Two UAE friends who met in security built a BBQ business: Now it’s firing up Taste of Abu Dhabi
Take two old friends, a country band, a childhood on a beef farm and one very rough drawing, and you end up, it turns out, with a barbecue business. Hunter Burkall and Dave Kimmerly build smokers: heavy steel cookers that turn brisket tender over long hours of low heat and wood smoke. They design and build every one of them in the UAE. Ahead of Taste of Abu Dhabi , the two spoke about family,…
Hunter Burkall and Dave Kimmerly, childhood friends and former country band members, turned their shared love for barbecue into a successful business in the UAE. The duo, who have known each other since they were teenagers, met through their work in security consulting and have been friends and family ever since. They designed and built all of their smokers, which are heavy steel cookers that use low heat and wood smoke to tenderize brisket.
The idea for their business came about during the pandemic, when Hunter was in Thailand smoking briskets with his son, and he wanted to continue bonding with his family once he returned to the UAE. He drew a very rough sketch of what he envisioned, and Dave, an engineer, turned it into a working design. The first smoker they built was for Hunter's backyard, and when Dave expressed interest in one as well, they decided to turn the favor into a business.
They worked with local factories and fabricators to keep the entire operation in the UAE. Their smokers, which weigh between 400 kilos and 2.3 tonnes, are known for their durability. The two men still own their first smokers, which they consider heirloom pieces. Their path to participating in Taste of Abu Dhabi began when UAE barbecue champion Frederic Casagrande asked them to build him a specialized grill, leading to their inclusion in the festival.
This year, they will be running two classes per day, focusing on family-friendly activities to share their passion for barbecue with others.
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