cream and cheese, and cooked over an open fire). We lubricated festivities with Caipirinhas as it was our turn to quench the thirsts.

When you visit ATKV - Klein Kariba, the resort has a lot to offer at its facilities. However, it is easy to miss some of the many attractions and other rich offerings of the Bela-Bela area. Klein Kariba sees its responsibility not only to be a destination of choice but to also encourage visitation around the area. That is why Riaan introduced us to M Court Township Tours. They afforded us an eye-opening opportunity to experience some of the curiosities that make up everyday life in a typical township in South Africa. We even tasted the local beer they brew (no license or permit required) and ate mopane worms and pap!

We visited one of the more popular "Padstalle" (roadside shops) called "Toeka se Dae". Here we were treated to freshly baked bread, home-made ginger beer, biltong, and enormous cold and crispy koeksisters.

Do you remember Pang?

What if we told you that we discovered absolute passionfruit gold just outside the gates of ATKV Klein Kariba? Chances are that if you ate anything real passionfruit-related in South Africa or Europe, then Stilhoek Boerdery had something to do with it. They are one of the largest passionfruit producers in South Africa. Nine months in the year they are shipping their products all over the country and some export markets.

It doesn’t stop there, they also bottle the passionfruit pulp with a swig of vodka and call it Pang! The range expanded from there with Mango, Strawberry and even a spicy Jalapeño, as its popularity grew in the local cocktail consuming market. Klein Kariba is fortunate to offer this locally produced godly elixir at the resort, where it is popular with their younger patrons during the summer holidays ( (legal drinking age, of course!).

Observations

After eighteen years away not much has changed, yet everything is different. Klein Kariba still feels like home to us. However, it is apparent that it evolved in that it reached out to play an increasingly important and more inclusive role in the more diverse local communities of Bela-Bela.

After decades, during which people in a changing South Africa treated each other with animosity and suspicion, it is evident that those that are reaching out to each other, are the ones making a positive difference in their community. Klein Kariba is the main attraction, yet it collaborates with local entrepreneurs and businesses across the spectrum to lend a hand and facilitate success for others too. Business is always more natural when people work together. Those that discover it early continues to prosper.

We are enthused to see that our home language - Afrikaans - is treasured by everyone, even more than we remembered. Yet, everyone is welcome if you speak English, Zulu, German, Cantonese or another language. The South African culture of food, friendliness and hospitality is found around every corner, and the beautiful wildlife setting of the resort’s facilities remains absolute and intoxicating.

Klein Kariba is for everyone. We cannot highlight this single feature enough. Yes, the people of South Africa knows it well and loves it. It is such a gem that they will be forgiven to try and keep it to themselves. However, we hope we can entice the world to come and see it too. We are so proud to be home and proud of what we see and experience, that we want to share it with the world.

Enjoy our programming and see what makes this such a great place to visit. Then, book your ticket and see for yourself. Come for the food, the wildlife, the weather. Above all,  meet the great people of Klein Kariba and Bela-Bela. You may just find us here as well.

We are glad to be home, again!

Hendrik
Wandering Cowboy!

We earn our livelihood by producing great content and supporting inspiring people, businesses, and communities. Please book us here so we can tell your story too.

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All Over the World - of South Africa!

Boere Cuban Arepa

Koeksister!

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