Who is BraaiBoy?
I go by many names. Those who know me call me Bucky, Gareth, G-Man and many more (some of them shall not be printed for young minds to absorb), but when I'm in front of a fire, I'm known as BraaiBoy.
It all started on 17 April 2009. A few days before that we were around a braai and, as usual, someone made a comment about how great it is to be able to braai whenever we want. Equally usual, somone piped up that they'd be happy to braai every day if they could.
Now, my friends and I (as I am sure is the case with many other South Africans) have often solved the worlds problems around a braai after a few beers. We've come up with weird and wonderful inventions, and some truly inspired (and some equally stupid) ideas have been born around these fires... and BraaiBoy is one of them (wonderful that is, not stupid).
I remember I had to leave town on business for a few days, but vowed that I would take up the challenge of braaing every day for a year as soon as I got back.
True as nuts, when I got back home on the 17th, I started braaing and have continued to do so every day since.
What are the rules?
Well fortunately for me, no-one else has done this before, so I get to make them up as I go along:
- Potjiekos for example has been included in the broader description of a braai,
- even cooking on gas (as long as it's in an outside braaier) has also been allowed, but only if there's no other alternative,
- I don't HAVE TO do ALL the braaing. After all, a braai is a social event/place and handing over the tongs to someone else (especially when it's at their house) also counts towards a braai for the day... I must at least chow the food though,
- One very NB rule though is that meat must be cooked. I'm a carnivorous kinda guy, and prior to BraaiBoy, even classed chicken as a vegetable. That doesn't mean I'm opposed to wrapping a potato in some foil and letting it cook in the coals. I'm just saying that the potato must be accompanied by some meat (pref. red meat, but chicken has since been reassigned to the meat category).
When does it end?
I'd originally planned to do it for a year (i.e. ending in April 2010), and I think there may still be a promise of 'favours' that are owed if I'd made it (not sure I want to cash in though). Anyhow... so I'm enjoying it so much now that I've decided to carry on, well... ?forever?.
OK, maybe not forever: I don't know if you've ever tried to convince your wife that you need to have a quick braai before taking her mother out to dinner? Or stood out in the rain, on your Ace, and then tried to convince the same wife to come out and take photos for evidence? Let me just say that as fun as the idea of braaiing ever single day for a year sounds, sometimes it can get a bit tricky. So, I'll probably allow myself to miss a day or two here and there from now on, but I'd like to think that I'll be lighting up a fire 99 out of 100 days from here on out.
If you'd like to keep up to date on how it's going: Bookmark this website, check me out on FaceBook or even listen out for some tweets, and if I get my act together I'll post some videos on YouTube.
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