Barbeques
Barbeque catering that is actually cooked over fire
- £22.50
- From, per head
- 25+
- Guests
- 3
- Menus
- 60 mi
- Travel included
The detail
The difference between a barbeque and reheated burgers
Most event barbeques are cooked hours earlier somewhere else and finished in a foil tray. Ours are not. Everything that reaches your guests came off the grill minutes before, which is the only way to get real colour on a sausage and a proper char on a chicken thigh.
The butchery is done in-house. Burgers are ground from 28-day aged beef and formed the same morning, so they hold together without breadcrumbs and taste of beef rather than of seasoning. Marinades are made from scratch a day ahead — harissa, buttermilk, our own hot sauce — because two hours in a marinade is a rinse, not a marinade.
For the smoked menu the clock goes back further still. Brisket and pork shoulder go in twelve hours ahead at a low, patient temperature until they give way under a fork, then rest properly before they are pulled. That is a different discipline from grilling and it is why it is a different menu.
One chef, one grill, all service
Nothing is batch-cooked to get ahead. It means service is a rolling wave rather than one big dump of food, and it means the last guest through eats the same thing as the first. It is more work. It is the entire point.
Benefits
Why a barbeque might suit you better
It scales down as well as up
From 25 guests in a garden to 400 at a festival. There is no whole animal dictating a minimum, so a barbeque works for the sizes a hog roast simply cannot.
Genuine choice on one menu
Three or four things off the grill means the fussy eater, the teenager and the person who does not eat red meat all get something they actually want, without a separate order.
The vegetarian menu is not an apology
The Garden Grill is a full menu in its own right — whole barbequed cauliflower, charred halloumi, smoked jackfruit — and plenty of people book it for everyone, not just for the vegetarians.
Faster to set up, easier on access
Three hours on site rather than twelve, and a smaller footprint. For tight venues, evening events and midweek corporate days, that is often the deciding factor.
Menus
3 barbeques menus
The Fire Pit
Three things off the grill, done properly.
- 28-day aged steak burgers in brioche
- Butcher's sausages with caramelised onions
- Chargrilled harissa chicken thighs
- Two salads, homemade slaw and warm new potato salad
- Chef on the grill throughout, all equipment included
Minimum 30 guests
Get a price for thisLow & Slow
Twelve-hour smoked barbeque with the full spread of sides.
- Smoked beef brisket and pulled pork shoulder
- Sticky glazed pork ribs
- Buttermilk chicken with house hot sauce
- Mac and cheese, burnt-end beans, cornbread, four salads
- Full crockery, cutlery and service team
Minimum 40 guests
Get a price for thisThe Garden Grill
Plant-forward and every bit as good as the meat menu.
- Charred halloumi and seasonal vegetable skewers
- Whole barbequed cauliflower, tahini and pomegranate
- Smoked jackfruit and black bean flatbreads
- Grain salads, flatbreads and dips made on site
- Fully vegetarian; vegan on request at no extra cost
Minimum 25 guests
Get a price for thisThe process
How a barbeque runs
- Two days before01
Butchery and marinades
Beef is ground, burgers are formed, chicken goes into buttermilk or harissa, and ribs are rubbed. Anything smoked goes on overnight at base under supervision.
- Three hours before02
On site, grill lit
The grill is lit early and brought up to a steady, even heat right across the plate before anything touches it. Prep tables, refrigeration and the service line are set up while it comes up to temperature.
- Ninety minutes before03
Salads and sides made on site
Salads are dressed, slaws mixed, breads warmed, sauces finished. Nothing sits in a fridge overnight in a dressing going limp.
- Service04
Cooked in waves, not batches
The grill runs continuously through service so food reaches the table minutes after it leaves the fire. Vegetarian and vegan items are cooked on a separate, clean section of the grill.
- Afterwards05
Cleared, boxed, gone
Grills are stripped and packed cold, leftovers boxed for you, our area swept and every bag of waste leaves with us.
Suited to
What people book a barbeque for
Summer garden parties
The classic. Twenty-five guests upwards, in a garden, with a chef who keeps the food coming so the host can actually sit down.
Corporate family days and team events
Broad appeal, quick service, easy to cost per head, and a vegetarian option that does not feel like a punishment.
Festivals and public events
High volume with a fast-moving queue. We have run 800 covers off a grill line at a festival with a second kitchen.
Evening receptions after a formal meal
Smoked ribs and buttermilk chicken at nine o'clock, when guests have danced off the sit-down.
Vegetarian and vegan gatherings
Whole-menu bookings of the Garden Grill, where nobody has to explain themselves to a caterer.
Requirements
What we need from your venue
- Space
- About 4m × 3m of level ground, ideally away from seating
- Access
- Van access within reasonable carrying distance of the pitch
- Power
- None required — we bring our own gas and a generator
- Water
- None required, though a tap nearby is useful
- Time on site
- Three hours before service for grilling menus
- Minimum guests
- 25 for the Garden Grill, 30–40 for the meat menus
Included in every barbeque package
- Everything grilled to order, in front of your guests
- In-house butchery — burgers ground and formed the same morning
- Marinades, rubs and sauces made from scratch, never bought in
- Salads and sides prepared on site, dressed at the last moment
- A separate clean grill section for vegetarian and vegan food
- Chef on the grill for the whole of service
- Gazebo, gas, refrigeration, lighting and hand-washing
- Full clear-down and removal of all our waste
Questions
Barbeques — the questions we get asked
Is this just burgers and sausages?
The Fire Pit includes both, done properly — aged beef burgers in brioche and butcher's sausages with caramelised onions — alongside chargrilled harissa chicken. Low & Slow is a different animal: twelve-hour brisket, pulled pork, sticky ribs and buttermilk chicken with mac and cheese and burnt-end beans.
Can you do a fully vegetarian or vegan barbeque?
Yes, and it is one of our better menus rather than a concession. The Garden Grill is entirely vegetarian and converts to vegan at no extra cost. Plenty of clients book it as the only menu for a mixed crowd and nobody notices anything is missing.
How do you avoid cross-contamination on the grill?
A physically separate section of the grill, separate tongs and boards, and vegetarian and vegan food cooked before the meat wherever the timing allows. For a severe allergy, that guest's food is cooked separately and handed to them directly rather than put on a service line.
Can you cater a barbeque indoors or in a marquee?
The grill has to be outside — open flame and enclosed spaces do not mix, and no insurer would look at it. But the grill outside and the service inside is a completely normal arrangement, and it is what we do at most village halls.
How long does service take for 150 guests?
Around forty-five minutes for a grill menu at that size, and we will add a second grill and a second pair of hands rather than let a queue stand still. Tell us your timings and Adam will build the service around your speeches, not the other way round.
What is the difference between Low & Slow and The Fire Pit?
The Fire Pit is grilled to order on the day — fast, bright, chargrilled. Low & Slow is smoked overnight and pulled — deeper, richer, more of an event in itself, and it comes with the full spread of American-style sides. Low & Slow costs more because it takes twelve hours longer.
Alternatives
Might another menu suit you better?
Next step
Price up a barbeque
Three grill menus, six add-ons and an honest per-head price with the chef, the equipment and the clear-up already in it.
Adam Skinner answers his own phone — no call centre, no sales team.