Tembo Tusk has been a fixture in the American overlanding community for the last 16 years, and that’s for a good reason. Well, several good reasons, actually. If you’re familiar with the California company, it’s probably because you’ve seen and coveted one of its Skottle grills, but that product represents just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Tembo Tusk and the family behind it.
The Backstory
The L’Ecuyer family founded Tembo Tusk in Southern California in 2010 after decades of recreational camping and overlanding. They needed an easier way to access their portable fridge from the back of their vehicle, so Jerry sat down and came up with a set of slides that dropped down after you pulled it out.
The company still makes these, along with a handful of other really nice fridge slides and camping tables, but it wasn’t until its fifth year that it debuted the product it’s now best known for: the Skottle grill.
What Is a Skottle?
If this is your first time hearing about the Skottle, you’re probably wondering what the hell it is, and rightfully so. The skottle was originally conceived in the 1950s by South African farmers as a way to easily grill meat after a hard day of working the fields.
The large-diameter, shallow-dish design comes from the fact that the first skottles were made from harrow discs. (A harrow is a farming implement that breaks up and smooths the soil after it’s been plowed to get it ready for planting.)
OK, so how did this former farm implement become one of the most popular American overland cooking setups? We can blame the L’Ecuyers for this. Jerry’s wife is from South Africa and brought her love of the skottle cooking style with her.
The family had one they got in South Africa and brought back to California, which they used for 2 decades before it began to show its age. When they tried to find a replacement they could take camping, it quickly became apparent that commercial versions didn’t really exist.
Rather than bring over an existing design or copy their old skottle, the L’Ecuyers decided to take the opportunity to make changes that would better suit their outdoor lifestyle. The wide, shallow steel dish shape stayed, but Jerry and company wanted it to be more portable.
That’s why the Tembo Tusk version has legs that socket into the bottom of the pan. The propane burner was also designed to work with 1-pound “disposable” propane bottles, rather than just a big 20-pound gas bottle.
As this happened, Jerry and his son Bryan were hitting various overlanding shows and events. An unofficial tradition at these shows involved vendors breaking out their grills and camp stoves and cooking breakfast to share.
The L’Ecuyers had been participating with their beloved family skottle; people were noticing just how quick and easy it was to use and clean, and how versatile it was, allowing an entire breakfast to be cooked and managed with one big pan.
From South Africa to Orange County, CA
When it came time to replace the family skottle, the L’Ecuyers found nothing on the market designed to be portable. Everything they found back in South Africa was meant to be used with a braai (pronounced “bry”), a South African backyard barbecue grill.
Being the industrious type, Jerry decided to take matters into his own hands, working with a local Orange County tool-and-die maker (who still makes many parts of the Skottle for Tembo Tusk). Jerry added removable legs, an easily removable and replaceable propane burner, and some high-quality carrying bags, and the rest is sort of history.
Helping Other Manufacturers Keep It American
These days, Tembo Tusk splits its time between designing and selling its own products like the fridge slides and the skottle, and white-label manufacturing products for other companies, like MC Ranch Overland and its amazing fire reflector (GearJunkie review coming soon).
Tembo Tusk’s relatively small size and early investment in 3D printing, laser cutting, and CNC machining mean it’s uniquely positioned to help other companies bring their products to market without relying on massive production orders or traditional part-sourcing channels.
When they’re not running a business, the L’Ecuyers still find plenty of time to get out into the wilds of Southern California and beyond to camp, cook, and generally enjoy the passion that put them in the overland business in the first place.
Speaking of passion, we’ve got an upcoming feature with Jerry L’Ecuyer in which he tells GearJunkie the story of his 1984 overland trip from London to South Africa, so stay tuned for that.
