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an old haulage yard, Moss will make ABS Reluctor rings for the motor trade, or salvage a vintage tractor from a field, once the ears of corn have been removed from the engine.
“Give me an old rusty piece of broken machinery and I see a challenge to make it work again,” says Moss, conjuring up images of Caractacus Pott of Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang fame, crashing and tinkering about in pursuit of an ingenious invention or miraculous reclamation.
“I get a real buzz from making a piece of machinery come back to life, in creating something out of bits of discarded metal or redundant materials.”
Now Moss has seized on the British passion for barbecues, proving that you don’t have to be an Australian or South African to understand the art of cooking a dirty steak in the open air.
Even the cliché of warm English beer has been put to bed when it comes to barbecues and with Moss’s ice-packed outdoor chillers you don’t have to keep heading inside to the fridge.
“Blokes drinking beer around the barbecue, prodding burnt sausages and fighting for the tongs still goes on, but BBQ chefs, male and female, are far more adventurous these days and when it comes to drinks I also want to design some gin trolleys and champagne chillers too,” said Moss, adding that he is looking to partner with butchers, grocers and brewers, giving buyers of his shacks the opportunity to buy food and drink at discounted prices.
His basic raw material is the oil drum – oil as in essential oils, such as eucalyptus, lavender and tea tree. Thoroughly cleansed, the drums are then powder coated and painted in any colour, with the option to add a brand, logo, design or wording.
“My prototypes heavily featured beer and rugby, which did not surprise family and friends!’ said Moss, who for many years patrolled the flank for Stamford College Old Boys rugby club, including a spell as chairman, although not quite managing to play past his 50th birthday.
“Never say never!” said Moss, although he will need all his engineering skills to restore rugby-ravaged hips that squeak like the Tin Man. Essential oil indeed.
Not only is Barbecue Shack (www.barbecueshack.co.uk) a triumph of bespoke British manufacturing and manual ingenuity it is environmentally friendly too, recycling oil drums that would otherwise end up as expensive landfill.
“I love to cook in a very amateur, earthy but enthusiastic way and have had my share of burnt on the outside, raw on the inside disasters. The humble British barbecue has been revolutionised in recent years, both in the quality and range of cooking and in the culinary kit and utensils we use,” said Moss.
“But nothing beats the simple preparing of food over open flames – grilling dirty and getting smoky. Yes add all the fancy trimmings, layers of new flavours and techniques and have fun with it all, but never lose sight of the fact that a barbecue is still fantastic in its most naked, primal form.”
With that Moss prodded the steak. “Not long now. Grab yourself a beer from the chiller.”
RUPERT BATES