Just in time to save you from the stress of holiday shopping, Atlanta chef, restaurateur, speaker and cookbook author Kevin Gillespie’s Beardsmas holiday extravaganza is back with lots of new chef-inspired gift experiences and the return of some favorites from the 2015 holiday season to go along with Gillespie’s new KUDU Safari Braai outdoor live fire cooking system. The KUDU is a multi-functional grill, griddle and fire pit combined.
“Last year’s Beardsmas was so successful we decided to expand our offerings to make gift giving even easier,” says Gillespie. “Listening to our diners and online customers, we’ve also come up with some awesome new gift experiences for all of the food lovers on your list.”
All packages and items are available for purchase beginning Nov. 21 (with the exception of the Gunshow Golden Ticket, which begins bidding on Nov. 28) at redbeardmerch.com.
Here are some Beardsmas items:
The Gunshow Golden Ticket
Beginning on Cyber Monday, Nov. 28, diners who can’t get enough of the Glenwood Park restaurant can begin bidding on this one-of-a-kind Golden Ticket good for an immediate 7:30 p.m. reservation for four, a glass of complimentary Champagne for each person and a complimentary first round of cocktails any time you wish to dine at Gunshow throughout 2017. The reservation is good for any night Gunshow is open, excluding private restaurant buyouts. Bidding starts at $1 and lasts for 72 hours with a portion of the final winning bid being donated to the nonprofit Share Our Strength: No Kid Hungry campaign. Sorry, the cost of dinner itself is not included.
Shop the Peachtree Road Farmers Market with Kevin
If you’ve ever been puzzled by all the exotic ingredients at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market, puzzle no more on May 13, 2017 as you, Chef Kevin and a small group of food lovers take a pre-opening tour of the market, meet the farmers and then stay for a cooking demo with Kevin where he’ll use the ingredients you selected together. Fifteen spots available. Value: Priceless; Sale Price: $99 each
Kevin’s Favorite Condiments Kit
It’s no secret that Chef Kevin is picky when it comes to condiments. He either makes his own or searches Atlanta and the world for others. Enjoy a Kevin-curated selection of his spicy, saucy, salty favorites and add some chef-type flavor to your next dinner. Value: $75; Sale Price: $50
A Personalized Voice Mail/Audio Greeting from Chef Kevin
Put Kevin to work answering your calls with a personalized voice mail message from him (but keep it clean, OK?). Maybe your mom in Kansas rooted him on to victory on “Top Chef” and has a birthday coming up? Kevin will record a 30-second message just for her. Value: Priceless; Sale Price: $25
Gunshow’s Joey in Your Kitchen
Gunshow’s executive chef Joey Ward will prepare a four-course dinner for 10 with wine in your home to impress your closest friends or business clients. You’ll work with Joey to customize a menu for your guests, and you’ll select wine pairings to go with each course. Only three dinners will be sold. Value: $7,500; Sale Price: $5,000
Returning items:
Go Hog Wild with Terminus City BBQ for 100 served up by Chef Kevin and a keg of Kevin’s favorite beer ($6,000)
Pair of 2017 Hired Guns Season Tickets for Gunshow’s guest chef series ($1,000)
Private Dinner with Kevin for you and 10 friends, with customized signed menus and autographed cookbooks ($10,000)
Gunshow Cocktail Class ($75 per class or $250 for all four seasonal classes)
Red Beard Restaurants Stocking Stuffers – a few items from Kevin’s list of favorite Red Beard merchandise all packaged up in a company-branded bag ($40)
And a new grill pick:
Gillespie recently has joined founder Stebin Horne and his business partner, Stewart Vernon, as owners of the brand new, innovative KUDU Safari Braai outdoor live fire cooking system. The KUDU is a multi-functional grill, griddle and fire pit combined; a heavy gauge steel dream come true for backyard fire enthusiasts.
“I love cooking over live fire,” Gillespie explains. “With the KUDU, you are cooking without a lid and regulating the heat by creating distance from the heat source. You can cook on multiple surfaces simultaneously. From a culinary standpoint, I have yet to discover something I can’t do on it!”
A few months ago, Kevin was introduced to KUDU creator Stebin Horne and the two entrepreneurs immediately bonded over barbeque. Horne explained that after spending six months with his South African-born wife in her native country, he learned firsthand the communal cooking technique called braai. Local farmers weld a cooktop to their old disc ploughs to cook for friends and family in the backyard. Returning home inspired, Horne, a University of Georgia and Mercer Law graduate, was awarded a fellowship from the Mercer Innovation Center to introduce the cooking concept in the United States. After partnering with Vernon, Horne’s dream came alive.
“Stebin had a great idea and brought it to life,” says Gillespie. “Then Stewart stepped in and made it even bigger. They realized that they needed an expert in the grilling arena. That provided me with the opportunity to join up with this Georgia-based company and help create my ultimate cooking system.”
“We began with a $75,000 Kickstarter campaign,” notes Horne. “We raised that money and then exceeded the goal, thanks to the enthusiastic grilling community we reached. Our first supporters have already received their KUDUs and are raving on social media and in notes to us!
Horne, Gillespie and the KUDU team will use their access to Mercer’s engineering students and faculty to create new add-on accessories for the grill so patio chefs can fry, boil, steam and roast their favorite foods as well.
“Being part of the creative evolution of this product really appeals to the engineering nerd in me,” says Gillespie. “The users and the developers will be on the journey together. As novice cooks become more skilled on the KUDU, they can simply add on to their existing grill without trading it in for a new one.”
Made of heavy gauge steel, high-temp powder coating and stainless steel fasteners, the KUDU is designed to last a lifetime. While similar professional grade wood-burning grills can cost as much as $5,000, the KUDU is being introduced at the affordable price of $750.
For Gillespie, a guy who created a backyard beer garden called Communion, inviting your friends to be a part of the grilling fun was a huge selling point. “As fast as it is, the KUDU will never cook your food as fast as a gas grill, and that’s the point,” he says. “Sometimes the journey—that time spent with your family and loved ones—is more important than the destination.”
The KUDU experience will include a tremendous amount of online content, such as videos of Gillespie showing everything from initial setup to firing up as many as six cooking surfaces on the grill simultaneously before transforming it into a late-night fire pit for guests. There will be tutorials, recipes, KUDU accessories and gear, along with an interactive KUDU Nation to provide consumers a place to interact with other KUDU users.”
“At first glance, the KUDU can look a little intimidating,” Gillespie concedes, laughing. “This is definitely not for the set-it-and-forget-it home cook. This is for a patio griller who wants to enjoy that cinder smoke, the scent of wafting wood burning across your backyard and how that results in a phenomenal flavor profile. I don’t put my name on a lot of products, but I’m proud to attach my name to the KUDU.”
Happy cooking and happy eating this holiday season.
