Fire up the Grill!

With the arrival of summer comes the undeniable temptation to cook absolutely everything on the BBQ, and with good reason, it just tastes better! The smokey flavour that charcoal gives meat, fish or vegetables is far superior to simply oven cooking. Although typically reserved for cooking meat, BBQs are great for cooking a whole plethora of ingredients; chipotle corn, teriyaki salmon fillets and whole roasted garlic aubergines are just a few examples. Put the BBQ lid down and you have an outdoor oven that reaches temperatures far hotter than a conventional kitchen oven, perfect for cooking stone baked pizzas, bread and even cinnamon rolls!

There has been a recent rise in popularity in high tech garden cooking equipment such as personal pizza ovens, smokers and especially Green Egg BBQs. The increase in lockdown home cooks and the readily available gadgets has seen a boom in the market. The Eggs have a combined cooking style, a hybrid between a grill and a conventional oven which gives greater temperature control but still allows for the much sought after BBQ sear. It has created a loyal fan base of dedicated garden cooks, who will cook just about anything and everything on ‘The Egg’, the more impressive, the better.

With Fathers Day and the summer solstice coming up, this weekend is the perfect one to dust off your BBQs and invite some friends over for a feast. To make the preparation and hosting less daunting, ask all your guests to bring their favourite summer dish with them. Fresh tomato and mozzarella salad with a balsamic dressing, charred asparagus served with lemon aioli and BBQ roasted sweet potatoes with a preserved lemon, dill and caper salsa are all great side dishes to serve with your BBQ food.

The culture of BBQing is often a collaborative cooking experience, bringing together friends and family for an afternoon of festivities. Guests gathered in the garden with fruit filled summer drinks, chatting and munching on nibbles whilst the cooking gets underway, paints a picture of a very British summer.

If you are still a little overwhelmed at where to start there are a number of excellent cook books that will help; Charred by Genevieve Taylor, Fire Food by DJ BBQ and Pit Cue Co. all have an abundance of knowledge and recipes to get you going.

But if you would rather relax with a glass of something cold, get in touch with our team to enquire about a private chef to come and do all the cooking for you!