BARBECUING has become big business.
No longer is it just about chucking on some cheap sausages, sitting back and watching them burn.
There’s cookbooks, tv programmes, freestyle barbecue championships and even festivals – Meatopia, and Smoke and Fire both take place in August – and it’s Wing Fest in London – the world’s biggest chicken wing festival. .
So it was only a matter of time before barbecue makers started enlisting the help of celebrity chefs as well.
One such man that you’d always want in your corner when it came to cooking implements – is Heston Blumenthal.
He of the Fat Duck, snail porridge and bacon and egg ice-cream fame, has put his name to a range of barbecues from Everdure.
And one would hope – with a very strong reputation to defend – that he didn’t literally put his name to it, and then sit back and watch while the cash rolled in.
To be fair, it certainly doesn’t feel that way.
Everdure BBQ, £399 from BBQ World
I’ve cooked on more barbecues than I could shake a kebab at over the last 30 years – and the Furnace by Michelin star chef Heston and Everdure is certainly the sexiest.
First of all, it looks amazing.
One of the issues I normally have with a gas barbecue is the huge size of the beasts. Having a great hulk of black metal in your garden is never the classiest look.
But the Furnace looks sleek and stylish – and promises to cover all bases.
The aluminium lid (which also doesn’t rust) helps temperatures rise to 300 degrees very quickly.
And happily, the lid comes in mint, graphite and orange – so you can fit the Furnace into most colour schemes in your outside space.
When the lid closes, the specially designed holes in the burners and top create a welcome airflow, which helps increase the heat.
And there’s three interchangeable grill pans – designed to protect the burners from any fat dripping through.
The precision gas taps which control the heat down to a few degrees also look classy – and because it’s on long legs, it also means it looks good and isn’t a mass of unsightly metal.
In short, it looks like it’s been designed by a barbecue master.
Everdure BBQ, £399 from BBQ World
Now, I’m not going to lie – it took me a few times to work out the heat levels, when to close the lid when cooking, and how to avoid my burgers sticking to the grill.
It’s fast and fierce – which is how barbecues should be – but practice definitely makes perfect.
This is one for the purists, who are up at 6am getting their smokers lit, or marinate their lamb for 24 hours before cooking.
But happily it’s also suitable for the ‘have-a-go’ barbecue chef – who are dab handed with traditional hot dogs, chicken legs and burgers.
You can also go for the ‘lid-down’ look – with the heat circulating 360o inside – perfect for convection cooking.
And it’s so huge, you could cook an entire family barbecue in one go.
My only real gripe is there’s no shelf to put your meat on when it’s done – of course that costs extra.
And any alternative grills you might want to buy are not included.
But what you have, is a super barbecue that heats like a dream – and is also very easy to clean.
Everdure BBQ, £399 from BBQ World
Overall the Everdure a barbecuer’s dream – and although it’s pricey at £399 – I have a feeling that once you’ve got it – it will be yours for a very long time – so a very good investment.
Richard Thacker, founder of Wing Fest which is taking place between July 26-28 – has some top tips for cooking on a gas barbecue
