Celebrity Cowboy Cook Kent Rollins Serves Breakfast at Aso Ranch Camp

The winds whipped through Aso Ranch Camp north of the San Francisco Peaks at more than 40 miles an hour during Springs Works as cowboys were driving in cattle from the surrounding hills for branding. It was the kind of wind that would steal hats and threaten anything not nailed down. 

Cowboy Cook Kent Rollins took a moment on this busy Monday morning, May 12, to step away from his stove and drive the long stakes of the fly – the canvas covering over the camp kitchen – deeper into the ground. “We feed cowboys and we’re gonna make sure they get fed well, no matter the conditions in which we’re cooking.”

Those familiar with the YouTube sensation know he’s as authentically folksy and sincere as they come. He grew up ranching in Oklahoma, spent time guiding and feeding hunters in New Mexico, and has been cooking for ranches all over the country from his famous Studebaker chuckwagon since 1993. “You can’t get full-on fancy,” reads the back of his trailer.

From a lifetime of braving the elements, Rollins has learned to pay attention to the signs when Mother Nature is about to change her mind. “You’ll see that smoke come down and stay closer to the ground when the weather is about to change,” he explained. “You’ll see everything get real busy.” 

He describes birds picking up every crumb, ants moving leaves and disappearing into the earth and furry caterpillars with their hair standing on end. “The closer the wasp nest is to ground level, the colder it’s going to be at winter.”

Rollins has no shortage of cowboy wisdom, Western history, life lessons from the range, leadership advice and rules to live by – and he is happy to share all of it, including camp kitchen etiquette, through the internet and in person. “We will not have foul language in camp. We will not talk politics.”

This fiercely patriotic and faith-driven cowboy is a straight-shooter with a gift for storytelling and a penchant for manners. “I don’t tolerate rudeness. My mother said, ‘I gave you manners for free. If you don’t use them, they’re costly.’”

As is his tradition, he asks the cowboys to gather outside the camp kitchen, remove their hats and join him for a moment to bless the food. Today’s gratitude was about the bacon, corn grits and gravy simmering nearby in cast iron frying pans.

Time-honored rules, he says, remain the Code of the West today. “You don’t ride too close to the kitchen – you don’t dust the cook,” he said, adding that the camp cook, or “Cookie,” held an important position, always second in command.

“He was the cook. He was the doctor. He was the dentist. Cookie’s job was to make sure them boys was fed. This old chuckwagon was more than just a kitchen sittin’ out there in the prairie. This was home away from home for tired, weary and hungry cowboys.”

The lighted lantern hanging from the camp kitchen was a beacon for cowboys arriving after sundown. “They knew where they could come – if they’d been out on an old cold night shivering – to get out there by Cookie’s’ fire.”

Camp rules, including pitching in to help and being considerate and respectful of others, don’t apply just around camp, he explained. “They are the code of conduct that go around with you the rest of your life. That is what we call the ‘Code of the West.’”

“We sure enjoyed his camp etiquette and fun stories,” said Babbitt Ranches General Manager Billy Cordasco. “Kent has a lot of fans in Northern Arizona including cowboys, hunters and campers who tune in to his Youtube channel for Dutch oven cooking tips and ideas. It was a special and meaningful visit.”

“When Kent reached out to us, we knew Spring Works would be the perfect time for the cowboys to be treated to a wonderful hot meal out on the range,” said Ranch Manager Clay Rodgers. “We all enjoyed his cooking and he sure knows how to fill up cowboys who are working hard and need a lot of energy for the day.”

Rollins also talks about “riding for the brand,” as still important today. “When you’re working for somebody and you’re branding cattle, you have to put that brand on there right. You want to make a mark. You want to make sure that it’s correct because you’re representing that person. You’re riding for that brand.”

So, whatever you’re riding for, he explained, “Do it with pride and do it with honor. You have your name and your word. My mother would always tell me, ‘Be sure and not tarnish either one.’ And when you talk about deals that were made, the only contract we had back then was a handshake. You knew when you got a hold of it, it was full of pride and it was full of honesty.” FBN

By Bonnie Stevens, FBN

Kent Rollins and his production crew recorded the visit to Babbitt Ranches in Northern Arizona. It is expected to be featured on his YouTube channel in 2026.

Photos by Bonnie Stevens: Babbitt Ranches President Billy Cordasco (left) and Ranch Manager Clay Rodgers (right) welcome celebrity Camp Cook Kent Rollins to Aso Ranch Camp North of the San Francisco Peaks.