Vic Clevenger

You’ve heard me talk about how the Chimney Cartel got started as a joke. Just something because I didn’t want to bring my grill to a steak competition. Since then I’ve been astounded at the popularity of this little movement. There’s a Facebook page, t-shirts, stickers and even a contest with plans to have more, one even in Australia. I could not be any more excited about the direction and potential growth this is experiencing. As the Cartel has started to grow and become more of a movement in the culinary world I decided to come up with three essential pillars I think not only contributes to the growth, creates excitement but gives the Cartel a direction for this upward momentum. So starting today and for the next two, I am going to explore these three pillars beginning this week with Explore.

When I walked into the steak cookoff on July 4^th, 2018 with only a starter chimney and grill grate it was a little weird. Everyone around me had name brand grills ready to take home the $1000 prize so you can imagine the looks I was receiving when I never produced one. People stopped by to look, laugh and casually talk as they wondered if I was seriously going to cook on only a chimney. Do you remember those county fairs with the “special” attractions like the half boy half snake or the world’s smallest, well, anything? This is kind what it felt like. I was the “special” attraction and come to think of it, I should’ve been charging a quarter a peek and made a little money. What I determined was people were curious about what I was exploring. Can you win a contest with just a chimney and a grill grate?

Exploring something new is always exciting and this wasn’t any different. I’m a natural explorer and have been my whole life but never really even recognized it until now. Growing up where I did we had woods behind our house and every summer I, along with my brother, would explore those woods, going a little deeper on each expedition. From careers to interests, I’ve had this undying need to learn something new which will help me grow. This is exactly what exploring is all about and why I believe people are digging the Chimney Cartel. It’s a place where we can be the culinary equivalents to Lewis & Clark, just primarily outdoor cooking.

Being willing to explore opens up new worlds never seen before. It allows for trial and error, for learning and growth. Take a look Lewis & Clark for instance, they had the courage to go into unchartered territory to open up this country of ours. Now they weren’t the first people to go but they were the first to map it out for the rest of us to see and as a result, we grew as a nation. Explorer after explorer had this in them to learn and grow, this sense of adventure carries over into the Chimney Cartel.

If we aren’t willing to explore the unknown, the uncharted then how will we ever expect ourselves to learn something new? Exploring a brand new territory is where we thrive!