With the summer months in full swing in the Southern Hemisphere, there is nothing more South African than embracing the outdoors and standing around a braai (open fire) with friends or family and listening to the click-click tap-tap of a braai tong going about its important business of manoeuvring a lamb chop closer to the heat for a better sear or effortlessly flipping over a spool of boerewors, fat spitting fragrant aromas of coriander into the surroundings.

Handmade in South Africa with the finest quality materials and components and shipped worldwide, the Donkey Long Tong is designed for the braaimaster who thrives on intense heat ensuring perfectly braaied meat. The tongs are longer and tougher than your average tong and this allows you to effortlessly handle intense heat, coals, and flames without the use of a welding glove or the risk of a burnt finger.

Donkey Long Tong tongs come in two variants – an 80cm variant and a 69cm one. Image courtesy Donkey Long Tong

The tongs feature a convenient built-in bottle opener and are made to endure a lifetime of use. Ideal for adventurers and grilling fanatics alike, the Donkey Long Tong is uniquely South African, guaranteeing outstanding quality and durability because it goes without saying – South Africans know how to cook over an open flame best.

The story goes: “Once upon a braai, two friends were tanning a chop on their balcony and lamenting the fact that standard braai tongs lead to nothing but burnt hands. They agreed that the bend and braai was not a vibe and that there has to be a way to play with fire, safely.”

“So, Nic and Marcel partnered up with Simoné and invented the 80cm Donkey Long Tong – a premium-built braai tong they dreamed up on a camping trip in the Richtersveld and assembled on an Airbnb counter before launching it on South Africa’s Heritage Day in 2021. Today the three Donkeys proudly stand behind the ultimate braai tong, crafted from food-grade stainless steel, with a hand-tooled white oak wooden grip, fastened with brass rivets, and sporting a bottle opener with a sliding lock. It is made to last a lifetime and will level up your braai game with every clickety-click. We follow in the foot prints of the donkey; humble, reliable and hard working,” the braai-oneers say.

The Jack Sack – taking its name from the male donkey called a Jack; tough and strong and engineered from handmade leather and designed to carry all your Donkey fire tools. Image courtesy Donkey Long Tong

Constructed from 304 food-grade stainless steel with hand-picked white oak wooden handles, rubio monocoat – 0% Vox and UV protection wood treatment (food compliance), solid brass rivets, a 3mm stainless steel bottle opener and 301 spring stainless steel for a strong tong grip, the Donkey Long Tong is a tong to behold.

From simple beginnings just three years ago where the first sets of tongs were assembled on a counter in a rented Airbnb apartment, Donkey Long Tong now operate and manufacture their tongs and fire tools out of a roughly 300m2 compartmentalised warehouse in Paarden Eiland, Cape Town and employ 15 people, shipping tongs and fire tools all over the world.

Fire tools include The Blower – a tubular design featuring an adjustable jet nozzle with a solid brass mouthpiece for a comfortable blow and a fashioned wooden handle for a firm grip to get your fire roaring; The Jack Sack – taking its name from the male donkey called a Jack; tough and strong and engineered from handmade leather and designed to carry all your Donkey fire tools; to The Paddle that helps complete the range – a fire fan that provides an ergonomic and well-balanced action to fan your fire and made from a solid plate of spring steel laminated with genuine leather.

The Blower – a tubular design featuring an adjustable jet nozzle with a solid brass mouthpiece for a comfortable blow and a fashioned wooden handle for a firm grip to get your fire roaring. Image courtesy Donkey Long Tong

Proudly hanging on the wall at Donkey’s factory like a relic uncovered from a prehistoric hunter gatherer in a museum is the original Donkey Long Tong – a reminder of a revolutionary moment for the braai.

Says Production Manager and official Tong Counter, AC Elliot: “The tongs themselves now come in two variants – an 80cm variant and a 69cm one. The steel and brass components for the tongs and for the blower are precision-machined by our supplier SPP Profiling before we assemble and make final adjustments here on the shop floor. We’ve gone through various prototypes to get to where we are now and the next challenge is to keep up with demand. You could say we are tickling the belly of the beast, so we need to be ready for that and this is why our materials, supply chain and everyone who works here has become a family in a way.”

Production Manager and official Tong Counter, AC Elliot at Donkey Long Tong’s HQ in Paarden Eiland, Cape Town. Proudly hanging on the wall behind him like a relic uncovered from a prehistoric hunter gatherer in a museum is the original Donkey Long Tong – a reminder of a revolutionary moment for the braai

Each product is meticulously packaged, ensuring a really unique experience for the purchaser or braaimaster that receives one as a gift.

Elliot says they have also subsequently designed a custom point of sale display for the more than 70 retail stores where the tongs and fire tools are now sold and that entices customer interaction with the products. “We probably sold about 30 sets of tongs in the first year, so to be selling in the numbers that we are now is really satisfying. They’ve gone all over the world, Australia, Europe and the US. We are also setting up distributor networks in some of these places.”

Joubert Tulleken, better known as Juba, operates carefully designed, guided self-drive overland tours with his company Endless Africa. Here Juba visits the vast Kalahari while savouring a very important part of the day – bush TV. Image courtesy of https://endlessafrica.com

Donkey Long Tong is a proudly South African company and every component that goes into their range is sourced and made locally.

For further details contact Donkey Long Tong on TEL: +27 (0)72 492 0929 or visit https://donkeylongtong.co.za