BBQ - Fire, Food & Outdoor Living

Welcome to the Autumn issue

Autumn colours are the palette of fire and we have plenty of content to keep you warm and inspired as the nights draw in.

We travel to Herefordshire to cook a curry for breakfast. Why not? Show us the rulebook that says we can’t, especially when your host is Jules Hudson and your cook is Adam Purnell. We’ll eat Indian Surf n’ Turf any time.

Radha Rü made it to the final of this year’s MasterChef and tells us how her Indian-British heritage informs her fire food and how the family cooking genes go back generations. Meanwhile we are delighted to have Mike Tomkins, MasterChef runner-up last year, joining the BBQ magazine team. In this issue Mike has tips on cooking and impressing a crowd, without being a slave to the grill.

Tommy Banks is a renaissance man and a busy one too, but loves talking Michelin-starred food, canned wine, restaurants and farming with Andy Clarke, while Diva Q flies over from Canada to share her BBQ passion and chat to us.

Elky Whittaker, The Smokin’ Elk, can sell IT until the cows come home, but we prefer him cooking our editor a tomahawk steak.

We have a special feature on those kings of condiments, salt and pepper, while our recipe pages are, as ever, packed with flavour, originality and expression from a variety of great live-fire cooks – professional and amateur.

Roger Jones pairs the wines of New Zealand with his

award-winning food and we look at a brand-new beer, with a twist of Kiwi Sauvignon, as Powder Monkey Brewing and this magazine continue its collaboration.

We talk houses, or rather their gardens, recognising how creating and curating your outdoor space is just as important as the equipment you use to cook outside. The nation’s housebuilders are alive to this revolution and we chat to some of the best out there, even throwing in a BBQ show garden party, with Jack Rowbottom of Jack’s Meat Shack on the grills.

Food and drink festivals were back with a bang this summer and we review the great events BBQ magazine was delighted to partner with.

And, finally, in his Fireside Chat column, Rupert Bates, rather than rushing indoors when autumn winds begin to blow, urges you all to keep on Q’ing – after all we Brits are good at that.

May your autumn barbecues be bountiful.

Yours in live-fire cooking

The BBQ magazine team

recipes, inspiration and tips

the

07 CURRY SPECIAL

Bring a television presenter and a BBQ chef together around a fire and the art of cooking and conversation reaches new heights, especially with a curry surf n’ turf on the menu.

16 THE SPICY FLEXITARIAN

Drawing on her Indian-British heritage, Radha Rü cooked her way to the final of MasterChef. Now she’ll cook a barbecue at your home.

18 TOMMY BANKS

The Yorkshire farmer, award-winning chef and restaurateur talks barbecues, food boxes and canned wine with Andy Clarke.

25 SALT & PEPPER

We shake and grind the world’s most popular seasonings with Valerie Aikman-Smith, Blackthorn, BoTree and Cornish Sea Salt.

35 DIVA Q

When a world champion pitmaster rides into town saying “life’s too short for bad BBQ” you need to meet her.

41 THE SMOKIN’ ELK

this issue... 16

Elky Whittaker gave up a good job in IT to follow his live-fire dream and it looks like the gamble is paying off.

48 RECIPES & TIPS

A mouth-watering collection of seasonal recipes from professionals and amateurs, ensuring you’ll not be short of cooking ideas and inspiration this autumn.

66 DRINK

Roger Jones tours New Zealand the land of the long white Sauvignon and more, while Phil Roberts tastes a NZ pale ale, brewed for BBQ.

73 PROPERTY

The value of outdoor space is turning the property market inside out, with leading housebuilders adapting accordingly.

87 EVENTS

It was quite a summer of food and music festivals, with firepits and BBQ cooking to the fore. We look back at the best moments.

91 BBQ BITES

A quick trip round the barbecue village in all its variety, looking at products, visiting places and talking to people.

96 FIRESIDE CHAT

Somebody wrote that autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons. Rupert Bates agrees as he urges readers to keep the outdoor fires burning and make the most of this wonderful time of year.

Curry flavourwith a view to savour

Bring a television presenter and a BBQ chef together around a fire and the art of cooking and conversation reaches new heights, as RUPERT BATES discovers

Jules Hudson (left) with Adam Purnell

IMAGES: Jim Mayer

To the Wye Valley in Herefordshire, with Hay Bluff in the distance. It was early morning as Adam Purnell, Shropshire Lad to the BBQ community, drove across the county border. Our breakfast order? Indian Surf & Turf – obviously.

We were at the home, or more specifically outside the new shepherd’s hut, of television presenter, author and archaeologist Jules Hudson. The cameras might not have been rolling, but this could have been an episode of the BBC series he presents Escape to the Country – only we were more focused on fire, steak and calamari than beams, bedrooms and budgets.

For a fireside chat in the lee of the Black Mountains, there are few more convivial hosts than Jules Hudson, sharing his passion for outdoor living, architecture, landscape and history. For a fireside cook there are few better than Adam Purnell. All I had to do was listen – and eat.

Jules’s glamping business is a shepherd’s hut for one couple, as well as a second building, The Trough, for additional eating and social space. Leave your car at the gate, pick up your rural luggage trolleys –wheelbarrows – head past chickens and a wildflower garden and you’re at Mole Hill Hut, with your own three acres of pasture and pastoral symphony.

Jules has visions of his Shepherd’s Hut

guests purchasing books from the Hay Festival at nearby Hay-on-Wye and reading them in The Trough, as food cooks on the firepit. We decide to merge the two for the morning, as Adam flicked through the latest cookbook from Dan Toombs – The Curry Guy BBQ, before firing up the Kadai fire bowl and recreating some of the recipes.

First up is The Curry Guy’s hanger steak with spiced bone marrow. The coriander, garlic, chilli powder, cumin, oil and salt and pepper are all mixed, before the bone marrow, from Morgan’s Country Butchers in Telford, is placed on the Kadai. The hanger steak follows and the turf is soon exuding aroma and flavour that it is a wonder every walker trekking the River Wye doesn’t ditch the packed lunch and divert to Mole Hill Hut.

The surf is soon up as Adam prepares his tandoori calamari skewers, threading the squid, infused with spring onions, garlic, ginger paste, tandoori masala, chilli flakes, coriander, salt and pepper – and alternating with lemon slices and lime leaves. Adam tops off our surf and turf with masala garlic fries and the results are simply sensational.

As a seasoned broadcaster Jules Hudson is rarely lost for words, but the Wye Valley falls silent, bar a few cries of ‘dear god, that’s delicious’ as we dip the steak in the bone marrow. If Michelin had been passing

through Herefordshire that morning, I swear they would have left a star by the Kadai.

This was not so much Escape to the Country as Epicure in the Country and while it is doubtful many of the Shepherd’s Hut guests share the culinary gifts of the Shropshire Lad, this was just the bucolic feasting Jules imagined when he set about his glamping project, for the rural champion of our television screens had edited the montage of his mind to create an Arcadian retreat, others can share, in his own backyard.

When we last spoke, Jules talked of one of the great joys of any rural experience being access to open fire and that visceral connection. “The fire is nature’s TV, as you look into the glowing embers as darkness falls, the temperature dropping but warmed by the flames. You’re in touch with a timeless moment, shared by humans around the world through the ages. That is why we are social creatures, gathering and reflecting around focal points.”

We are barely past brunch as the fire dies down, although there is the temptation to stoke up the Kadai, laden the wheelbarrows with more food, steal Adam’s van keys, insist he cooks dinner and the chance to savour the sunsets that set this corner of Herefordshire alight and apart. sugarandloaf.com/cottages/mole-hill-hut

SHROPSHIRE LAD

Adam Purnell is ‘what it says on the tin’ or the firepit. “A lad from Shropshire with a passion for cooking and fishing.”

His food journey started at a young age, always keen to help in the family kitchen and learning from his father – “a great cook.”

Adam went on to teach food at a secondary school, but then was drawn to youth work, qualifying in 2012. While now a full-time cook, sitting at the top table of UK live-fire chefs, his work with young people has clearly informed his character and his cuisine.

You can imagine Adam’s easy manner round the fire be it roasting a whole Dexter cow in 24 hours, creating his beloved Black Country pork scratchings,

or kicking back with his own smoky spiced rum drawing conversation from the most withdrawn teenager, proof positive of the mental health benefits of outdoor cooking.

“Working at youth clubs, with kids who may have been kicked out of school, or involved in drugs and gangs, it can be very difficult to convince them to try some activities or listen to advice, but they are invariably hungry. So food became a constant and I could get them involved in the cooking,” says Adam.

“When cooking, the kids naturally start talking and opening up, often without realising it, while taking an interest in the food and bringing their own ingredients along to cook. It is such a natural way to engage with people. Some of them still

message me for tips.” Adam even managed to get Weber barbecues for the kids he looked after through Altons BBQ World.

Adam started producing YouTube videos and now his reels are required watching on Instagram (@shropshire.lad) as sources, and indeed marinades, of inspiration, education and entertainment.

“I have learnt as I go along and there is nothing better than cooking outdoors over fire, understanding and interpreting

flavours, trying different combinations. There is nothing you cannot cook over fire, but always remember the fire is an ingredient in itself.”

During lockdown, Adam ran weekly live YouTube cook-along classes, with ingredients delivered to people’s doors every Friday morning. One of his students was 15-year-old Aston Prideaux, who is now such an accomplished live-fire cook himself, he does demonstrations at food festivals, such as Pub in the Park and Smoke & Fire.

Adam is in demand at many events, combining great food with great theatre. Still a young pitmaster he is inspiring ‘apprentices’ wherever and whatever he cooks. And away from his own backyard or a festival firepit, he is never happier than when out fishing, cooking what he catches. If you catch what he cooks you’re in for a treat and his curry in a Kadai in the countryside was a delight.

ULTIMATE 2 BURNER

ULTIMATE 3 BURNER

ULTIMATE 4 BURNER

ULTIMATE 5 BURNER

SPORTSMAN

BLACK CERAMIC

BLUE CERAMIC

GREY CERAMIC

DIGITAL ELECTRIC

WOOD PELLET

Lumberjaxe falls for India

Lumberjaxe Food Company, founded by Birmingham-based brothers Brendon Manders and Jaydon Manders-Young, has a tandoori masala rub among its collection of rubs, sauces and salts.

The rub’s ingredients are paprika, ground coriander, ground cumin, granulated garlic, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, black pepper, turmeric, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, beetroot powder and sea salt.

“The tandoori rub is perfect for chicken and lamb on the smoker or in the oven.

Our brand ambassador, Alex May of @smokeymaysbbq, has made some tandoori chicken skewers with flatbreads and mint yoghurt sauce, using the Lumberjaxe tandoori masala rub,” said Brendon Manders (@lumberjaxefood).

Tandoor at home with Baba Clay

Born from a passion for tandoor cooking, Baba Clay Oven was formed in 1997 and has since grown to become one of the largest producers of tandoor ovens for the restaurant and catering trade across the world.

“We are now bringing the tandoor experience and its restaurant-quality food to homes,” said Kanjeev Sikka of Baba Clay Oven.

“The team at our family-owned production facility in New Delhi, India, has worked hard to create a tandoor oven that will sit comfortably alongside your BBQ or grill. The barrel shaped oven is hand formed from our specially formulated authentic Indian clay, wrapped in high-grade stainless steel and mounted on castors and is the perfect size for the garden.”

A tandoor is a cylindrical clay pot. All traditional tandoors are made from a clay base, which allows for retention of heat and cooking at high temperatures.

“Our charcoal fired clay ovens can heat up to 400°C and this makes them very good at cooking flatbreads. The mix of cooking at high temperature and the smoke it creates from the drippings of meats and marinades on to the burning charcoal in our clay oven tandoors enhances and seals in the flavour when cooking your favourite meats or vegetables,” said Kanjeev Sikka (@babaclayoven)

TANDOORI CHICKEN SKEWERS

MINT YOGHURT SAUCE

4 tbsp natural yoghurt

SERVES

INGREDIENTS

1kg skinless chicken breast cut into large chunks

2 peppers (any colour) cut into large chunks

CHICKEN MARINADE

1½ tablespoons of Lumberjaxe tandoori masala rub

200g natural yoghurt

3 garlic cloves finely grated

1 tbsp finely grated ginger

1 green chilli finely chopped

½ lemon (juice only)

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

FLATBREADS

350g self-raising flour

350g natural yoghurt

1 tsp of baking powder

Olive oil for brushing

2 tsp mint sauce

1 tbsp of finely chopped fresh mint leaves

Squeeze of lemon juice

METHOD

n Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl large enough to fit the chicken. Add the chicken chunks, cover with clingfilm and marinade overnight if possible.

n Remove the chicken from the fridge to come up to room temperature. Thread the chicken and pepper chunks onto skewers.

n Set your grill for direct cooking and a medium heat. If using coal, make sure the flames have died down and the coal has started to turn white/grey.

n Add the chicken skewers to the grill and turn every 3 to 5 minutes.

n Remove the chicken when the internal temperature hits 75°C and you are happy with the colour.

n For the flatbreads, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Dust a clean surface with flour, add the dough and knead for a minute or two until it comes together. If too sticky, add some more flour, a little at a time.

n Put the dough into a flour dusted bowl, cover and leave for 30 minutes.

n Divide the dough into 6 pieces for regular size breads and roll out into a round/oval shape.

n Brush one side of the flatbread with oil and put onto a hot grill for one to two minutes or until bubbles start to form and you have a nice colour. Brush the top of the bread with more oil, flip and cook for another minute.

n Keep the breads in a low oven to keep warm while you finish the others.

To make the yoghurt sauce, simply combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.

n The kebab build: Layout your flatbreads and add the salad. Slice the chicken/peppers and pile on top of the salad and add the mint yoghurt sauce.

Drawing on her dual Indian-British heritage, Radha Rü cooked her way to the final of this year’s MasterChef. Now she’ll cook you a barbecue at home as part of her private fine dining business.

NEWSOME meets The Spicy Flexitarian

The Spicy

Flexitarian

Confident, bubbly and in demand, Radha Rü, with a love of vegetarian and plant-based food, is wearing her Spicy Flexitarian chef’s jacket as we speak ahead of her cooking demonstration for NHS Digital as part of South Asian Heritage Month.

It is a long way from Radha’s life as a Law student, having honed her cooking skills during lockdown, before progressing to the MasterChef final, where she finished runner-up behind Eddie Scott.

Growing up, Radha struggled to find her niche in school, as dyslexia made traditional academic subjects difficult and she yearned for ways to show her creative side.

“We’d have people come in and do career talks, but I could never really relate to them because they hadn’t gone through the struggles that I had with my dyslexia. I did school, I did university and I still hadn’t found

my ‘click.’ But then I started cooking and I thought I’m enjoying this and I think I’m good at it,” says Radha, born in Durham, before moving to Bradford in West Yorkshire.

Only a year after picking up a saucepan Radha reached the final of MasterChef and has now swapped a law degree from the University of Huddersfield for a private dining business, under the moniker Chef Rü, either coming to your home to cook for a private dinner party or delivering her At Home takeaway menu.

Now Radha herself gives career talks in local schools, inspiring children with dyslexia to achieve their goals, overcome adversity and find their passion.

Brilliant cooking is clearly in her bones. Radha’s paternal great-grandfather Orlando Bolland served in the second world war and was taken prisoner by the Germans. But, as a baker by trade, he managed to win over

his captors by cooking for them, ensuring his own survival.

“His baking ultimately saved his life after he was captured and held as a prisoner of war in Blachownia in Poland. He used his skills in the German staff kitchen cooking their meals. On his release and discharge from the British Army, he worked as a professional baker in North Yorkshire.”

Orlando’s cooking pedigree has been passed down the family through to Radha’s father Chris and beyond, while Radha’s mother Usha is from north India, where meat and dairy are a strong part of the cooking culture. But Radha herself flexes between vegetarian and vegan, bringing in plenty of south Indian influences to her cooking, which is traditionally vegetable and pulse based.

Early on in her MasterChef journey Radha told the judges that she doesn’t like spice, which is perhaps confusing given her Indian dishes and Instagram handle @thespicyflexitarian. However, spice, she affirms, means two different things: heat and flavour.

“I don’t like too much chilli in my curries because it numbs my tongue and then I can’t taste the food. What’s the point? When I say I don’t like spice, it’s me saying I don’t like too much heat.”

From a young age, Radha, 24, watched television cookery shows with her family, including MasterChef, firing her creative imagination and passion for food. “When I am in the kitchen I feel at home, comfortable and in the zone. The joy I have for cooking is one I want to share with as many people as I can.”

Radha says the West Yorkshire food scene has a strong focus on classical vegetarian

Indian fine dining, with Chef Rü throwing in modern twists in terms of both flavours and presentation.

What does she consider the key spice flavours essential to good Indian cooking?

“I like to call it the Magic Five. Your cumin seeds (jeera), your ground cumin, your turmeric, your ground coriander and your garam masala. Those five are the basis of any curry. And then obviously, on top of that, you’ve got your salt and then your fresh coriander as garnish, a bit of freshness. But with those five sorts of spices, you can make any curry, really.”

So where does cooking over fire come in for Chef Rü? As it did for all of us during lockdown, the barbecue became the go-to social cooking experience as a brilliant way to spend quality time with family and friends safely outdoors.

True to her dual heritage, Radha continues to blend flavours and influences to suit her mood when cooking outside, replicating smoke and char from the tandoor, or holding big pizza parties with the family.

She particularly likes using her Ooni pizza oven, which becomes the heart of the party, with dad on dough duty and all the cousins choosing their own toppings.

“Food should be fun and it should be enjoyable to share that cooking experience with everybody outside making a pizza. Barbecue doesn’t just have to be for burgers and sausages. It can be used simply to add extra flavour to ingredients you might be putting into any dish,” says Radha, suggesting charring aubergine to create a smoky pulp to add into a curry.

“What we also like to do is have our chilli oil or garlic oil. Not just normal oil, but oil

infused with spice, which gives an extra level to barbecue.”

BBQ proudly features on Chef Rü’s private dining experiences, as well as a range of multi-course menus, afternoon tea and even cocktails – try her Bollywood Bellini. A typical BBQ spread might include paneer tikka and roasted vegetable kebab, corn ribs topped with parsley, feta and fresh spices, crispy sweet potatoes with chickpeas and tahini yoghurt and roasted aubergine with roasted garlic yoghurt and harissa butter.

“At the beginning of MasterChef I was quite shy and timid. When I told my brother Rahul I’d been accepted to go on the show, he said ‘can you even cook?’ I burnt a microwave meal! Then I realised I’m actually quite good at this and I’m getting recognised for my skills,” says Radha.

“I like a challenge. I’ve got an eye for precision. I want to showcase vegetarian Indian food at its best. I’m in such a better place now, with my happiness and my own mental health. Everyone’s so proud, which has just been amazing. It’s quite a step going from a law degree, but it’s been incredible.”

Every time I walk in my garden, I catch the aroma of blackcurrant, thanks to a magnificent blackcurrant sage that grows next to the patio. It has small dark green leaves and mesmerising tiny deep red flowers. It grew from a tiny plant from a three-acre kitchen garden in a small North Yorkshire village of culinary world importance.

I was producing ‘Punk Chef: On the Road’ there, a TV series I developed for the British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust starring the remarkable chef Scott Garthwaite.

But why is the beautiful village of Oldstead, just over 20 miles north of York, such a gem? Thanks to chef Tommy Banks, his brother, James, and their team, The Black Swan at Oldstead, a Michelin-starred restaurant, has certainly put the area on the map for foodies across the globe.

Tommy and James grew up in the village and in 2013 they took over the pub, just a year after it won a Michelin Star in 2012 under previous head chef Adam Jackson. They retained the Star and the rest is history.

Being brought up in a farming family, it seemed inevitable that Tommy’s heritage would lead him to an arable existence. Alongside the magnificent kitchen garden, Tommy has 20 acres of farmland where the team grow food and rear cattle for their restaurants.

I first met Tommy after his incredible first appearance on Great British Menu in 2016 and we connected over a mutual love of field-to-plate cookery as well as a penchant for the charred side of food.

“Throughout history, we’ve always cooked over fire. And caramelisation is a flavour I crave. It always has been.” As a kid, self-confessed ‘serious carnivore’ Tommy ▲

Tommy Banks is a farmer and an award-winning chef and restaurateur, with a premium food box business and a canned wine brand. ANDY CLARKE eats and drinks at his Yorkshire table

Tommy Banks (right) with Andy Clarke at Pub in the Park

GET THE GRILL THAT’S MADE FOR FLAVOUR

loved the charred outer edge of the burgers, sausages and chicken from the family barbecue.

And it’s the char that Tommy believes adds flavour and variety to the menus at The Black Swan and his other restaurant, Roots, a relaxed tasting-menu restaurant located in the heart of York, also with a Michelin Star.

“In our restaurants, we use barbecues a lot. Cooking over fire is a really great way of getting different flavours into the food. And grilled food mixes it up. We use Konro BBQ Grills as they are easy to use and small. We also use Binchotan charcoal as it doesn’t give off a lot of smoke.”

What are Tommy’s favourites? “At Roots there’s an onion dish I love, using Senshyu onions (an over-wintering ripening Japanese onion). We pick the onions when they’re small and just so sweet. We then brine them in yoghurt whey and grill them on the BBQ. We also cook brassicas using fire. We quickly blanch kale or broccoli, then dress it in herb and garlic butter. We then chuck them on the flames last minute. The butter drips and burns and you get instant flavour.”

One of the most innovative and elaborate dishes has to be the lobster tail: “We brushed the tail in a glaze made from a reduction of carrot juice, lobster heads, lavender honey and blackcurrant leaf vinegar, then we barbecue it. This is served with freshly podded Hurst Greenshaft peas dressed in blackcurrant wood oil and finished with a broth made from the lobster shell, barbecued pea pods, lemon thyme and lavender.”

When Tommy gets any free time away from his two Michelin-starred restaurants, he loves to cook over fire at home, but he is currently putting up with a temporary electric stove at home, with “terrible extraction!”

“I get annoyed every time food doesn’t

work out how I’d like it to. Because of this, I tend to get outside and cook. There’s no mess in the kitchen when you cook outside and I can get the flames hot enough to properly caramelise the food.”

One of Tommy’s favourites is corn on the cob, but his way of cooking prompts, well, ‘marmite’ reactions. “I love to slather it in Marmite butter.”

Yes, this will divide the room, but I’m on board the umami of the Marmite couples with the sweetness of the corn. Tommy also likes to barbecue kohlrabi in the summer and in the winter he turns to celeriac.

The barbecue Tommy currently uses was designed and made for him by Nathan Davies, chef and owner of SY23 in Aberystwyth, Wales who also worked with Gareth Ward at Ynyshir and cooked the starter course at the Great British Menu banquet this year.

“It’s great for slow smoking brisket, short

ribs and pork with the lid down. This is not a style of cooking I’d done a lot before. It’s really fun but I am a bit of an impatient person. I wouldn’t say I’m particularly good at it; I get distracted easily and sometimes I’ve added just one tiny piece of wood to the flames and the temperature has gone from 100 to 160 degrees without me noticing!”

Tommy is also partial to cooking a whole fish in there. “I cook seabass and trout. I stuff the cavity with butter and herbs, I brush the fish in butter and let it set before putting on the heat. I love the flavour of butter as it caramelises. I make a brush out of herbs, usually something like sage or marjoram. The herbs infuse the butter, and then I dab it over the fish. Sometimes I make a miso butter. It’s so good on turbot.”

Tommy even brushes burgers with butter and has a take on spuds too.

“I boil new potatoes in their skin and then ▲

Tommy with Adam Purnell at Pub in the Park

finish them on the barbecue where I colour them up by using a bit of oil, apple cider vinegar and salt.”

Tommy and his partner, Charlotte, are now proud parents to 10-month-old Poppy, who loves the insides of sausages. “We’re weaning her, and it’s great because when I cook outside, I like the caramelisation, but because she has no teeth, she gets the inside. It’s a win for everybody!”

Tommy also runs Made in Oldstead, a premium home-delivery and experience service that came out of lockdown.

“Suddenly, we found ourselves with no business, but with staff, and suppliers to look after, and a desire to keep cooking for our community.”

This business evolution has turned out to be a career highlight. “Originally, it was merely about sustenance – now it’s more about having a date night with really good food.” And Made in Oldstead also produces a barbecue box in the summer months.

There is more and this venture plays to my love of food and drinks pairing, with the Banks brothers’ range of premium canned wines. Tommy, James and the team naturally buy plenty of wine and are often offered great wine direct from wineries others do not have access to.

“A lot of restaurants sell their own branded wine, but I was not convinced about going down that route”. It was his brother, James, who convinced Tommy that they could do something rather special, but rather than putting the restaurant’s or Tommy’s name on the bottles, they decided to call the range ‘Unlabelled’ as a way to get people to try different sips.

“Then we thought: what if we took really great fine wines and made them accessible to people that might not normally buy them?”

They have now created a way to enjoy wines which would normally sell for around £70 to £80 a bottle in a restaurant at around £6 to £7 per can.

“Cans are the new screw top! Some people turn their nose up at them, but they shouldn’t. By packaging wine this way, it’s kinder to the environment as the packaging is lighter and it helps people who want to know more about wine to explore something that they might not normally try. It also means that you don’t open a whole bottle when you don’t need to.”

Their first release of wine was from South Africa, an area they were keen to support after a series of lockdowns and strict alcohol bans during the pandemic crippled the industry.

They now have a BBQ Wine Tasting Set, consisting of a trio of French wines, which I have sampled. The Muscadet has meadow

flowers on the nose and a slight spritz in the mouth. The flavour is dominated by white melon with a hint of honeysuckle, followed by a squeeze of lime, which makes it perfect to pair with barbecued seafood and vegetables.

The Pineau D’Aunis Rosé displays aromas of summer berries and redcurrant stalks. It’s refreshing, lean and clean with hints |of summer berries and a pinch of white pepper on the finish. “Perfectly paired with the sun,” as Tommy puts it.

The Petite Syrah Malbec red is full of plum and hedgerow fruit with a dash of eucalyptus when you sniff it. On the palate, ripe, sweet blackcurrants prevail and there are earthy qualities in there, herbaceous notes and pinch spice on the finish. Great for flame-grilled and slow-cooked meats.

So what’s next? This summer saw Tommy bring Made in Oldstead to Pub in the Park with Tom Kerridge, where food-lovers tasted a range of dishes created and cooked by Tommy and team. Tommy also cooked at the firepit, where his turbot on the bone with barbecue brassicas, fermented celeriac sauce and glazed lobster tail with sungold tomato dressing and basil was out of this world.

On top of this, the mad keen sports fan has created food hampers for events at Lord’s cricket ground and will be running the East Wing restaurant at Twickenham rugby stadium for the England-South Africa game in November and next year’s Six Nations, designing a new menu including Dexter beef from his farm.

Tommy, in so many ways, is putting smiles on the faces of those with discerning palates. One of the nicest, down-to-earth people in the industry, the world is a finer place for his culinary ingenuity.

FLATDOG PORTABLE BBQ GRILL A REVOLUTION FOR OUTDOOR GRILLING ON THE GO

The biggest grilling space of any flat pack portable BBQ! Collapsible & compact, the ProQ Flatdog takes up minimal space whilst still providing a sizeable cooking area (300 x 385mm). Ideal for camping, caravanning, hiking or a trip to the beach, the ProQ Flatdog is ultimate portable charcoal BBQ.

Available from proqsmokers.com or your local ProQ stockist.

They are the world’s most popular seasonings. Not just essential condiments for the table, but beloved of live-fire cooks as ingredients in themselves. Valerie Aikman-Smith passes the salt and pepper to RUPERT BATES

My research into the global authority on salt and pepper when it comes to BBQ cooking wasn’t exhaustive. But I think when you discover a chef and author who has penned three books called Salt, Pepper and Salt & Pepper, there is no need to look any further.

For good measure Valerie Aikman-Smith has also written a cookbook titled Feast from the Fire. Talk about seasoned professional. She even cooked on the Titanic, which I initially took with a pinch of salt.

Valerie Aikman-Smith is a true culinary polymath, chef, food stylist, consultant and writer and other books in her repertoire include Pickled & Packed and Smoke & Spice.

Based in Los Angeles, Valerie knows every nuance of American barbecue, urging me to make a road trip of the southern states where the BBQ joints and restaurants “will blow your mind.”

But life and fire food started for Valerie on the west coast of Scotland in North Ayrshire, raised in the seaside town of Largs. “I’ve loved cooking since the age of eight. Mum gave me free rein in the kitchen, as long as I cleaned up afterwards!”

Her dad was a keen sailor. But when not racing competitively, the family would fish off the boat before grilling the catch “invariably mackerel” on the shore. “My early memories were campfire cooking on the beach.”

Valerie left Scotland aged 18 and her cooking journey has taken in Greens restaurant in San Francisco and Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. While the experiences honed skills, the restaurant business wasn’t for her and, with her husband in the film business, food styling eventually took centre stage.

Valerie’s first film was James Cameron’s Titanic, which I guess allows her to say she cooked for Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. But it also meant cooking and styling food and tables for hundreds of extras in the ship’s dining room – only for it to be flooded.

“It was incredibly hectic, but amazing to be a part of and fascinating to research the dining etiquette and food of the time.”

The likes of Ocean’s Eleven and Vanilla Sky followed and Valerie has cooked and styled her way across the world, working in film, television and for numerous blue chip clients on promotions, advertising campaigns and events.

Books were a natural progression and recipes with salt and pepper as the unsung heroes are sprinkled over her library. Salt and pepper have always been in cooking, as a

seasoning or finishing, but we are only just embracing their versatility and maybe have not accorded them the respect they deserve.

“With meat you need salt to get the full flavour from the meat. Cooking with flame is hardcore, so it needs to stand up to that and salt is a way of tenderising meat too,” says Valerie.

“We’ve become more curious, the more we’ve become exposed to different foods and cooking cultures. Salt and pepper are no longer just those mundane condiments on the table. The variety now is extraordinary.”

We season, preserve, bake, cure, brine, pickle and make rubs from salt, harvested from land and sea. Valerie says salt has been a prized possession since the beginning of civilisation, even as a currency with wars fought over it.

“In China, salt tax revenues were used to build the Great Wall. The Greeks and the Mayans worshipped their gods with salt offerings. Roman soldiers were given an allowance of salt called ‘salarium’ where the word salary comes from. At one time salt was so precious it was traded ounce

“We’ve become more curious, the more we’ve become exposed to different foods and cooking cultures. Salt and pepper are no longer just those mundane condiments on the table. The variety now is extraordinary.”

for ounce with gold,” says Valerie in the introduction to her book Salt & Pepper.

Valerie is passionate about BBQ food and outdoor cooking, and with it all the different forms of seasonings and sauces. She has an Argentinian grill at home and loves the idea of cooking in the desert –she lives in California’s Coachella Valley –using the ingredients to hand, be it mesquite flowers or prickly pear cactus.

Rock salt – “perfect when cooking with a salt crust”; pink salt flakes from the Murray River in Australia; Himalayan salt hand-picked in Nepal – “fun to have in a block and grate over food”; smoked salts smoked with flavoured wood chips such as hickory; Hawaiian black lava sea salt and red alaea sea salt for garnishing; sel gris hand-harvested from the bottom of the salt flats in Guerande, France; fleur de sel, also from France; even Jurassic salt from Dorset. The list is endless.

What about pepper? Always after the ampersand, it is anything but the poor relation and was once heralded as the ‘king of spices’.

“Alongside salt and other spices, historically pepper played a powerful role

in shaping trade routes around the world and creating wealth for the spice merchants,” says Valerie in Salt & Pepper.

She praises peppercorns’ “arsenal of flavours” and advocates stirring freshly ground white pepper into a Bechamel sauce to drizzle over pan-roasted fish.

“Add a little heat to curries and stir fries by using crushed Szechuan peppercorns. Season thick-cut steaks with robust Tellicherry pepper.”

Valerie name checks green peppercorns from southern India, Sansho from Japan, pink pepper originally from the French island of Reunion, Indonesian Lampong black peppercorns, or pepper smoked in hickory, mesquite or bourbon “working really well in rubs, marinades and sauces”.

Salt and pepper can make a dish and also save a dish. Valerie will always taste before adjusting the seasoning but is not precious about whether you like a little or a lot of it. Non-judgemental, it is all about personal choice.

Pass the salt and pepper please. Which flavour? What colour? What strength?

Which country? Whose culture? After sitting across the Atlantic dining table from Valerie Aikman-Smith, I am now spoilt for choice and will never take those cellars and mills for granted ever again.

Salt & Pepper by Valerie Aikman-Smith is published by Ryland Peters & Small. ▲

Blackthorn

“At Blackthorn, our simple goal is to make the best salt we can in terms of avour and crystal quality, but also provenance and sustainability, here on the west coast of Scotland. By using the natural forces around us, Blackthorn captures all that we were looking for,” says Whirly Marshall, who co-founded the business with husband and master salter Gregorie Marshall.

“The idea is that Blackthorn is not a salt with an ego – one that makes your food taste salty per se – but rather one that really works hard to draw out the best of the flavours that is held within each mouthful, making the food taste of itself, but a clearer and better version, shouting flavour rather than salt.”

Every crystal comes from pure seawater, gathered locally, and evaporated on the only working thorn tower in the world. This immense structure, straight out of a gothic fairy tale, harnesses the power of the Ayrshire coast wind and sun to dry off most of the water content using zero man-made energy in the process, with 24,000 litres out of every 26,000-litre batch simply vanishing in the wind.

The seawater is trickled down and around the tower through a system of 54 wooden taps which are adjusted according to the weather, temperature, humidity, wind direction and strength of any given day.

“We are left with 2,000 litres of super-strength crystal-ready brine for the pan house. By reviving this ancient method with some modern tweaks, we make Blackthorn in a sustainable and uniquely tasty way. The Blackthorn itself imparts tannins and earthiness so that by the time the once seawater, now concentrated brine, goes to the pan house, it is amber coloured, filled with marine minerals as well as sodium chloride,” says Gregorie Marshall, with his family involved in the salt business for five generations.

In the pan house is where salter Malky McKinnon, born and raised on the Ayrshire coast, works his alchemy, retaining as many of those natural minerals as possible.

“Ironically, when it comes to salt, ‘pure’ is not great and it is all about what is not sodium chloride: everything else, the trace elements and minerals

provide all the character and complexity. So Malky ensures that in every Blackthorn crystal there is potassium and magnesium for the bitter and sour, calcium for the sweet, sodium for the salty and then tannins and earthy blackthorn for the complexity and highlight savoury umami.”

The magnesium is particularly difficult to capture as it is hygroscopic and doesn’t want to be separated from water and days are spend over the hand-hot brine coaxing out the crystals. At the right moment they are harvested off, before they become too thick, brittle or large.

“There are no chemicals or industrial processes involved; no bleaching, boiling, seeding or adding, just a lot of time, thought and skill. In fact, if we are disappointed with a batch because it doesn’t measure up for some reason –a wee bit brittle or fine - we will recycle it back into the thorn tower to be reincarnated within the next batch. Little is wasted.”

“Many have found that they do not use as much salt with Blackthorn, despite it not being exactly salty. Others prefer to use it generously, dry brining as well as finishing in order to maximise the effects that it can have and do justice to meats and fish. Dry brining before cooking weakens proteins inside the meat and, weirdly, helps maintain moisture as they cook. The meat should also be more tender. We find a longer resting period, before and after cooking, allows Blackthorn to penetrate

the muscle structure more which helps it to really pull out all the intensity of flavour, with the salinity cutting the richness of fattier, richer meats.”

Blackthorn has salt-baked on the BBQ to great effect, as well as simply sprinkling pre- and post-grilling to amplify often more delicate notes, recommending scattering the salt on scallops and clams, with a touch of butter or lime.

“A popular simple go-to is BBQ grilled corn on the cob the salt transports it, pulling out that sweetness, but the freshness too, and the starchy earthiness, which can often be lost. Tomatoes are a given – just the perfect mouthful, grilled with Blackthorn and little else but also asparagus and aubergine sliced, drizzled with good olive oil and a touch of salt.”

Blackthorn is currently working with Zero Waste Scotland on increasing its use of solar as well as heat recycling, while reusing and repurposing where it can. “We are completely obsessed with salt, its history and importance, locally, globally and culturally, so there will always be elements of that in what we do, and we will always be learning. We are also determined to always enquire of ourselves and others whether what we are doing is right and best from a moral and environmental stance as well as a business necessity.”

▲

Blackthorn

Blackthorn

Cornish Sea Salt

Blackthorn

Cornish Sea Salt

Cornish Sea Salt

BoTree

BoTree is a family-owned purveyor of 100% organically produced single-origin spices and other seasoning products.

The business was founded by brothersin-law Peter Schaebbicke and Christopher Gow, working between Scotland and Cambodia, with Christopher having settled in Cambodia, where he learnt all about the world-famous pepper-growing region of Kampot, which produces the only PGI-rated pepper in the world.

In the 1970s all regional pepper crops were destroyed by the Khmer Rouge. Decades later, Kampot pepper was experiencing a farmer-led renaissance. Christopher and wife Aly were inspired by the traditional, sustainable farming practices that produced exquisite pepper.

Christopher spoke constantly about Kampot pepper to Peter, whose lifelong appreciation for the art of seasoning was instilled by his father, a top chef at London hotels. His obsession with ingredients and produce, as well as fine dining cultivated Peter’s love of exceptional food.

“When the opportunity came to start an ethical seasoning company as a family, I happily said goodbye to my career in tech sales and BoTree was born, taking its name from the Bodhi tree overlooking the family pepper farm,” says Peter Schaebbicke.

The first harvest took place in 2015 and shipments of Kampot pepper were vacuum-packed to arrive at the family home in Perth, Scotland as fresh as the day they left the farm. There, the whole family prepares customer orders and sends them off to kitchens worldwide.

“BoTree has grown exponentially since then, extending our range of organic spices to include gourmet seasoning from smallholder farmers across the globe. The company is on a mission to bring the world’s finest seasoning to every foodie’s table, while combining our passion for flavour with quality and sustainability.”

BoTree produces black, red and white pepper on the family farm in Kampot.

Black Kampot Pepper, having won three stars at the Great Taste Awards, is renowned for its citrusy aroma and intense heat. Red Kampot Pepper is a more mature berry, creating a sweeter, almost fruity note with a well-rounded, fleeting heat that lingers on the palate, while White Kampot Pepper has a zesty, nutty flavour with an underlying heat that just keeps going mildest of the bunch, but still fresh and vibrant with a punchy heat.

Kampot Fleur de Sel is an excellent finishing salt, laced with a complex salty flavour. The fragile structure of sea salt

blossom reveals a fine crunch in the mouth, creating a sweet salt experience.

“The key to BBQ rubs and marinades is to get the perfect balance of salt, heat and sweet flavours. Pepper is used to awaken the taste buds and enhance the flavours and Kampot Pepper will keep your taste buds awake longer.”

Robust Black Kampot Pepper pairs exceptionally well with a meaty steak, while the Red works with softer meats such as pork, lamb and fish, due to its sweeter flavour profile. Kampot Fleur de Sel partners will grilled meat and fish too, due to its coarse grain sparkly crystals, which allow for a thick crust for a BBQ rub.

“Almost everywhere in the world, when we sit down at a dining table or in a restaurant, we are met by two ubiquitous seasonings: salt and pepper. Salt is used to turn up the volume of salty food or dial down the volume of bitter tasting foods. It also binds with the fat in meat and fish to create the perfect tasting sensation. Pepper is used to awaken and open up our taste buds and add sensitivity to our taste receptors so we can experience more flavour from our food. That’s why salt and pepper are the kings of seasonings, used in almost every cuisine around the world.”

Cornish Sea Salt

Cornish Sea Salt is harvested fresh from the sea, just eight metres from its Salt House on the Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall. Founded in 2004 on the south Cornish coast, its signature blue pots sit as happily in Michelin-starred establishments as they do on the tables of home cooks, who appreciate not only the taste and quality of artisan sea salt, but the versatility and creativity it can bring to cooking.

Drawn from the unique properties of Cornwall’s clear ocean waters, the diverse range of sea salts are hand-harvested to deliver maximum flavour, with over 60 naturally occurring minerals, as well as being naturally lower in sodium than table salt. These Grade A waters possess a distinct mineral profile, thanks to the area’s unusual rock geology.

“From its core range of sea salt crunchy crystals and soft finishing flakes to the ever-evolving, deliciously blended seasonings and the deep umami tastes of its seaweed salts, Cornish Sea Salt can suit the everyday amateur as well as the seasoned chef,” says Philip Tanswell, managing director of Cornish Sea Salt.

Cornish Sea Salt Original Crystals are moister and chunkier than flakes and

stay crunchy for longer, adding a burst of zesty mineral flavour to sweets and bakery products such as brownies, ice cream and salted caramel, as well as salads and roasted vegetables. The Original Crystals are also ideal for toppings on fish and meat, combined with fresh herbs and breadcrumbs.

In contrast, Cornish Sea Salt Flakes are more delicate with a mineral-rich flavour that initially hits the palate and withdraws to enhance other ingredients. The flakes are ideal as a centrepiece for use as a condiment or as a finishing salt on most dishes. Sprinkle onto cod or haddock fillets before cooking or top scallops with butter and sea salt flakes before grilling. They will also melt more easily, making them particularly good in sauces, marinades or herby rubs on meat.

Cornish Sea Salt also has blended flavoured salts, from Fresh & Zesty Lemon and Thyme to Really Garlicky, Chilli Hit to Smoked, as well as its Salt & Peppery combination. Scrunch and sprinkle on scrambled eggs or mix with butter to create a quick sauce or to rub into meats, such as steak, while Smoked Flakes help to make great crackling.

“Whether you are using one of our core range salts or a seasoning blend,

a good sea salt makes BBQ food taste amazing. You can use salt in all stages of the cooking process. From a marinade to create an intense flavour and seasoning, or as a finishing touch to add some salty bursts,” says Philip Tanswell.

“We use a lot of our seasoning blends when barbecuing, like our Lemon Pepper blend on fish for a fresh but flavoursome finish, or a homemade butter with our Really Garlicky salt to smother on prawns or maybe corn on the cob. Our ultimate BBQ salt though has to be our Smoked Sea Salt Flakes. The natural freshness of salt combined with a subtle barbecue tang has a transformative effect on food, intensifying savouring flavours as well as adding to the flame-grilled taste of an open fire. Rub on to any meat or fish to create a deep smoky and salty flavour when barbecuing.”

If you want to meet a world champion pitmaster, you’d expect to travel to the southern states of America, not to a city in England’s West Midlands. RUPERT BATES talks BBQ in Birmingham with Diva Q

It was hot enough to grill a steak on the tarmac. But this was not Interstate 75, a Florida road much travelled by Danielle Bennett, it was the car park of the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England.

Danielle Bennett, known to one and all in the live-fire firmament as ‘Diva Q’, was in the Midlands city wearing her distinctive Traeger cap and cooking up a ton of meat, rubbed in inspiration and marinated in passion, to showcase the globally renowned pellet grill.

Traeger, founded over 30 years ago in Mt Angel, Oregon, talks of the Traegerhood – a community of like-minded souls from all walks of life – chefs, pitmasters, hunters and home cooks, or new ‘residents’ just starting their wood-fired cooking journey.

If Traeger is a Traegerhood, then Diva Q a world champion pitmaster is its Godmother, spreading the word and the magic smoke across the world. Evangelical? You betcha. But then the smells and flavours emanating from the smoked Texas beef rib and the smoked BBQ chicken were a near-religious experience – and surely the first in a car park amid two million square feet of conference space off the M42.

Traeger was just one of the exhibitors –from the top BBQ brands to the latest garden furniture and every accessory in between – at the Summer Outdoor Living Exhibition (SOLEX), run by the Leisure Outdoor Furniture Association (LOFA).

Danielle had already conducted a short tour of England, taking in a Traeger demo at Altons Garden Centre, Essex. Travel certainly doesn’t faze Diva Q, who has cooked and taught BBQ across the globe, be it Australia, Norway or Israel, even keeping a set of kosher cooking tools in Tel Aviv.

It’s travel that triggered her obsession. Born in Ontario, Canada, Danielle’s family were classic ‘snowbirds’ driving to Florida for sunshine holidays. En route they would stop at southern barbecue shacks and restaurants. Indeed, a particular pulled pork sandwich of such flavour and char at a particular shack was her Eureka moment. It

was one of over 650 BBQ restaurants since visited, not to mention more than 20,000 students taught around the world, passing on her knowledge and enthusiasm with a no-nonsense simplicity. She’s the drill, or grill, sergeant you would always listen to, but equally would love to have a beer with, or, in Diva Q’s case, probably a bourbon ‘served neat,’ or her own whiskey cocktail with her Traeger whiskey syrup.

She may cook low and slow, but Danielle talks hot and fast. “It’s not just about the food; you’re feeding the soul too, BBQ brings people together, it is engaging and captivating – an endowment of goodness. Who gets upset at a barbecue?”

There is a holy trinity of fire, protein and friendship, as Diva Q effortlessly conducts her Birmingham masterclasses. I hover near the Traeger grills the smart seagull knowing that meat she’s cooking and talking about will end up in paper boats all called HMS Flavour. I think I sunk a flotilla of grilled pork belly alone.

“Life’s too short for bad BBQ.” I write that down. “I’ve officially trademarked that by the way!”

It is some leap from 16 years ago when her business life was all about HR and marketing. Trained as a chef, Danielle started judging BBQ competitions. “I’ve always loved the art of food and cooking. My first judging contest was so memorable, such a rush absorbing all the barbecuing and the people around me, savouring every moment.”

Three days later she bought her first smoker. Then it was off to Texas to learn the art and craft from legends of the fire. “I travelled anywhere BBQ was served, eating at every joint I could find, asking every question. It didn’t matter if it was a one-man shack serving chicken over a charcoal-filled barrel on the side of the road, or a high-end restaurant with the latest technology. What really inspires me and continues to, are the stories behind these BBQ folks and what drives them,” says Danielle.

She was soon competing herself and has won over 400 awards for her cooking, with

one particular highlight winning the World Championship of Pork and Bacon.

But her own accolades are nothing compared to the thrill Danielle gets teaching others, creating ‘backyard rock stars.’

As well as a teacher and author, Danielle is a television and radio presenter on the likes of the Food Network and the Travel Channel. She is also fascinating to listen to as a historian, talking through not just the BBQ melting pots of the Southern states and the world beyond, but the evolution of barbecue and how cooking styles are often drawn by railway lines and farming, dictated by regional economics and parish produce. She explains the part played by immigrants in how techniques, meats and flavours evolved, how the discarded ‘cheap’ cuts were elevated, with women the original pitmasters, while the men tilled the fields.

“I’m a culinary sponge. I love to learn and am always learning. I am fascinated by the science of food. It is so important not to be intimidated by food and cooking but embrace it.”

Surveying SOLEX, Diva Q acknowledges the huge rise in interest, as well as cooking expertise, in the British BBQ community. “It is growing massively. There is a real passion for BBQ food in this country and I love the relationships with local butchers. The barbecue scene in the UK is only going to get bigger and better.”

As global ambassadors for BBQ, they don’t come much better than Diva Q as I devour another boat – this one a ribeye steak bobbing on a chimichurri lake. For three summer days Birmingham was the unlikely centre of the BBQ world.

Grilling forhigh steaks

The Smokin’ Elk gave up a good job in IT to follow his live-fire dream. RUPERT BATES heads to BBQ School in Hampshire to find the gamble paying off

There was an agenda for the day. The students were there to learn about ceramic BBQs, what charcoal to use and how to light it, airflow and clean smoke, heat deflectors and temperature control.

“Right, who wants a beer?” asked Elky Whittaker by way of welcome. Instantly the class relaxed even if it was the morning hour when coffee is usually the drink offered.

We gather at his BBQ shack in the Hampshire village of Cowplain, decorated with the distinct red ceramic grills of the Kamado Joe family, a bruising barbecue unit from The Braai Man, Masterbuilt and Kamado Space, not forgetting a fridge stocked with beer and flanked by oak barrels. All that was missing was Elky’s beloved Portsmouth on the shack’s

television screen – a League One football club in a Premier League outdoor kitchen.

This is not just his ‘happy place’ it is the new Smokin Elk’ BBQ School and Elky is a giant of the grill in every sense, with a personality to match. The class, after a quick tour of his BBQ accessories, starts with chicken wings, direct cooking on the Kamado Joe and making a dry rub, mixing in paprika, cumin, onion, garlic and chilli powder, as well as salt, pepper and brown sugar.

While a familiar face on the live-fire scene as part of the Kamado Joe fire squad at events such as Pub in the Park and creating dynamic digital cooking content on his social media channels, Elky made the massive decision earlier this year to give up his day job to cook and teach full time.

“I worked in IT sales for 20 years. I was good at it and built a successful career. I loved working for my last employer Total Computer Networks and could work from home, giving me a flexible work/life balance,” says Elky.

“The decision to leave was huge, but it was the right time. I had my best year last year, earning a decent pay rise and then quit. Madness! But sitting in my new shack on a nice sunny day in April, filming with my production guys, it just hit me this is what I want to do now.”

The next morning he crunched some numbers, typed up a letter of resignation and that was it. “My wife Emily didn’t even know until I’d done it as she had taken my two-year-old son Joe swimming! I’m very impulsive. Once I get an idea in my head and I feel it’s the right one, I’ll just go for it. It’s worked so far!”

Another mouth to feed came along in July with the arrival of baby daughter Suzanna, giving even more impetus to Elky’s decision and bubbling with enthusiasm, professionalism and humour it is impossible not to be excited by his road ahead. The computer world’s loss is the barbecue community’s gain and it is refreshing to see a raft of live-fire cooks, bristling with talent and burning with culinary ambition, taking the plunge and going full-time.

Elky, who left home at 16, has always enjoyed cooking, initially simply making the most of what was in the kitchen cupboard.

“I progressed to curries and chillies. BBQ was always there in the background, albeit rusty old cheap gas barbecues that I would replace each year, cooking the standard sausages, burgers and butcher packs.”

Then he started watching cooking shows such as Man v. Food and wanted to sample what was been eaten in the American series. Unable to find UK restaurants serving the bigger carnivorous challenges he craved, Elky decided to learn how to cook them himself.

“Plenty of trial and error and lots of disasters and then I set myself the task of 200 outdoor cooks in a year, which I completed five years ago.”

He went further, a lot further – in fact around the world, cooking a dish from every country, outdoors over fire and all within a year.

“I started the challenge on 1 January 2019 and completed it on 31 December 2019 – a total of 195 countries. I loved every minute of it, but it was certainly challenging as I wanted to stay as authentic as possible to each country’s dish that I chose.”

The last nation on New Year’s Eve, cooking for family and friends, was Argentina, with skirt steak and chimichurri, planked salmon, chicken wings, goat chops

and, as the clock ticked towards midnight, a whole lamb cooked asado style over fire.

“It was epic and I learnt so much, both about cooking with fire and, of course, the food and the different ingredients,” says Elky, as our BBQ class moves onto jerk chicken and pineapple salsa wraps, brushing the pineapple fingers on the grill with a honey and soy glaze.

“I’m using boneless, skinless thighs. You can dice and add to skewers or thread onto a rotisserie.” He cooks the chicken on the Kamado Joe using a split-level method, starting with the intense heat from the lower zone, then moving up to the higher zone. “They are ready when the internal temperature hits 73°C,” says Elky, using and extolling the virtues of his Thermapen temperature probe.

“I’m very lucky to have good long-term relationships with some great brands that I love, such as Kamado Joe and Thermapen, creating regular content for them on YouTube and Instagram. I love getting out and about, putting on a bit of a fire cooking show while meeting lots of enthusiastic people who want to learn more.”

As well as expanding his already very popular BBQ School, Elky is looking to run pop-ups, as well as cater for private events, corporate team building days, weddings, birthdays and even stag and hen parties, where his ‘open all hours’ drinks fridge will doubtless prove quite a draw!

“It’s a very exciting time for British BBQ. During lockdown, you obviously couldn’t go out, so people started to concentrate on their own outdoor space and I think that will continue. Outdoor kitchens and BBQ shacks are popping up and, for me, there’s no better outdoor activity than firing up the BBQ or fire pit and having a cook and a cold beer.

“You can cook expensive steaks... but I’ll always go back to a good burger. When done right, there’s nothing better.”

“But it’s not just sausages and burgers anymore. People want to make the most of their barbecue. I have people from all over the country coming to my classes and it’s so rewarding when you see them taking ideas and advice on board, knowing that it’s helping to get them hooked on outdoor cooking. And once you’re hooked, you want to cook more, improving with every cook, getting more adventurous and, before you know it, you’re cooking everything you possibly can outdoors and encouraging others to do the same. It’s great to see.”

Now we move on to a classic – steak and chimichurri sauce. “We’re using the reverse sear method, so we bring the steak up to temperature nice and slowly, before finishing over intense heat.”

Elky advocates salt at the start, pepper at the end and urges the class not to be shy with seasoning. “With the tomahawks, add a thin layer of oil then salt them liberally.”

Time for the heat deflectors and a chunk of cherry wood for that smoky flavour. “Once we have clean smoke, the steaks go in.”

We take the tomahawks off when they hit 45°C to rest and open all the Kamado Joe vents so the grill is hot enough to sear the steaks (400°C). Back go the steaks, which we flip, before removing at around 50°C. Once rested, they will hit medium rare.

I have got my eyes on the chimichurri, with the parsley, garlic, chilli, flaky salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil and red wine vinegar transporting me to the Pampas.

Despite the wealth of food created and devoured at the class, Elky’s favourite BBQ food remains the burger.

“You can cook expensive steaks, a 12-hour brisket, or cook a whole lamb over fire, but I’ll always go back to a good burger. When done right, there’s nothing better.”

It looks like Elky’s gamble to go full time on the grills is paying off. He has gambled before on the poker table with conspicuous success and once won £13,000 playing in an online tournament. If Elky invites you to dinner, it is a resounding yes. If he then suggests a game of cards, offer to do the washing up.

Recipes

Recipe chefs

MARCUS BAWDON

Marcus is one of the most familiar and admired names on the BBQ scene, with his hugely popular CountryWoodSmoke business, providing recipes, videos and inspiration on cooking outdoors. He is also the author of the bestselling books Food & Fire and Skewered.

JON FINCH

Jon is a live fire chef running cookery classes for DeliVita and Weber. He runs the ‘Live Fire’ stage at Black Deer festival and co-owns Quay Street Diner in Bristol. The original Grillstock founder and author of the best selling Grillstock BBQ Book and new book Wood Fired Feast.

PHIL ROBERTS

Phil Roberts is an experienced live fire cook working for MEATER. Specialising in alternative meat cuts and less commonly used ingredients. You can find his handiwork at @philsfirefood and, for MEATER, @meatermade

THE CURRY GUY

BEN FORTE

Ben is global marketing manager at Kamado Joe and Masterbuilt and a leading BBQ influencer, as a highly accomplished cook, as well as author, podcaster and blogger.

WORLDS PANTRY

Amanda and Russ Southgate are an Essex-based couple who are passionate about all things food and drink. They have a particular love for outdoor cooking and, in their spare time, work together to develop and cook globally inspired recipes. Instagram: @worldspantry

Dan Toombs is the king of curry, with all Dan's recipes developed and tested in his home kitchen. His latest book is The Curry Guy BBQ - 100 classic dishes to cook over fire or on your barbecue.

DIVA Q

Danielle Bennett - Diva Q - is a world champion pitmaster, who teaches and judges barbecue cooking around the world. The Canadian spent time in the UK recently in her role as a Traeger brand ambassador.

FLAME & DAME

This is the husband and wife team of Andrew Scourfield and Laura Waters. They are both NHS doctors in London and in their spare time cook adventurous live fire dishes together.

Instagram: @Flame_and_Dame

PHIL YEOMANS

Phil is executive chef at Lainston House – the luxury country house hotel near Winchester in Hampshire, which is also home to the Exclusive Collection’s Season Cookery School.

MIKE TOMKINS

SUE STONEMAN

Sue is an award-winning home cook, blogger and food writer. She lives in Devon and is well known for her bakes and BBQ cooking.

Instagram: @sue_stoneman

VALERIE AIKMAN-SMITH

Valerie is a chef, food stylist, consultant and cookbook author, based in Los Angeles. She has cooked in leading American restaurants and styled food for movies such as Titanic and Oceans 11.

Mike went all the way to the final of last year's BBC MasterChef. Inspired by his Italian roots and love of BBQ cooking, Mike is now in demand as a private dining and events chef and has joined BBQ magazine.

Instagram: @thenotecook

SPICY PORK SATAY SKEWERS with roast salted peanut sauce

by Valerie Aikman-Smith

These spicy pork skewers dipped in peanut sauce are heaven on a stick. They are great for weekend get-togethers, when you want to make delicious, easy food with minimum kitchen time. You can also pop these on a barbecue grill and forgo the stovetop.

MAKES 18-20

INGREDIENTS

450g pork tenderloin Lime wedges and coriander, to serve (optional)

SPICY MARINADE

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 green chillies, chopped

1 tbsp Kecap Manis (thick medium-sweet soy sauce)

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp peanut oil

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

ROASTED SALTED PEANUT SAUCE

1 tbsp peanut oil

1 garlic clove,

nely chopped

2 red Thai chillies,

4 kaf

nely chopped

lime leaves

1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 4

1 tsp garam masala or curry powder

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

225g salty peanut butter 250ml coconut milk

30g unsweetened shredded/desiccated coconut

Finely grated zest and freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp fish sauce

18-20 small metal skewers, or bamboo soaked in cold water for 30 minutes

METHOD

n Slice the pork into ¼ inch/5mm pieces and put in a bowl. Mix together all the spicy marinade ingredients and pour over the pork. Cover and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

n To make the roast salted peanut sauce, heat the peanut oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute the garlic, chillies, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, and garam masala for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and stir. Now add the salty peanut butter, coconut milk, shredded/desiccated coconut, and the lime zest and juice. Cook for 15 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the fish sauce. Pour the mixture into a bowl and set aside.

n Remove the pork pieces from the fridge and thread onto the skewers.

n Heat a grill pan/cast iron skillet over high heat until nearly smoking. Cook the pork skewers for 3-4 minutes each side until brown and caramelised.

n Garnish the pork skewers with coriander leaves and serve with lime wedges and the roast salted peanut sauce.

Salt & Pepper, by Valerie Aikman-Smith, published by Ryland Peters & Small ©

PONZU TROUT

by Jon Finch

Ponzu is a store-cupboard essential in our house. It’s a citrus-flavoured soy sauce, which gives you all the deep umami flavour associated with soy but also a hit of bright tanginess from the ponzu. It works incredibly well with fish, as you will find out when you cook this recipe!

You can substitute the trout for most other types of fish. Sea bass, bream and salmon fillets all work very well, but I love the light delicateness of trout and, as the fillets are so thin, it cooks in just a few minutes.

When it comes to the chilli, you can choose any kind you like, depending on the level of heat you enjoy.

Most major supermarkets now sell the furikake and togarashi, but they are also available from Asian supermarkets.

INGREDIENTS

2 rainbow or brown trout

llets, skin on, approx. 100g each 150ml ponzu sauce

Juice of 1 fresh lime

Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger,

nely grated

1 red chilli,

TO SERVE:

nely diced

Fresh coriander leaves

Furikake seaweed

akes

Shichimi togarashi seasoning

METHOD

n In a dish large enough to hold the trout, mix together the ponzu, lime juice, ginger and chilli.

n Add the fish to the dish and make sure it is well coated in the marinade.

n Leave to marinate for at least half an hour in the fridge.

n Preheat a cast-iron tray in the oven. Add the fish to the tray, placing it skin side down. Set the leftover marinade aside.

n Transfer the tray to the oven and cook until the internal temperature of the fish reaches 50°C/122°F.

n Carefully add a tablespoon or so of the leftover marinade to each fillet, then slide back into the oven until the internal temperature reaches 60°C/140°F.

n Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with a sprinkle each of furikake flakes, shichimi togarashi seasoning and coriander leaves.

Cooked in a DeliVita wood-fired oven

Kamado Joe

CHICKEN & SAUSAGE TRAYBAKE

by Ben Forte

This hearty autumnal traybake is so easy, with no fuss, minimal washing up and, best of all, a complete crowd pleaser. It’s a recipe you’ll come back to time and time again. The chilli gives the perfect bite, ideal for when there’s a slight nip in the air.

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

n Sear the chicken skin side down over hot coals until coloured and slightly crisp.

n Repeat with the sausages brown all over first over hot coals. Char the sweetcorn until nicely coloured.

n Place the chicken (skin side up), sausages, sweetcorn and apples in a tray and cook indirect at about 180/200°C for 10 minutes. Add cider and chicken stock. Cook further until the chicken hits a minimum of 75°C when probed. Scatter with red chilli for garnish and bite.

n Devour with crusty bread, chips, mashed potatoes, polenta also perfect in hot dogs.

Nick Hook

Chocolate & Pecan TART

by Sue Stoneman

With the onset of autumn and the cooler days, this chocolate and pecan tart is a perfect sweet crunchy pudding for those lazy days tinkering in the garden; and with thoughts of Halloween and Thanksgiving looming would be an ideal treat to take to friends. I’ve called it a tart, but maybe it’s a pie – like pecan pie? No need to bake the pastry blind and it travels well…. straight into your mouth!

SERVES 8 (OR MORE)

20cm pie/tart dish, greased and lined

INGREDIENTS PASTRY

175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

100g unsalted butter, diced

1 tbsp golden caster sugar

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp water (enough to bring pastry into a dough)

INGREDIENTS – FILLING

55g unsalted butter

3 tbsp cocoa powder

3 eggs 225ml golden syrup

70g dark brown sugar

175g pecan nuts, chopped roughly

METHOD

n First make the pastry. Place the flour into a large bowl, add in the butter and rub it in using your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Tip in the sugar, followed by the egg yolk and a little water and mix.

You may need to add a little more water –just enough to bring the dough together. Wrap and place in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

n In a heatproof pan, place the butter and melt it gently. You can do this over the BBQ too! Stir in the syrup and cocoa powder.

In a separate bowl, break in the 3 eggs and tip in the dark brown sugar and beat together with a hand whisk. Tip in the chopped pecan nuts and the melted syrup mixture. Stir well.

n Line your pie dish with the pastry, trim the edges and pour in the chocolate mixture.

I baked this in my Kamado Joe Junior indirect at a temp of 170ºC for about 50 minutes until the filling was just set. Leave to cool slightly before slicing and eating. Serve with whipped double cream and a dusting of cinnamon.

ROASTED BUT TERNUT SQUASH with sausage, apple, apricot and pecan stuffing

by Worlds Pantry

September is probably the most abundant month in the vegetable garden. The late summer crops are still plentiful while autumn produce such as apples, squash and leeks are almost ready to harvest. If you don’t grow your own, then why not visit local farm shops or markets for the best of British seasonal produce. You’ll find a wealth of colourful fruit and veg to inspire and complement your BBQ cooks.

One of our favourite vegetables on the grill is the deliciously versatile butternut squash, which is at its best, this time of year. In our featured recipe, we have combined the earthy sweetness of the squash with apple, pecan, and good quality sausage to create an easy but hearty autumnal meal.

INGREDIENTS

I large butternut squash, halved lengthways, seeds removed

2 tbsp olive oil 500g good quality sausages (skins removed)

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced Handful of fresh herbs chopped (we used sage, rosemary & thyme)

1 small apple, chopped

Handful of pecans, chopped Handful of dried apricots, chopped Sea salt & ground black pepper

METHOD

n Brush the flesh of the butternut squash with half of the olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Grill at approximately 180ºC for about 1½ hours or until the squash is

soft all the way through. Remove from the grill and allow to cool slightly.

n In a skillet, drizzle the rest of the olive oil and fry the onion, garlic and sausage over direct heat, breaking up the meat while you cook. When the sausage is browned & onions are soft, add the herbs, apple, pecans and apricots and allow to cook for a few more minutes. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

n When the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out enough flesh to create a hole big enough to hold your stuffing. Don’t throw away the squash that you remove; this can be used in lots of other recipes! Fill with the sausage mixture before returning to the grill for around 5 minutes, then serve on its own as a main meal or as a side.

For me, a tomahawk steak needs to be smoky in flavour, nicely charred and medium rare in the centre. That’s just me, though; you might prefer yours rare or well done so adjust the instructions below to achieve your perfect steak.

Remember, you want to cook this by temperature and not time, so having a quality meat thermometer for this recipe is a good idea.

SERVES 2-4

INGREDIENTS

2 x 900g tomahawk steaks

3-4 tbsp all-purpose rub

Oil, for brushing METHOD

n Rub the steaks all over with the all-purpose rub. It is important to do this at least 1 hour before cooking but overnight will achieve even better results. When ready to cook, set up your barbecue for indirect heat cooking. If using a normal

kettle barbecue, place a drip pan with a little water in it opposite the coals. This isn’t necessary if using a ceramic barbecue.

n When the barbecue has reached a steady cooking temperature of between 110°C (225°F) and 120°C (245°F), you’re ready to get cooking. I tend to aim for the lower temperature for a longer cook.

n Cover the long bone extending from the tomahawk steaks with foil and place them directly on the grill over the drip pan or opposite the coals and close the lid. You can maintain the cooking heat by adjusting the top and bottom vents. Allow to cook until the steaks have reached an internal temperature of 47°C (116°F), then transfer to a plate, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest. The residual heat will continue to cook the steaks before you finish them back on the grill.

n Meanwhile, spread your coals out in the barbecue and add more charcoal if needed. You might like to get some charcoal fired up in a chimney starter so that it’s ready to add if you need it. At this

point, you can open both the top and bottom vents wide open to get the grill as hot as possible.

n When the steaks have rested and you’re ready to finish cooking, open the lid and lightly brush the cooking grate with a little oil. I usually place the steaks back on the grill when they reach 53°C (128°F) for medium rare. Place the steaks directly over the hottest part of the fire and cook on one side for about a minute until nicely charred (flare-ups are fine as the steaks are only over the fire for a short time), then flip the steaks using tongs and char the other side. This generally achieves my preferred and recommended internal temperature of 56°C (133°F). Transfer to a plate to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing.

n These steaks are awesome just as they are, although I like to serve them with my tomato chutney. Another delicious option is my avocado chutney, either as is or blended with a couple of tablespoons of Greek yoghurt until smooth.

REVERSE-SEARED TOMAHAWK STEAKS

by Dan Toombs, The Curry Guy

The Curry Guy BBQ (Quadrille, £12.99)

Photography ©Kris Kirkham

CHARRED AUTUMN SALAD

We love charred veg and this time of year is perfect for carrots and cauliflower. This dish makes a tasty meal by itself or as the perfect accompaniment to grilled lamb chops or chicken thighs.

INGREDIENTS

1 large cauliflower, cut into florets

12 small carrots, sliced lengthways

2 echalion shallots, peeled and sliced widthways

ANCHOVY DRESSING

1 tin anchovies (30g drained weight)

100ml garlic oil

(or rapeseed oil with 1 clove fried garlic)

50ml white wine vinegar

1 tsp honey

1 tsp pink peppercorns

BREADCRUMB TOPPING

50g sourdough breadcrumbs toasted

Zest of 1 orange

20g grated pecorino

2 heaped tbsp chopped parsley

Handful of hazelnuts toasted and crushed

2 tsp salted capers

1 tsp pink peppercorns

with anchovy dressing

by Flame & Dame

METHOD

n

Blanch the cauliflower and carrots in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and leave to drain; skip this step if you prefer your veg crunchy.

n Blend the dressing ingredients until smooth, and set aside.

n Combine the ingredients for the topping.

n Grill the carrots, cauliflower and shallots until charred.

n Place the grilled veg in a bowl and drizzle with the anchovy dressing and top with breadcrumb topping.

by DIVA Q

INGREDIENTS

1kg whole trimmed flank steak

MARINADE INGREDIENTS

1 cup (250ml) low sodium soy sauce

130ml rice wine vinegar

30g finely chopped rosemary

3 tbsp minced garlic

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp onion granules

1 tbsp coarse ground black pepper

METHOD

n Whisk marinade ingredients together until the ingredients have liquified. Place the flank steak in a non-reactive container (plastic, glass, or resealable bag) pour marinade over the steak and turn over to coat. Marinate meat should be refrigerated for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.

n Preheat grill to 400°F (200°C)

n Grill flank steak for 5-8 minutes per side until the internal temperature reaches 120-125°F (around 50°C) for medium rare n Remove from grill and rest for 10 minutes. Slice against the grain and serve.

n This marinade can also be good for beef roasts, beef ribs, pork loins, and short ribs.

Soy RosemaryFLANK STEAK

CHERRY ORANGE

OLD FASHIONED

INGREDIENTS

60ml whiskey

30ml Traeger Simple Syrup

3 shakes Angostura bitters

1 navel orange halved

2 tsp cherry juice

2-4 cherries

1 slice orange

2 pieces orange rind

1 large handful of ice divided into two

METHOD

n Preheat your Traeger grill to 350°F. Grill the orange slice and halves for 15 minutes until lightly charred. Set aside.

n In a cocktail shaker, mix half of the ice, whiskey, Traeger Simple Syrup, Angostura bitters, cherry juice, cherries and 1 piece of bruised orange rind.

n Strain the cocktail into a new glass with fresh ice adding one new piece of bruised orange rind rubbed around the rim, and two cherries.

n Add an additional slice of grilled orange and a few more cherries.

n Serve. Drink. Be happy.

by Phil Yeomans

WOOD-FIRED GREENGAGE TARTE TATIN

INGREDIENTS

4 plums

100g sugar

100g butter, diced METHOD

n Wash your fruit after picking n Cut the plums in half and remove the stones.

n Roll out some puff pastry to 3mm thick and use a plate to cut out a circle. The

Individual ANGLAISE

INGREDIENTS

235ml smoked cream (see opposite)

1 vanilla pod (deseeded)

4 egg yolks

65g white sugar

1 tbsp Cornflour

METHOD

n In a small, heavy saucepan, heat cream and vanilla until bubbles form at edges.

pastry disc should be 1 inch bigger than the skillet. Lightly prick all over with a fork.

n Place the sugar into the wood-fired oven at 250°C near the front. Cook for 5-7 minutes, to a dark amber caramel syrup that’s starting to smoke, then take out the oven and stir in the chilled diced butter.

Place the plum halves flesh side down into the caramel watch your fingers as it will be very hot! Place the puff pastry over the plums and pinch into the edges, prick a few

holes in the pastry to allow the steam to escape, put the pan back in the oven until the pastry is cooked and nicely coloured .

n Allow to cool down for 10 minutes.

n Place a board on top and flip the tatin out onto the board. Serve with burnt smoky custard.

n You can also use apples, quince and pears this time of year, but your tatin will take longer to cook and cook the fruit first before adding your pastry lid.

CREAM

n While the cream is heating, separately whisk together egg yolks, cornflour and sugar until smooth. Slowly pour 1/3 of the heated cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Gradually add the egg yolk mixture back into remaining cream mixture, whisking constantly. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens coats the back of a spoon.

INGREDIENTS

1 litre cream

5 large chunks of charcoal

METHOD

n Place cream into a metal bowl, add charcoal, cover and leave overnight to infuse.

n Strain through a J-cloth in a chinois.

SHELLFISH

By Marcus Bawdon

We are so blessed in the South West to have a wonderful selection of seafood, and also some pretty special cider. It would be a shame not to pair them up really. There's a real simplicity about a recipe like this, and feel free to choose whichever shellfish are best in season; I went for local mussels and some juicy razor clams that I picked up from a local fishmonger. Clams, langoustines, crab claws, prawns etc. will also work well here. You want to use a light mellow floral cider, nothing to sharp or acidic, Sandford Orchards Devon Mist is perfect for this.

SERVES 2 INGREDIENTS

A few handfuls

100ml light cider

1 tbsp butter

A clove

tbsp

garlic

Salt and pepper to season

Crusty bread

METHOD

n You'll need a deep, heatproof cast iron or spun iron pan to fit on your BBQ.

Set your pan over moderate 160-180°C direct heat.

n Add the butter and garlic, cook for a few minutes until the butter melts, add the shellfish and cook for a minute.

n Pour in the cider and simmer for 4 or 5 minutes until the shellfish is cooked through.

n Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and sprinkle over the parsley.

n Serve in a bowl with plenty of crusty bread to mop up the juices and a glass or two of cider.

These juicy chicken kebabs can also be made with minced turkey. If purchasing your meat from a butcher, ask them to finely mince chicken thighs as they have the most flavour. Chicken seekh kebabs can be a bit dry, which is why I add rendered beef or lamb fat to mine. You can make your own or just purchase beef or lamb dripping. The dripping not only makes the kebabs juicy but also helps to keep the chicken on the skewers. You can use this same mixture to make chicken patties for burgers, or try this mix in my lamb and chicken seekh kebabs.

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

1 red onion, roughly chopped

6 garlic cloves, crushed

2.5cm piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

6 green bird’s eye chillies, roughly chopped

2 tbsp chopped coriander (optional)

1kg minced chicken

4 tbsp beef or lamb dripping, homemade or shop-bought, at room temperature

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tsp garam masala

1½ tsp salt

2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder (more or less to taste)

3 tbsp melted ghee, plus extra for greasing

Rice or naans and salad, to serve

Green chutney, to serve

METHOD

n Put the onion into a food processor and blend to a coarse paste. Scrape the blended onion into a porous dish cloth and wrap it tightly into a ball. Twist the cloth, extracting as much moisture from the onion as you can. Set aside.

n Next add the garlic, ginger, chillies and coriander, if using, to the food processor and blend finely. This could also be done by hand with a knife, or in a pestle and mortar. Set aside.

n Put the minced chicken and the dripping

into a food processor and blend until smooth. I usually do this in batches.

n Transfer to a large bowl, add the blended onion, garlic, ginger, chilli and coriander paste and all the remaining ingredients, apart from the ghee. Mix well with your hands to combine. Cover and put in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

n When ready to cook, prepare a multi-level direct heat fire. Take a ball of the chicken mixture and begin forming it around a lightly greased skewer.

n When the coals are white-hot and it is uncomfortable to hold your hand 5cm above the grill for more than 2 seconds, you’re ready to cook. Lay your skewered seekh kebabs over the fire and cook, rotating them from time to time so that they cook evenly. When almost cooked through, baste with the ghee. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of your kebabs, but should take about 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 75°C (165°F).

n Serve with rice or naans, salad and green chutney.

by Dan Toombs, The Curry Guy

CHICKEN SEEKH KEBABS

The Curry Guy BBQ (Quadrille, £12.99)

Photography ©Kris Kirkham

Coffee Rubbed

FARM WILDER VENISON with Romesco Sauce

by Ben Forte for Kamado Joe

The slight bitterness from the coffee rub pairs perfectly with rich, complex venison. With a smoky crust and tender centre, there’s no better way to enjoy venison than seared over charcoal. We fired up the Kamado Joe with hot and clean burning charcoal and natural firelighters. This recipe will create ample romesco sauce, which will store well in the fridge. It’s the perfect dip for anything, smothered on chicken burgers, stirred through pasta or the perfect gift for a happy neighbour.

INGREDIENTS

1 Farm Wilder Venison loin

4 tbsp

1 tbsp

nely ground espresso coffee

aked sea salt

2 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper

2 tbsp vegetable oil

ROMESCO SAUCE

200g ground almonds

flame-roasted red peppers

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp smoked paprika

A healthy dash of chipotle chilli sauce (Tabasco)

1 tbsp sherry

50ml olive oil

METHOD

n Burn and blacken the peppers over scorching coals, turning frequently until peppers soften. Place peppers in a bowl, cover with cling film and set aside to naturally steam for 10 minutes. Using a cloth, pull off the blackened skin but don’t worry if it doesn’t all come away.

n Remove the seeds. In a blender, blitz all the romesco ingredients until smooth or your desired consistency. Season to taste.

n Set up your BBQ to searing temperature.

n Combine the coffee, black pepper and salt on a plate. Coat your venison liberally in oil, then roll it in the rub until it’s completely coated. Place on a wire rack.

n Using tongs, sear over a high heat, turning every so often to ensure an even crust. Check regularly with a meat thermometer and remove from the heat when it reaches 54°C. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. At this point, it should reach an internal temperature of 57°C when probed. n Finish the venison and romesco sauce with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and flakey sea salt.

Nick Hook

by Valerie Aikman-Smith

MINT & LEMON THYME RUB

½ preseved lemon, finely chopped

1 tbsp dried mint

2 tbsp fresh lemon thyme leaves

1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

60ml extra virgin olive oil

Grated zest and freshly squeezed juice

METHOD

n Rinse the lamb under cold running water and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut the lamb into 3cm cubes and put in a mixing bowl.

SERVES 6

INGREDIENTS

680g lamb shoulder, chilled

lemon

6 fresh bay leaves

Cracked black pepper

&

1 lemon

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

6 x 30cm wooden skewers, soaked in cold water before use (or sprigs of rosemary as shown)

QUICK PICKLED CUKES

450g pickling cucumbers

1 tbsp Kosher/table salt

2 tsp brown sugar

½ tsp black peppercorns

½ tsp pink peppercorns

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

4 fresh bay leaves

350ml apple cider vinegar

1 sterilised litre glass jar with lid

LAMB KEBABS with quick pickled cukes

n Put all of the Mint & Lemon Thyme Rub ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Rub it over the lamb and toss to coat evenly. Season with cracked black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 8–24 hours.

n Slice the lemon in half, then cut each half into half moons.

n Remove the lamb from the fridge and, while still cold, thread onto the prepared skewers (or rosemary sprigs) along with the bay leaves and lemon slices. Cover and allow to come to room temperature.

n On a medium-high barbecue, cook the skewers for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium and turn them over. Cook for 6-8 minutes more, turning often to make sure all the sides are brown and crispy.

n For the Quick Pickled Cukes cut the cucumbers into spears and pack them into the glass jar. In a non-reactive pan, add the salt, sugar, peppercorns, mustard seeds, bay leaves, cider vinegar, and 60ml of water.

Bring to a boil over a medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Pour the hot pickling juice over the cucumbers and fill to the top. Screw the lid on and allow to cool completely before placing in the refrigerator. These pickles will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Salt & Pepper, by Valerie Aikman-Smith, published by Ryland Peters & Small

by Phil Roberts, MEATER

INGREDIENTS

4 thick cut lamb chops

CHIMICHURRI

1 shallot,

1 red jalapeño,

4 garlic cloves,

chopped

chopped

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp

Handful

Handful

1

6-7

METHOD

n Ensure the barbecue is set up to cater for indirect cooking. Allow the chops to come to room temperature before getting started.

n Chop and combine all of the Chimichurri ingredients and set aside to combine.

n Brush the chops with olive oil and season with salt.

n Sear the chops for 10 or so seconds over direct heat on each side, remove and set aside.

n Insert your MEATER and set up the app to your desired finish (medium rare or we can’t be friends!)

n Place the chops back on the BBQ using indirect heat, following your MEATER to completion. Cook for a few minutes and follow the apps guidance, then remove. (If you don’t have a MEATER remove when meat this around 55°C)

n Remove from the barbecue and leave to rest until your MEATER gives you the green light to serve then slice, dress with your fresh green sauce and enjoy

LAMB CHOPS Chimichurri

BBQ is a fantastic option when it comes to cooking for larger groups of friends and family, but we’ve all been in that position where we’re stuck there flipping burgers and

when cookingfor a crowd

turning sausages not talking to our guests because we’re slaving away. I want to show you my top 10 dishes for cooking for a crowd. Just a disclaimer before we dive

Porchetta – the ultimate

1.

Italian BBQ dish. Rolled pork loin or belly stuffed with fennel citrus and herbs. Traditionally cooked on a rotisserie, this delicious dish is a sure-fire way to impress your guests.

Whole roast salmon – fish can be pretty intimidating to cook on the BBQ but it doesn’t need to be. Keeping a careful eye on temperature ensures that this doesn’t go wrong. A whole roasted salmon makes an amazing centre piece for a party and served on the table with all your sides is sure to be a real talking point.

3.

Rump of beef – absolutely packed full of flavour, rump of beef is a cost-effective way of serving beef as your show stopper at a party. Rump can be cooked whole low and slow until it reaches your desired internal temperature before being charred and portioned up for your guests into big thick slices.

5.

Paella – what’s better than a paella at a party? I don’t think this list would be complete without this absolute classic. Paella is traditionally cooked over fire and it’s there for everyone to see. At parties people gather round to watch this dish cook; the smell of the saffron as delicate as it is welcoming. This is definitely one for a crowd.

7.

Stuffed aubergines – a bit of a Sicilian classic this, but a fantastic party dish that can be prepared in advance and kept warm on the BBQ or in the oven. The aubergine is stuffed with a rich pork ragu and finished with pine nuts and parsley. If you’re catering for vegetarians you could make a sauce packed full of chunky veg instead.

9.

into my list: while brisket, pulled pork and pork ribs are all great options for cooking for a crowd, I thought we’d go for something a little different this time.

Lamb kleftiko – another classic Mediterranean dish, the signature of this dish is the wonderfully flavourful potatoes that you’re left with as the cooking liquor from the marinated lamb seeps through to your spuds, which means you’ve got at least one of your sides and main event covered.

8.

Chicken shawarma – I love this option for a crowd because its so versatile, you can marinate your chicken thighs however you want; spicy, fruity or BBQ style you decide. Serve your chicken with pittas, wraps and plenty of salads you give your guests the choice to make their own dinner.

by Mike Tomkins 4.

2.

Gumbo – the official dish of Louisiana and New Orleans, gumbo combines African, American Indian and European flavours to create a rich and punchy dish that is cooked differently by everyone. You can add pork, chicken, shellfish whatever you’ve got lying around really. But the ‘holy trinity’ of flavour that makes a gumbo a gumbo is onions, peppers and celery – this dish cooks amazingly over fire and is great served with rice.

6.

Cowboy chilli – A chilli con carne cooked low and slow using whole cuts of brisket, coffee and ancho chillies is such a game changer. It will be one of those dishes that once you’ve cooked this way, you’ll never go back to a regular chilli again and I guarantee everyone at your party will want your recipe.

Roast chicken – last but not least on my list is a roast chicken, super easy to cook over fire and so versatile. You can roast your chicken before shredding and creating a stunning Caesar salad; you could douse your chicken in piri-piri before serving over rice; or you could even spatchcock your chicken and baste with plenty of sweet BBQ sauce. The best thing about a roast chicken cooked over fire though is you can usually cater easily for large numbers.

Drink with ROGER JONES

The wonderful wine country of New Zealand has been having issues with the production of Sauvignon Blanc, with not only poor yields affecting quantity, but global transport and lack of pickers due to Covid restraints causing problems.

It is not all gloom though and excellent recent releases include Sauvignon Blancs from Wairarapa, Martinborough (especially 2021) with vineyards such as Craggy Range and Palliser Estate to the fore.

However, New Zealand is not just about Sauvignon Blanc; the depth of the country’s wine portfolio is amazing, with a heady mix of the unusual as well as better-known grape varieties, all working perfectly with live-fire food over the BBQ.

In general, New Zealand offers bright fresh clean flavours with lower alcohol than the norm, with that light touch giving great balance to the food.

SPARKLING – WHITE

No1 Family Estate, No1 Assemble

Think Champagne all the way with this; after all, it is made by a French family (Le Brun) who originated from Champagne and came to New Zealand with the intention of producing the finest sparkling wine.

Based on Marlborough’s Golden Mile on the Rapaura Road, the wine evokes brioche and fresh apples followed by a delicate fizz with clean stone fruit fresh and luxurious to the taste.

ALBARIÑO WHITE

Bell-Ringer, Coopers Creek Select Vineyards Albariño, Gisborne 2019

The Albariño grape is originally from the coastlines of northern Portugal and north-west Spain, giving the wines their clean, sea-fresh flavour.

Gisborne is on the east coast of New Zealand and is the perfect region to replicate these features, with juicy peaches on the palate and a creamy complexion that is underlined by a crisp sea-spray freshness.

GRÜNER VELTLINER WHITE

Tinpot McKee Vineyard, Grüner Veltliner, Marlborough 2018 Grüner Veltliner is primarily grown in Austria and the Czech Republic, giving flavours of lemon and lime, grapefruit and nectarine, followed by spices. Think ginger, tarragon and white pepper.

This wine is made in Marlborough, at the top of the South Island of New Zealand, and for me offers a brighter style to the European Grüner wines.

There is orange blossom and honeysuckle on the front, then peaches, followed by peppery spiced notes.

It is what is called a mineral wine crisp and focused with a lovely acidity, cleaning the mouth ready for another juicy spare rib from the barbecue.

RIESLING – WHITE Waipara Springs Riesling, Waipara Valley 2019

New Zealand Rieslings are different to the bone-dry ones from Australia and are more Germanic to the taste, which means they pair perfectly with food off the fire.

Waipara is just north of Christchurch on the east coast of the South Island and a smart area for growing Riesling.

Gentle aromatics of elderflower, fruit forward, with fresh citrus tones combined with honeydew melon give this wine great balance.

PINOT NOIR – RED Escarpment, Martinborough Pinot Noir 2018

While Central Otago on the South Island brought New Zealand Pinot Noir to our attention 20 years ago, we are now seeing excellent Pinot Noir from all over the country.

Martinborough is a very small region on the North Island, but produces some world-class wines from its boutique wineries.

This Pinot Noir is full of bright cherries and raspberries, fresh, vibrant and glowing. Larry McKenna known as Larry McPinot is the man behind the Escarpment brand. Recently retired, his 21 years of winemaking in Martinborough still glows.

Although sourced from Marlborough, more famous for Sauvignon Blanc, this is an exceptional refined Pinot Noir that combines fruit and savoury meaty nuances.

Rich dark berries, plum and black cherries, violets, spices and savoury notes, it matches well with beef dishes.

SYRAH (SHIRAZ) – RED

Trinity Hill, Gimblett Gravels, Syrah 2019

Most New Zealand winemakers call their wine Syrah instead of Shiraz to reflect its more refined style compared to New World Shiraz. Trinity Hill certainly knows how to make Syrah. This is one of its more moderately priced wines and delivers a seamless experience.

Deep flavours but fresh; think raspberries, blueberries, black olives and cracked black pepper. Perfect with Jacob’s Ladder (beef short ribs).

CABERNET FRANC – RED

Waipara West, Cabernet Franc, Waipara 2018

This is the most southerly produced Cabernet Franc in the world, based near Canterbury on New Zealand’s South Island.

Dark plummy flavours, violets, crimson, soft and warm with velvety tannins, spiced with a luxury feel and exceptional value.

Auntsfield Single Vineyard Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2020

New

brew for BBQ Beer

Sizzler, the new New Zealand pale ale from BBQ magazine and Powder Monkey Brewing, complements white meats, fish and spicy dishes, not just because of its paler nature, but due to the Sauvignon hops used in the brew.

This gives the Sizzler beer an incredibly light, wine-like freshness that layers on to a crisp bitterness. Serve Sizzler cold. But not too cold. Pale ales sing their best songs at around 12°C, so while checking the temperature of your beer may be a step too far for some, open it, pour it and let it breathe a bit, so you get the benefit of the whole symphony.

Upon pouring, don’t expect perfectly clear straw blonde liquid. Sizzler gives a super pale amber glow and appealing light, foamy head that laces around the edge of your glass.

I spent six years in the brewing industry, working with traditional, craft and global

beer brands, fuelling my love of brewing and beer. It’s important to acknowledge how difficult a new entry into the pale ale category is; it’s heavily saturated and difficult to bring anything new to the party, but Sizzler does just that.

Sizzler is designed to be served with food cooked over fire. It’s the BBQ community’s beer, our beer. It’s made to fit the nation’s favourite everyday meat making it the perfect beer for any day of the week, specifically for those times where you light up your grills.

Here I have paired the Sizzler with an Indian spiced spatchcock chicken, with coconut milk curry sauce and toasted flatbreads.

Phil Roberts works for MEATER, the leading wireless meat thermometer brand. Instagram: @philsfirefood

A light and refreshing pale ale showcasing New Zealand hops that bring a white grape and gooseberry aroma reminiscent of a Sauvignon Blanc with subtle floral notes. This beer has been designed to pair with lighter dishes such as seafood and chicken where delicate flavours can be teased out and highlighted by the fragrant hop aroma.

See: Straw, hazy

Smell: White grape, gooseberry, floral Taste: Light, citrus, refreshing Pitmaster, the first BBQ brew, a Rye IPA launched last year by BBQ magazine and Powder Monkey Brewing, is already an award-winner, having won Silver at the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) Awards in 2021.

UNFORGETTABLE

We all know rugby players love their meat and cooking outdoor feasts over the fire.

Former England and Northampton Saints hooker Steve Thompson will welcome Sizzler to drink with the food. He is a director of Powder Monkey Brewing and has a range of beers Hop & Hooker named after him.

Steve is a big BBQ enthusiast and enjoys nothing more than cooking the Sunday roast for his family.

“I’ve always enjoyed cooking, but now it’s taken on a greater significance as something in which I can really lose myself.”

Steve, 44, has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia and serious progressive brain damage. His autobiography, Unforgettable: Rugby, dementia and the fight of my life, is an extraordinary story – raw and powerful, moving and frightening.

And yet at times, amid the heartbreak, uplifting, as a testament to the power of love and family the strength of Steve’s wife Steph and their four children Seren, Slone, Saskia and Saxon.

I, like millions of others and with rugby joined at the hip with the BBQ community, remember England’s 2003 World Cup win. Steve Thompson,

who played in it, doesn’t.

Steve wrote Unforgettable “for the sake of generations to come” to comprehend how widespread brain damage and the risk of dementia is in sport. I have rarely been so moved to anger and tears and, yes, laughter too by a book.

Rupert Bates

Unforgettable is published by Bonnier Books.

With a passion for live-fire food and the beer to accompany it, there are few better qualified to pass judgement on Sizzler pale ale than pitmaster PHIL ROBERTS

Sizzler tasting notes by Mark Hamblin, head brewer, Powder Monkey Brewing Co

Because pairing is sharing and caring –whoever you’re with, wherever you are, whatever you're eating

The value of outdoor space is turning the property market inside out and leading housebuilders are adapting accordingly, as RUPERT BATES reports

Ever y builder’s got ahungry hearth

Jack Rowbottom in the Redrow garden

The most important room in a brand-new home used to be the kitchen with all the white goods and appliances. Now it has a friendly rival: its outdoor namesake, as the back garden evolves from lawn and flowerbeds to al fresco cooking, dining and entertaining.

The British are even getting less wet about the weather, with gazebos, awnings and even full-blown pavilions offering year-round BBQ opportunities.

The pandemic triggered an unprecedented rise in demand for outdoor cooking equipment, be it grills, ovens or firepits, as well as the furniture to dress the ‘room’.

The lounge-kitchen-diner was a clumsy composite term coined by estate agents; now you can just call it the garden, with the patio area not just a selection of slabs or tiles, but as vital to get right as flooring and carpets inside the home, with designers looking to complement styles, materials and colours, bringing the inside out or outside in.

Paul Vallone, executive chairman of housebuilder St Edward, part of the Berkeley Group, says outside space – be it for dining and entertaining friends, or relaxing with family is a priority for many buyers, as well as the importance of access to nature and green space for both physical

and mental wellbeing, whether it is community space, or the private landscaped garden of a family house.

St Edward is building Hartland Village, near Fleet in Hampshire, with a vision to create an exceptional place in design and architecture, delivering a true community. A traditionally inspired humped-back bridge leads residents over a picturesque lake, providing an impressive entrance into the new village and evoking an immediate sense of belonging.

“Hartland Village will include a new primary school, shops, cafés and other amenities, making it a destination in its own right. This is a community-centric development with a focus on green outdoor space, surrounded by extensive areas of woodland interspersed with open heath creating a distinctive landscape, including a 70-acre country park,” says Vallone, with a wide range of buyers, be they first-time purchasers, London leavers, families or downsizers, drawn to the acres that define the village.

“These spaces inspire healthy living and bring the community together. The country park features wildflower meadows, picnic areas and butterfly banks, and has been extremely popular with our buyers and the wider community. Cycle paths, trim trails and walkways encourage active and social

St Edward

St Edward

Paul Vallone

lifestyles, providing links across the village, the country park and the surrounding forests and local towns.”

“Our residents can enjoy their own private outdoor space in their gardens, and the public outdoor spaces at Hartland Village are also a crucial piece of the puzzle and one of the key reasons Hartland Village has been so popular with buyers,” says Vallone.

“The creation of exceptional outdoor spaces, both public and private, is also a key part of our commitment. For every home, we create fantastic outside spaces that provide a natural extension to the indoor living areas and can be used flexibly based on the requirements of our residents, whether that’s space to cook and dine outside, exercise, relax or to put a home office. We’re delivering a lifestyle to our residents.”

Vallone says the pandemic highlighted the importance of outdoor space to people’s health. “Hartland Village was a scheme designed before this, based on our belief that green space is crucial to a sense of wellbeing, and that it is our responsibility as housebuilders to improve the natural environment. That’s why every home at Hartland Village features a garden or outside space. Studies have found that people with private outdoor spaces are more likely to exercise regularly, while cooking outside or gardening brings its own benefits, providing a hobby for families to enjoy together and improving mental health.”

The homes are Hartland Village are designed to ensure the gardens form a natural extension to the living spaces indoors. “Buyers are attracted to the flexibility this brings. In the houses at Hartland Village, open-plan living, kitchen and dining rooms lend themselves well to

entertaining, whatever the weather, and they lead seamlessly out into the gardens. Our residents make the most of the thoughtful layout of their homes and really are using their private outdoor spaces for living.”

“St Edward has provided external power, lighting and water taps to every garden as a standard feature, while spacious patio areas provide a great place for hosting BBQs, positioning a hot tub, or simply for relaxing in the evenings.”

James Holmear, group sales director at Redrow, says the housebuilder has never been more aware of a garden’s value to mind and body than over the last few years.

“We’ve seen them stop being just an outdoor space and transform into a hub of activity that has wellbeing, health and socialising at its heart. We’ve seen this

St Edward

Redrow

BBQ Beers

Beefsteak wines

reflected in the increased popularity of bi-fold doors, which create the perfect bridge between indoors and outdoors. However, we’ve also seen an increase in people landscaping and designing their gardens with the same care and attention they would their kitchen or living room.”

Holmear says this had led to people focusing on areas such as decks and patios, opting for more socially focused gardens, with extra seating and entertainment space and plenty of room for outdoor dining and BBQs.

“However, it isn’t all about long summer days. An optional extra we offer through our My Redrow platform are luxury garden pods. As people demand more from their spaces, an extension of the home for the garden is fast becoming a sought-after

addition. Whether used as a home office, gym or playroom for the kids, these exterior garden buildings provide a stylish separate place where the family can spend time. Offering a light and airy internal space, they are fully lined and insulated so they can be used all year round.”

Last month Redrow put its ‘better way to live outdoors’ concept into action, inviting residents and prospective homebuyers at its Great Milton Park development in Newport, south Wales to a BBQ lunch, showcasing great food cooking over the flames, as well as Redrow’s new garden pod.

The event was run in partnership with John Lewis in Cardiff, with home stylists bringing outdoor furniture and accessories to the party, as well as offering design tips.

The food was cooked by renowned pitmaster Jack Rowbottom of Jack’s Meat Shack, a live-fire cooking expert and food content creator, using a selection of Char-broil grills, including its hybrid Gas2Coal barbecue, with a menu that included Caribbean chicken thighs, coffee rubbed ribeye roast with chimichurri and grilled salmon fillets.

The food was washed down by BBQ Sizzler Pale Ale and Pitmaster Rye IPA, a beer partnership between BBQ magazine

Jack Rowbottom in the Redrow garden

Redrow

Redrow

Jack Rowbottom

and Gosport-based Powder Monkey Brewing Co, while the Beefsteak wines a Malbec, a Malbec Rose and a Sauvignon Blanc – were also specifically chosen to pair with the grilled meats.

There are six show homes from Redrow’s Heritage Collection at Great Milton Park, combining Arts & Craft architecture with contemporary interiors, as well as the new multipurpose garden room. Redrow area sales manager Andrew Williams said the event, attracting around 50 guests including prospective new buyers, confirmed the “real sense of community” the development inspires, with gardens and communal green spaces high up on buyers’ wish-lists.

Developer London Square also recently held a BBQ for residents at its Pickle Factory

scheme in Bermondsey, London – a range of apartments and duplexes, featuring new garden squares and walkways, as well as a Beach Garden, the perfect space for communal barbecues and outdoor entertaining.

The Pickle Factory was once home to Branston, the iconic pickle brand celebrating its centenary this year. The Beach Garden now has a Kamado Space BBQ unit with a Kamado Bono grill for the use of the residents at the development, with the first communal barbecue at the scheme cooked by Ruffled Truffle caterers and the space and the barbecue already proving very popular with the apartment owners.

“London Square has always put garden squares, courtyards and landscaped spaces at the heart of all its developments, in the tradition of famous squares across the capital. We always set out to bring a community together and well-designed communal spaces provide a hub for residents to get to know each other,” says Jo McDonagh, group sales and marketing director of London Square.

“Since the pandemic, everyone has become even more aware of the value of outdoor space. As a developer, we have pledged to building all our future developments with private outdoor spaces for every resident.”

At its award-winning Star & Garter development in Richmond, London Square designed private barbecue areas into the landscaped gardens overlooking the Thames.

“The garden has become an essential outdoor living space for our buyers. At Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, we have

Octagon

Kamado Space BBQ unit with a Kamado Bono grill at London Square

Jo McDonagh

a show home with a hot tub, pergola and terrace, a space for an outdoor kitchen/barbecue, as well as a summerhouse and climbing frame. With our changes in climate and warmer weather, eating al fresco and spending time in the garden has become a way of life for many people.”

At London Square’s Tadworth Gardens development in Surrey, buyers could create their own bespoke garden, with three styles on offer the family garden with a play area, the cottage garden with pretty country style planting and shrubs, or a more formal contemporary garden design.

“For buyers with gardens, autumn and winter are great months for planning and buying equipment and also planting out the garden to look fabulous the following spring and summer. Count down to the good weather, starting in January with the first snowdrops, through to spring daffodils and before you know it, it’s time to fire up the barbecue or get out the kids’ paddling pool,” says McDonagh.

“With outdoor heating, great lighting and awnings, gardens can be used all year round for dining al fresco or enjoying a morning coffee.”

Outdoor space has always been a high priority for luxury housebuilder Octagon.

“It’s generally the starting point for any of our builds. We make sure we are utilising the amount of land we have, working with

the orientation to maximise sunlight and creating as much usable space for clients as possible. Octagon homes come fully landscaped, as we want our gardens ready to use as intended from day one,” says Tim Banks, chief executive of Octagon.

Banks is seeing a lot more requests for different ‘zoning’ areas, such as a chill out zone with sofas around a fire pit, alongside a more formal dining area that’s covered from the sun.

“Likewise, the all-important outdoor kitchen and BBQ area is regularly requested, featuring high stools, a breakfast bar and also a kids’ space or leisure area to play.”

Octagon has recognised the soaring popularity of outdoor cooking, be it barbecues, wood-fired ovens or fire pits.

“As the range of outdoor cooking options continues to expand, so do the cook-out zones in our homes. Wood-fired ovens are becoming a standard request in our Bespoke homes, along with a fully functioning prep and kitchen area, complete with plenty of secure storage for tools and gadgets,” says Banks, who has also seen the rise in demand for outdoor TV screens and sound systems, throwing al fresco parties for big sporting events.

Outdoor rooms are being created with the use of indoor-outdoor furniture, says Banks, with gardens styled as an extension of the indoors, with bi-fold doors offering a

Octagon

Octagon

Kamado Space BBQ unit with a Kamado Bono grill at London Square

Aspirational

seamless transition, such as at Octagon’s Broadoaks Park development in West Byfleet, Surrey.

Octagon, through its Bespoke division, can also deliver outdoor buildings and pods, be they for entertainment, work or exercise.

“Our in-house interior design team are experts at transforming spaces, and work with a large number of clients to really bring a home and garden to life. Chancery Homes’ newest acquisition, Hampton Court Place [from Octagon’s upper-mid market brand Chancery Homes] in Thames Ditton, will have private balconies and access to outdoor space to most of the apartments, while two large communal roof terraces will ensure we utilise the square footage as much as possible for residents to enjoy the outdoors.”

James Lamb of estate agent Savills says the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns fundamentally changed the way many see their outside space.

“Where perhaps previously people might have just wanted to have an outside space that looked nice, now they want their

gardens, terraces and balconies to function as living rooms – both in the summer and all year round.”

This explains the popularity of outdoor kitchens, fire pits and covered terraces.

“We recently sold a house that was fully kitted out both internally and externally and we saw how the gardens were a really big selling point. And while garden living is traditionally associated with the summer months and drier weather, having spaces that can be lived in, even in the darkest months of winter, are a big draw, so outdoor heating is something that also shouldn’t be overlooked,” says Lamb.

Estate agent Tom Hayman-Joyce of Hayman-Joyce in the Cotswolds has seen increasing demand for outdoor space and gardens from buyers and the desire for barbecues, pizza ovens and fire pits, as well as fully fitted outdoor kitchens.

Agent Daniel Nash from Nash Partnership in Hertfordshire says since the pandemic, outdoor space has become much more important to house-hunters, be it private gardens or good access to woodland and forests, fuelling the rural market.

From across the property firmament, brand-new and second-hand, the song remains the same; a phenomenal growth in outdoor living and dining, with more and more people seeking inspiration, education and entertainment, with the more enlightened housebuilders recognising the huge opportunity to connect with residents and buyers in compelling ways.

Show home openings on new housing developments used to be a ribbon-cutting by the local mayor, followed by white wine and vol-au-vent and don’t get crumbs on the carpet.

Now we step outside, gather round the fire and the food and embrace both the airspace and the headspace beyond the bi-folds. Welcome to the best room in the house.

Octagon

Octagon

Octagon

Octagon

Redrow

ESSEX

Stanmore Way, Loughton

A 4,300ft² new build, this five-bedroom property has a 320ft garden, including an outdoor kitchen and bar, with BBQ, outdoor fireplace, sink, fridge and built-in television.

The dining room has views of the garden, while sliding doors from the living area take you out on to the terrace.

Guide Price: £2.95m

Agent: Savills

HAMPSHIRE

Bramblings, Brockenhurst

A four-bedroom house in the New Forest, Bramblings, refurbished in recent years and with a south-west facing garden, has a large terrace area, with an outdoor kitchen, including a built-in barbecue, a fridge, a feature fireplace and a bar seating area.

The property is four miles from Lymington.

Guide Price: £2.75m

Agent: Caldwells

DORSET

The Horseshoe, Sandbanks, Poole

Within the Sandbanks Yacht Club development, this four-bedroom house sits on the water’s edge overlooking Poole Harbour. On the lower ground floor is a wine store, home office and bar area, with doors out to extensive decking with an outdoor kitchen. The property also has a secure mooring, shared by three properties.

Guide Price: £4.85m

Agent: Savills

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

St John’s Close, Penn

This five-bedroom property has bi-fold doors opening on to the decked terrace and an oak-framed gazebo with an integrated barbecue, drinks fridge and a pop-up television. There is also a garden studio/home office. Located in a private close, the house has planning for a double storey extension.

Guide price: £1.95m

Agent: Savills

WALES

Cliff House, Llancarfan, Vale of Glamorgan

This is a Grade II listed thatched cottage in a Welsh valley. It comes with seven acres of gardens, paddocks and woodland, including a large, paved terrace that leads to a timber deck with glass panels and an outdoor kitchen and pizza oven, with views over the river valley and farmland.

Guide price: £1.5m

Agent: Watts & Morgan

YORKSHIRE

Bark Mill Cottage, Lund House Green, Harrogate

A stone-built property, dating back to the 1800s, Bark Mill Cottage has four bedrooms and sits in three acres of gardens. There are multiple outdoor seating areas, an open-fire barbecue set up, a 10-seater garden hut, a remote-controlled retractable sun cover with lighting and a gym.

Guide Price: £2.3m

Agent: Strutt & Parker

SOLEX 2022, the Summer Outdoor Living Exhibition, held at the NEC, Birmingham was a great success for visitors and exhibitors alike, showcasing what’s new and trending for next year.

The show attracted the industry’s top buyers and one of the highlights of the show was the Loving Outdoor Living Zone. This outdoor cooking area was lit up by fire brand exhibitors including Kamado Joe, Traeger, Char-Broil, Norfolk Leisure, Premier Decorations, Pro Q, El Fuego, Pacific Lifestyle, Bramblecrest and LeisureGrow. SOLEX 2023 takes place at the NEC, Birmingham from 10-12 July.

ProQ won the Best BBQ Product award at SOLEX, judged by Marcus Bawdon of BBQ magazine and CountryWoodSmoke. The winning product was the ProQ Flatdog, the fold-flat portable charcoal BBQ.

Brighton rocks

A glittering line up of live-fire cooks and top chefs, as well as an array of great musicians, are coming to Brighton in September, as Pub in the Park rocks into the Sussex town for the first time (16-18 September).

The last Pub in the Park of the season, Brighton promises to be a heady cocktail of food, fire, drink and song.

Tom Kerridge and Simon Rimmer, regular Pub in the Park hosts, will be joined on the Miele Chef Demo stage by culinary greats such as Marco Pierre White and Lisa Goodwin-Allen.

The opening Friday night of the festival will see another BBQ Hero competition, organised by BBQ magazine, which proved so successful when it was held at the first Pub in the Park event of the year in Marlow.

There will, naturally, be a strong Sussex flavour in the sea air, with Brighton chefs such as MasterChef champion 2018 Kenny Tutt of Ox Block, Pete Dantanus of Burnt Orange and Peter White of Riddle & Finns all cooking across the weekend in Preston Park.

Other firepit cooks include Shropshire Lad Adam Purnell, butcher Simon Taylor, DJ BBQ and Aston Prideaux.

“Pub in the Park in Brighton, just down the road from BBQ magazine HQ, will bring the curtain down on a magnificent series of food and drink events we’ve been privileged to be media partners with this year,” said Rupert Bates (right), editor of BBQ magazine.

“Pub in the Park across the country, the Smoke & Fire festivals in Ascot and Colchester, Black Deer Festival in Eridge Park, Kent, SOLEX in Birmingham, The River Festival in Chalabre, France – we’ve partnered with them all and rounded off the summer at The Game Fair in Ragley Hall, Warwickshire, with Weber a Game Fair partner and BBQ magazine distributed from the Traeger stand. Our summer tour has been as enlightening as it has been fun, seeing some of the great fire, food and

outdoor living businesses and personalities out there. You light a fire you start a party and we look forward to many more events and partnerships in the future.”

MasterChef finalist joinsBBQ magazine

Mike Tomkins, MasterChef runner-up last year and a passionate advocate of live-fire cooking, has joined the partnerships team at BBQ magazine.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be joining

BBQ magazine, meeting people who share a similar passion to mine and I’ll be sharing recipes and tips for live-fire cooking along the way,” said Tomkins.

“Coming through MasterChef it was always clear to me that I wanted to move into a career in food, and as part of that journey I found outdoor living, BBQ and live-fire cooking.”

“While live-fire cooking had always been a passion of mine, I wanted to explore the possibility of refining that style of cooking and with that came the idea of a supper club cooked purely around fire.”

Tomkins says BBQ doesn’t have to be brisket and ribs “as amazing as they are.” He loves to take a dish that isn’t traditionally cooked over fire and transforming it on the coals.

“Taking inspiration from live-fire feasting experts such as Simon

Stallard, I recently hosted my own feast at The Garden Cobham, a stunning walled garden in Surrey and I have loved every second of it.”

“My idea when I entered MasterChef was always to have my own gastro pub and that dream is still very much alive. But for now, it’s focused round cooking over fire. There’s just something so satisfying from this style of cooking, which you don’t get from any other.”

Pete Dantanus

Peter White

Kenny Tutt

Love Logs, Love Pizza

Love Logs held the inaugural UK’s Best Amateur Pizzaiolo competition this summer, with Pete Bath eventually crowned champion in a hotly contested contest.

Five finalists emerged from nearly 200 entrants. First up was the dough making, before an overnight BBQ. The next day the contestants baked a Neapolitan margherita followed by their own specialty pizza, with winner Pete Bath creating a pizza bianchi with sausage and caramelised onion for the expert judges: Great British Bake Off star Giuseppe Dell’Anno and Adam Purnell, AKA Shropshire Lad.

“The quality was even better than we’d hoped. All 10 pizzas were restaurant quality,” said Paul Strachan, co-founder of Love Logs with his partner Heather Emery.

Coals to Cologne

Spoga+Gafa, the largest garden lifestyle and BBQ trade fair in the world, drew 25,000 visitors from 112 countries to Cologne in Germany in July. The fair attracted around 1000 exhibitors from 52 countries to showcase the very latest products and innovations, including barbecue businesses from around the world, with BBQ magazine among the delegates. Spoga+Gafa has launched a new digital platform to create and access content all year round, with a ‘deep dive’ into the global BBQ industry planned online this autumn.

Love Logs is passionate about the provenance of its charcoal and planet friendly firewood, sourced exclusively from sustainable British woodland.

The wood is delivered plastic free,

shipped in 100% recyclable cardboard boxes and, in a partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects, Love Logs plants two trees for every order.

Petromax

(l-r) Heather Emery, Giuseppe Dell'Anno, runner-up David Griffiths, winner Pete Bath, Adam Purnell and Paul Strachan

The Bastard

Images: Koelnmesse / spoga+gafa

Tramontina

Pig & Pallet

The Pig & Pallet offered free rubs with BBQ magazine subscriptions this summer, showcasing the company’s passion for live-fire food.

Based in Topsham, Devon, the Pig & Pallet has a range of innovative rubs, including the Smokehouse General Rub for pulled pork, ribs and burnt ends, as well as halloumi. Wings an’ Tings for chicken wings, Barista Beef (think mocha rub), Freakin’ Peking for Asian flavour and the Captain Hot Pants Chilli Rub, which does what it says on the pants.

As well as being a BBQ restaurant ‘smokin’ the south west since 2015’, the Pig & Pallet is also home to a niche charcuterie business called Good Game Charcuterie.

Steve Williams and Marcus Davey from the Pig & Pallet competed in the first BBQ Hero competition, organised by BBQ magazine and held at Pub in the Park, Marlow, finishing second.

Three Soldiers in a Boat BBQ magazine columnist Roger Jones, who held a Michelin Star for 12 years before retiring from running his restaurant The Harrow in Little Bedwyn, Wiltshire, held a fundraising

BBQ lunch in the garden of his home in August to support three soldiers setting out to row the Atlantic.

The lunch, hosted by Roger and his wife Sue, started with BBQ octopus and chorizo, working through several courses including rack of Cardigan Bay lamb, Welsh Jacob’s Ladder, pork belly, smoked ox and pork cheek and BBQ wild Cornish turbot.

The food was washed down with fine wines, befitting Roger Jones’s reputation as one of the world’s most respected wine critics, with £24,000 raised on the day towards the soldiers £200,000 charity target.

Robert Cross (Welsh Guards), Charlie Newman (Royal Artillery) and Robert Treasure (The Rifles) are three soldiers

who met at Sandhurst and looking to become ‘the first official military trio to row any ocean’ as they attempt the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge –3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support, as well as funds for their three regimental charities. www.teamv3nture.com

The three soldiers with Colonel Tom Bonas and Vivien Bonas

Fireside chat

As the days get shorter, let the meat cook longer. While summer always has a frenetic air about it, with sun out, school out and holidays booked – or missed –autumn, by contrast, said the poet Keats, is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.

At this time of the year, we prepare to witness the bounty of the harvest, the turning of the leaves, the cooling of the temperatures and the darkening of the nights. In other words: BBQ season.

BBQ season? ‘That’s spring and summer,’ I hear you cry, the seasons just past. Well, yes. In fact, throw in winter while we’re at it. To paraphrase James Taylor – winter, spring, summer or fall, all you’ve got to do is grill.

#BBQ365 is this magazine’s hashtag. We humans are not hibernators, although after some of the fire feasts I’ve devoured this summer, with drinks to match, I could do with a lie down.

There is an assumption you must be a devout pitmaster, damned, or rather blessed, for eternity to cook outside and sacrifice meat to the BBQ gods. With beards so luxuriant, live-fire obsessives absorb the wind and rain, making them oblivious to the conditions.

Our mission in the coming months is to get you all out there whether you have facial hair or not. You own a coat don’t you? Your fire can double as a heat source and there are all sorts of shelters, heaters and outdoor products to help you tame the weather.

Ok, pouring rain isn’t necessarily conducive to having a load of mates round the fire and the garden. But autumn is a good time for ‘anti-social’ cooking, the time for trial and error without the pressure of delivering fodder for friends.

Don’t just wheel the barbecue into the shed so Mr and Mrs Arachnid can live rent-free in your grill for six months. Wheel out the recipes we regularly publish and have a go, without the pressure of guests’ mouths to feed and the judgement of others.

Talk to your equipment, tell the grill, the smoker, the oven, the firepit that you love them just the same all

year-round and you’ll continue to bring fuel and food to their door, come rain or shine.

One of the most striking companies exhibiting at the world’s largest BBQ fair, spoga+gafa in Cologne, Germany, was the Carelia range of products – grills and firepits from North Karelia, a land of forests and cliffs. It is one of the coldest regions in Finland and gets snow – a lot of snow.

Ville Hämäläinen of Carelia Grill doesn’t wait for the sun to pin his salmon to a plank above his stylish and ingenuously designed barbecue. His bugle is the howl of the wolf and one of Carelia’s striking films shows Ville cooking in the snow-covered mountains, before feeding meat to a wolf, lured by the scent.

That might be a bit too melodramatic for an English garden and spook the labrador, however much rewilding goes on, but you get the picture; fire food is meant to be elemental, cooking in all elements.

So whatever time of year, just call out my name and, you know, wherever you’re outdoor cooking, I’ll come running.

Bates Editor