and a couple I’d even go as far as calling friends).
So, what is happening and what is the future?
The term ‘BBQ 2.0’ has been coined to describe the “Different barbecue techniques inherited from around the world will become part of restaurant theatre,” where “chefs and barbecue operators are starting to think of the barbecue or fire as an incredibly versatile cooking method, rather than an institution confined by history.”
There are some easy examples that point to this including Neil Rankin’s Temper, Smokestak, Rök Smokehouse, Berber and Q, Ember Yard and the list could go on. This is also not to mention the less formal eateries by the likes of Andy Stubbs’ Low ‘n’ Slow, John Gower’s Quiet Waters Farm and Tom Bray’s Country Fire Kitchen seen at festivals and other more intimate spots, again there are many others doing great things out there.
What all these places have in common is a lack of Americanisation in their approach, and it appears deliberately so. Their approach, and one that I very much hope is growing across the UK barbecue scene, is to take some elements that have allowed barbecue to become what it is today but take it in a direction away from the American barbecue staples. There is still a place for this, and the UK competition scene is a case in point, but the commercialisation of it has in my mind devalued it somewhat. It’s time to move on when you can buy ‘pulled pork flavoured crisps’ (really, surely with a crisp this is just a barbecue pork flavour?).
Many would argue that Britain has always struggled to find a unique food identity to the same extent as French, Italian, North African or Middle Eastern cultures. But that is the very essence and the best part about British cuisine; Scandinavian influence by being invaded by the Vikings, French influences from continuously fighting with them and Indian influences from the days of the British Empire. Incorporating these into our still growing barbecue culture at the critical moment, possibly already here, is a fantastic evolution of our food culture. Long may it continue.
The Author. Jason Wood is an avid backyard barbecue chef, cooking almost solely on his Weber he loves all aspects of barbecue and what it has to offer. He recently completed a Master of Business Administration at the University of Northampton where he was awarded a distinction for his dissertation on the sustainability of the UK barbecue food industry. He runs an emergent blog on barbecue, smoking and what he likes to call ‘barbecology’, an area he aims to blog more on some of the wider aspects of barbecue beyond just the recipes.
To find out more go to www.hopsmokefire.com or @hopsmokefire on Twitter and Instagram.
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