Halifax Meal Kit Company Selling Cuts Of Meat Worthy Of Homer, Hank Hill And Fred Flintstone

HALIFAX – There will be a lot of grills fired up in Halifax this Sunday as families give thanks to the dads in their lives. As everyone knows, they love to barbeque on a sunny Sunday, and Father’s Day is no exception. But where can you find one-of-a-kind meat he hasn’t already eaten a thousand times from a grocery store?

Well, a Halifax company that specializes in delivering amazing cuts of meats from local farms has taken Father’s Day gift ideas to a new level. Charboyz, which began its delivery service in 2020, offered three different meat kits based on famous cartoon dads: the “Homer,” the “Fred”, and, most brilliantly, the “Hank”- named after the famous Texan known for his love of barbequing with propane.

This amazing marketing idea was the brainchild of Katelyn Bourgoin, who co-owns Charboyz with her husband, chef Jason Bourgoin. Although it does raise the question: what if someone ordered the Hank and planned on using charcoal? Any King of The Hill fan knows charcoal is a big no-no for Hank Hill.

“We won’t tell Hank,” the couple, who are new parents of a week-old child, said in unison.

“You’re going to laugh at this,” added Jason. “I did start cooking with charcoal a lot, to begin with, and I was getting a lot of shit from these propane people. So, I literally went out and bought a $20 Kijiji barbeque…and it doesn’t matter what you have, it’s all about technique.”

Hank Hill would strongly disagree with Jason.

The Hank is the medium-sized package Charboyz offered for Father’s Day. For $99, customers got two pounds of AAA tri-tip steak, one pound of Picahna steak, one pound of Andouille Sausage, three pounds of pork shoulder, and more.

The marketing ploy was such as success, that both the Hank and the Homer meat kits sold out very quickly.

If you want to treat your dad like a bejeweled king on Father’s Day, however, Charboyz still has a few of their elite-level “Fred” packages left.

This $199 package comes with just one 50-ounce steak, but it’s one of the best steaks in the world: blue dot reserve cowboy steak. The kit also comes with Jason’s own herb garlic butter and, most incredibly, edible sheets of 24 karat gold to put on the steak. That’s right, you can give your Dad the chance to eat gold on Father’s Day, along with a rare cut of steak.

“That golden cowboy steak, that’s usually what they serve at (high-end) restaurants – that’s a $1,000 steak,” said Jason.

“It’s going to be a memory of something you’ve never had before. And you’re learning how to cook a cowboy steak, which a lot of people are intimidated by.”

Cooking instructions is one of the core services offered by Charboyz. Each kit comes with recipe cards, and Jason regularly uploads cooking tutorials online.

Jason and Katelyn view Charboyz as a company that encourages people to see a meal as an experience to enjoy, which is why they put so much thought and effort into their meat kits.

“We don’t see Charboyz as your typical food box. It’s really a full food experience,” says Katelyn.

“It’s more about food as a form of entertainment, than food to throw in the freezer to have ready when you want it.”

Charboyz has also proven successful in partnering with local businesses. In the HRM, the company offers delivery for a $5 fee. But they also have drop off places with a series of businesses that have offered to keep the meat refrigerated before customers pick up their kits. The locations include:

• Garrison Brewery, Halifax
• Shipwright Brewing Company, Lunenburg
• Island Sauce Company, Sydney
• Schoolhouse Brewery, Windsor
• Westside Beer, Wine & Spirits, Clayton Park, Halifax
• Lake City Cider House- Dartmouth

“We couldn’t exist without these local partners,” said Jason.

Ironically, Jason and Katelyn consider themselves “out-of-the box” Thinkers. They admit that they were crazy to open a new business in 2020 during the pandemic.

Jason spent years as a chef and restaurateur, but eight years ago he decided to make a dramatic career shift. Suddenly, he was working in the offshore oil industry in Newfoundland, teaching people how to work safely in extreme conditions – such as 300 feet from the ground.

But oil exploration off the coast of Newfoundland came to a halt in 2020 after Covid-19 hit, so it was time for the couple to get back to their love of food.

“When the pandemic happened and there was obviously no offshore jobs – there’s no travel allowed – we couldn’t open a restaurant because everything was closed, so we said, ‘what could we do to help get Jason back into food,’ which has always been his passion,” recalls Katelyn.

“When the pandemic hit, it was like the universe telling you it was time back to food.”

Jason and Katelyn are excited to see that they have encouraged people to try new cuts of locally produced meat and that their customers are becoming more passionate about food.

“We have butcher friends of ours saying ‘I don’t know what you guys did, but everyone’s asking for tri-tip now’,” says Jason. “That’s awesome because now people are understanding different cuts of meat, instead of just a striploin of a ribeye.”