Plans to conquer the slow cooked world

It’s been a busy six months for Nick Smith, who set up the weekly Sundial Social food market last August and unleashed his Chur Bol brand of low and slow cooked meats to the public for the first time.

While Sundial Social has finished up fof the summer season, things are still as busy for Nick.

Since Sundial’s inception, he’s developed a loyal following and has just launched a ready-to-use range of BBQ meats at Raeward Fresh in Richmond.

“This collab is so exciting. Branching out into retail is everything,” he says.

“I’ve done the hard yards for people so they can enjoy authentic low and slow cooked meats in just 15 minutes at home.”

The pork or brisket is smoked for around 12 hours on a Masterbuilt 1050 BBQ with aged oak red wine barrel slats, pohutukawa and rum and que rubs to enhance the flavours.

It’s then bagged up hot, and frozen, so when consumers defrost it, it’s as flavoursome as the day it was cooked.

“I approached the Raeward team and they’ve really gotten behind the idea as there just isn’t anything else like it available,” Nick says.

Butchery manager for Raeward Fresh, Pierre Marquet, says local businesses helping each other out is a key part of their brand.

“We’re paired up with Chur Bol to help Nick grow what started as his hobby into something huge. We supply wholesale too and have had a lot of interest from local restaurants who want something quick, tasty and quality to add to their menu.”

When the product first hit the shelves last week, it sold out in less than 24 hours.

“We put the Chur Bol bags out on Saturday and by Sunday there were none left,” Pierre says.

“We went from working with Nick on his initial samples of around 10kg of meat to putting in a 400kg order overnight.”

Nick recalls he was fishing at his bach when he got word from Pierre.

“I thought I’d better get back home and order some more BBQs.

“My trusty Masterbuilt is big, but can’t handle that much meat, so I’ve got two more turning up this week.”

The concept of being able to grab a bag of quality meat, defrost it and have it plated in just 15 minutes is a win with consumers.

“Everyone loves slow cooked meat, but not many people have the time to do it.

“I’ve made it accessible without compromising on quality or taste,” he says.

“I’ve had people message me to say they’ve even taken the bags on hunting trips as they can just heat and eat and get a good meal out of it.”

Thinking back just a few months ago when he’d only ever cooked for friends and family, Nick says taking his brand to the next level is always at the back of his mind.

“I still want Chur Bol to have a spot at local food markets, but I’m hoping to branch into private catering this year.”

One of his first gigs is in May where he says he’ll be serving up his food to some of the world’s most prominent meat industry experts.

“I’m doing the catering for the NZ Butcher’s Summit where all the top players in the meat industry will be under one roof – eating my food!

“It’s a great chance to get my brand out there.

“This is all off the back of my hobby and passion for BBQing, so who knows where Chur Bol will go from here? I want to Chur brand the world.”