Our customers love our BBQ sauce and often ask us the story behind it. You’re a solutions company, why the sauce?
The history of our signature CSG BBQ sauce started in 2003 as a one-off. Now it's a core part of our trade show experience and customer visits.
It was 2003 — only one year after Cook Solutions Group was founded. A longtime CSG customer had a problem. His wife's side business made BBQ sauce sold to local grocery stores. But this batch had nowhere to go. The stores had already filled their orders, and he was sitting on 25 cases of sauce with no buyers.
As luck would have it, CSG was heading to a regional banking and security conference and needed a giveaway for the booth. Being a good business partner, CSG bought all 25 cases and handed out bottles at the show. Nobody thought much of it.
A few months later, CSG booked another regional show — this time without sauce. That's when the outcry started. "Hey, where's that awesome BBQ sauce?" The lightbulb went on. The secret sauce was a hit.
Ever since, CSG's BBQ sauce has become our signature giveaway. Not just at trade shows, but at customer visits, tech summits, and for our own employees too. We rebranded it with the CSG logo and the key ingredients of what makes our service stand out:
- 30-Day Out, No Penalty Agreement — no long-term contracts, no cancellation fees
- Next Generation Technology — always evolving, never proprietary lock-in
- National Coverage — serving financial institutions across 12+ states
- No Proprietary Systems — open architecture that protects your investment
- Bundle Services & Save — one partner for banking, security, and managed services
- Strategic Solutions Experts — advisors, not just vendors
- Cook Command Center Access — real-time visibility into your entire fleet
- Fastest Response Time — backed by our NOC, 365 days a year
Need sauce or have a recipe to share? Click here.
The Next Generation of our sauce was launched at our Security Summit by Sasquatch himself. New and improved "Squatch" BBQ Sauce — and it just got better.
CSG's BBQ sauce has always been a signature giveaway at trade shows, tech summits, and customer visits. To take it to the next level, we partnered with local sauce guru Brian Gurney and Bad Bones BBQ out of Clackamas, Oregon.
Brian Cook put it simply: "We felt a partnership with Brian and Bad Bones made the most sense. He's homegrown out of Oregon, located in Clackamas — CSG's original home office. And ironic that two entrepreneurs both named Brian ended up competing in their respective industries."
Here's a quick Bad Bones BBQ backstory. Brian Gurney was formerly a graphic designer. In 2010, he started entering local BBQ sauce competitions on an old Weber grill under his deck. He won his first competition. He was hooked.
The rest is history. Bad Bones went on to take first place at a KCBS competition — Kansas City, the gold standard of American BBQ. Brian has since expanded to a full portfolio of sauces and just launched a line of seasonings too.
We asked Brian what his favorite meat to BBQ is. "I like brisket the best — it's the most challenging. But I love BBQing anything. Pork, chicken, tri-tip, burgers, even chili. BBQ is an art form. Probably why I like it so much, being a former graphic designer."
You can find all Bad Bones BBQ sauces and rubs at badbonesbbq.com or at your local BBQ stores. Brian also caters events of 50 or more — and CSG plans to use him a lot in the future. Cheers!
Look for the CSG bbq sauce at a trade show near you!
If you like our sauce, you’ll love our service! Request a bottle of sauce?
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