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Ever wondered how a professional chef transitions into the world of barbecue and creates his own line of carbon neutral barbecue products? Today, we're joined by the talented Ben, owner of Ben's Kitchen, who takes us on a cul...
Ever wondered how a professional chef transitions into the world of barbecue and creates his own line of carbon neutral barbecue products? Today, we're joined by the talented Ben, owner of Ben's Kitchen, who takes us on a culinary adventure from his early days in pubs and restaurants to the launch of his sought-after rubs, oils, marinades, and seasonings. Learn about the challenges and triumphs he encountered along the way and get ready for a mouth-watering conversation!
In our chat, Ben shares his favorite barbecue techniques and equipment, including his recent love for Petromax and the versatile Kadai Fire Bowl. He also recounts some memorable kitchen disasters and how he adapted and learned valuable lessons from each experience. We discuss Ben's commitment to offsetting his carbon footprint through initiatives such as planting trees and wind farms in South Africa, and what it truly takes to make a company carbon neutral.
We play a game of Barbecue Bingo and delve into Ben's signature dishes, his secret ingredient for the next guest, and his exciting experience competing on Restaurant Roulette. Prepare to be inspired by Ben's dedication to crafting delicious, eco-friendly barbecue products and his undeniable passion for all things grilled. Tune in for an engaging and informative episode that you won't want to miss!
This episode was brought to you by AOS Kitchen creators of bespoke outdoor kitchens perfect to pimp up your bbq area. Visit AOS Kitchens today!
BBQ Bingo is sponsored by LumberjAxe Food Company, who have a fantastic range of rubs & sauces for all your culinary needs! Check out their range.
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For all of our other episodes you can listen or watch them on our website.
Today's episode of the Meet and Greet Barbecue podcast is brought to you by AOS Outdoor Kitchens. They are the South's leading outdoor kitchen design and installation specialists. Welcome to another episode of the Meet and Greet Barbecue podcast. They were speaking to Ben from Ben's Kitchen, who was a professional chef before moving into barbecuing and starting his own rubs and sauces business, but he'll talk about that in a second. So, without much further ado, here's Ben.
Speaker 2:Welcome, ben, to the Meet and Greet Barbecue podcast. It's a pleasure to have you on. For anyone that doesn't know, please introduce yourself.
Speaker 3:Thank you. I'm Ben, owner of Ben's Kitchen. We're a very new company. We make barbecue rubs, oils, marinades, seasonings, everything. Really just bits to add flavour at home, make cooking a little bit easier.
Speaker 1:Well as a new company you're doing very well with like five and a half thousand followers over on Ben's Kitchen. So how did that all grow, and is it the companies come off the back of that success?
Speaker 3:So there was a little company that I'd done before this and it was food related, and then back in, so last May we just done a change of names. I kind of didn't weren't really enjoying what I was doing before, so I changed names, went through company's house and I just carried on with that with that following, and then since then we've pretty much doubled. So I did have a little bit of a head start, to be fair.
Speaker 1:I mean. What you're putting out shows that you're passionate about what you're doing now. It's effectively showing everyone that you can cook everything in anything with a grill, right.
Speaker 3:Pretty much, yeah, sometimes a frying pan or a saucepan, but yeah.
Speaker 2:So let's start, i suppose let's start talking about the business side of things and the newness of it, and then we'd love to sort of hear a little bit more about your kind of personal journey into cooking and grilling and barbecue, etc. So I suppose, to start talking to us about the range, i'm particularly interested in your meat spray. I mean, that's a, so I should have come.
Speaker 3:I am a little bit prepared, but not on purpose.
Speaker 1:It's not every day that Owen asks someone to show them his meat spray, So you know you should feel honored from that point of view. It's normally me on a Saturday.
Speaker 3:I've got some samples here because I've come back from Alton's a couple, i say a couple of hours ago, maybe, like eight hours ago. So what was the first thing we done? Our first one was plucket. I don't know if you saw that on the shelves at Alton's, yes, yes. So I was thinking about that for a long time. I saw what Angus and I were doing. I was like fucking hell, that looks cool. They've got their names that and every butcher's wants that And and and. Yeah, and I just thought that was really cool And I was using so much of their stuff. Like I think I was like what everyone wants their kitchen cupboard to be. It almost looked like a barbecue shop where you've got like everything open. You might not use everything, but you've opened it and gave it a sniff and put it back in the cupboard And I was like it'd be so cool if I could have one of them That's like mine where I've kind of done the recipe and stuff like that And I had no idea where to start And I kind of I like I think I went to like bookers and bought so much like spice And I kind of had like like maybe 10, 20 kilos of spices, And then I did not really know what to do with it. I ordered loads of different parts and I was playing around with that And I knew nothing about stabilizers and stuff like that. I could kind of make the flavor and cook it, And that was as far as my knowledge went. I knew nothing about how to stop it going clumpy and like collecting moisture in the pot and stuff like that, And I was like I kind of need to get a company to do this for me. And then, I think at Christmas, we sent around like a message to everyone saying like thank you for following Ben's kitchen. Here's what's coming in 2023. And then hungry oink like replied with a message And it was kind of like if you need anything done, let us know. And I was like, oh, it's kind of like lucky, you mentioned that. And then we kind of got chatting And then I think it was maybe five, six weeks later And then we had cluck it. It was really quick. It didn't feel quick Because I'm really like I like stuff being done now, even if it's maybe not done properly, And then I regret that two weeks later on. And then I do it properly And it takes me two weeks longer than it should have. But I think there was a little bit back and forth. They helped out massively with the ratio of the recipe. They suggested some stabilizers, They helped design all the label And then I think it was like version five we went with in the end. So there's a lot of like back and forth, from like Scotland to the furthest point in England. It could almost go. But yeah, and then the turnaround. I think as soon as we decided on the flavor and the label, it was with me in like 10 days or something like that. So it was pretty quick.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how does that feel To get? the final product sent through and know that it's going to be sold.
Speaker 3:Oh, like I hadn't really thought about selling it until it was taken up half of my kitchen. I kind of like should have got people buying it before it had turned up. But yeah, it was kind of it was all over the kitchen table And I thought it looked awesome because there was so much of it And my Mrs hated it Like it was stacked up to the ceiling And I thought that was so cool. But yeah, i should have been a bit more proactive, selling that before it arrived. And then, when that come, i was like it'd be so cool to get as many things with my name on as possible. And then so, and then I think the next one was like roasting oil. Yes, i have. So that was our next product, the roasting oil. Yeah, yeah, that only come a couple of weeks ago. I mean the label for that kind of couple of weeks ago. So we used to do we used to do like a white label product So it could go into like kitchens, restaurants, back of house kind of where they could use it in bulk. Because that would be something that I would make in the kitchen If I was cooking in there professionally. I'd have like a huge pot with my rosemary, my garlic onions And then that had gone my roast potatoes. Some people might use it to finish chips and stuff like that, and so, yeah, that was our next one And I believe that's our best seller, like that's my favorite one, that's like the creme, or that's like what I'm most proud of. I think Straight after that, maybe like a week after that, we've done the wok oil, so that's like it's a sesame and rapeseed blend infused with chili, garlic and ginger. That just gives it high temperature, and then I feel like I'm selling this to you guys.
Speaker 2:So I noticed that some of the you've got a few products now that, i suppose, have that Asian style. Also, there's sort of flavor notes. Was that what you set out to do?
Speaker 3:Was that just no, just happened and unintentional, because I was using the clucket and I was like I want to try and do this in stir fries but I want like an oil for it. So I just made that and I was like, yeah, i'm going to pop that and sell it. And then and now I've got like boxes of it everywhere in the kitchen. And then I was like I want to come, come away from the wok, come away from the kitchen standing at the stove And I want to try and implement that clucket on the barbecue and the smoke, whether it be on a smoke car, over charcoal or charcoal or anything like that. And then the third product, or the fourth product, was the Asian glaze. So that's like a sticky, sweet kind of chili soy glaze. That's for like finishing, like ribs and wings and stuff like that. And then they became like a trio. So if, generally, if a company would buy them, sell them, buy all three of them together, which is quite cool, i suppose at Christmas we can do like some sort of sets with them, yeah, and then, and then I thought what else can I do with the smoker that I use myself? And I think what I was thinking, that was one hand, was on YouTube And the other hand I had a spray gun, spray and pulled.
Speaker 1:I was worried where you go in then. So glad that's what it was.
Speaker 3:And and I thought, yeah, like I'll put this, see if it's got any interest. And then it started to get out there And then I thought, so I'll get like a proper label done for it. And that went, and then it's all like kind of like I have a lot of people like if I've cooked for people and they're like you know you should sell this, and it's one thing like people say in there and but it's nice to see like that vision become something. Yeah, and this weekend I say this weekend today we kind of launched the sort of pepper grinders, nice. So we're doing like smoke Brazilian peppercorns. You got salt here, so it's like smoked Cornish salt. And then, yeah, we're kind of on like a mission at minutes to a new product every week and to try and get them in shops. So it's a bit of like I'm not sure how long it lasts for whether, like whether I've a meltdown first, or we run out of kitchen space or the post. You might get that with us.
Speaker 2:I mean, that's incredibly ambitious to think of a new product to every week. And so how are you going through that process at the minute, from going I'm going to do a new idea and a new product to how many times you have to get the recipes right. And I mean, what's going on for you mind right now?
Speaker 3:So I have I've got a big recipe book that I've that like. So I worked in a smokehouse before and I kind of written down a lot of recipes And it wasn't just like how to make pulled pork, it kind of be with like the base rub that I'd use, what I was using to spray that pulled pork, whether it be like a Dr Pepper based spray, which I liked, and that's what I kind of want to sell stuff that I like. Not everyone has to like them. I only need 10 percent of the barbecue community to like them. And that's kind of how it like started And with the vision of like a product a week. It's a little bit mad, but it's like I might be looking at bottles on the, on the website where I buy the bottles from, and then I accidentally order a thousand and then have to fill in with something Then, so I have to find a different thing to fill a different bottle. Oh yeah, i feel like I'm on a bit of a roll at the minute, so I kind of want to keep that momentum going. Yeah, i mean, i've got a list of stuff, so like if we launch something, say this weekend, like we've had this potted up for like two months already. Just wanted to see what it would be like after a month on a shelf or if it deteriorates or anything like that, and whether the smoking is still in there, whether it's been in like cold or left on the window legend in the sun, and so it's quite lengthy, but there's like a big queue of stuff that'll eventually come out and the printer guy will use a local printer like printing company. It's only three miles up the road. He's quite like backlogged. I think he gets fed up now because I managed to get his mobile number So I can WhatsApp him as well.
Speaker 1:Now he loves you if you're putting through that many orders. He loves you.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, i don't think you'd say that, but we're blind to the emails quick enough, so I managed to get his WhatsApp and ask him a little bit quicker. But yes, he's getting there and I don't really see a limit on it either, whether the goal be to be like Heinz and being everyone's home cupboard or something like that, yeah, so you mentioned that you used to work in a smokehouse, so do you come from a culinary background?
Speaker 2:Is that so? Yeah, i was.
Speaker 3:I wasn't really like very good in school. I think I just hang around with the wrong crowd and everyone's got their own excuse for it And I didn't really enjoy school. I didn't really enjoy being so when to turn up and what to do and all that And I don't think I was really good with some of that. And maybe my school's to blame for that and not put me in the right position, or maybe I'm to blame for that because I just didn't really like it. And then I left school quite early and I went to like a VRQ course. It was like vocational recreational qualification and it was cooking or hairdressing And you went for hairdressing right. Yeah, i went to cooking and I was like, oh, this is bad, like really bad, like I should be doing my maths in English now And and like with the VRQ it's not even like, it's not even like an MVQ, so there's not much cooking involved. You kind of like sitting in class and you learn about like why you might do things rather than learning to do them. And then subsequently I like I stopped turning up to that and then and then I had my exams. But I had to go back to college to do my English, maths and science and I ended up going there and I was like I'll do the like catering exam and see how it goes. And that was year one and I managed to pass it. And then and then I had to do further education and it was going to start something new or do my first MVQ in catering and hospitality. I stayed on for an extra year and done that And then and I found, and when it got a little bit more practical, i found it a little bit more easier when it was less theory. And then my MVQ two was pretty much no theory And all practical. That was another year And then I stayed on and for another two years and done my MVQ three And then I done my introductory to professional catering in year six And then and then I kind of come out of it and I went into a local hotel, worked there for a year and got a little bit bored of that And I just wanted to take a little bit different. So I went on to like the agency route And kind of like traveled around from like pubs to restaurants And stuff like that. And then and then I think I just started like barbecuing in the garden. Then I went, weirdly enough, five years later into my career I went back to the first hotel that I worked at And as a little bit more experienced I went a little bit higher up. And then we kind of implemented putting a couple of barbecues in the garden, but they were kind of like they were just there for for the flavor, like no one could see them. So we started using them and we were putting stuff like ribs and stuff like that onto the menu. And then I saw that this position opened up a bigger pub, maybe like 10 miles out, but they had a big smokehouse And I kind of like parked in the car park before I went for an interview and saw this smoke and it was like maybe it was like the size of a van. It was cute, like I could get in it with my own hands. That's cool. So I kind of went solely went there for the job because of that. And then I ended up working with them for six years and then five years in the smokehouse And that was really cool. We had like free reign on so we could do what we want to one day And the thing was huge, like probably get like 30 briskets in it. And like one day before like we really got to the point where we were like maybe like 60 chickens and it was just like And they had a toaster as well there. So they had like a maybe a two meter charcoal grill. That was like it was layered so you could hang stuff up on it. And I got pictures of like 10 pork collars hanging from it, legs of lamb, so that was really cool. And then while I was out right at the pub, i was like I'm going to go and get some of the stuff, and so that was really cool. And then while I was out right, everything down, which was like totally against my nature as well, because I wasn't a bit of right. So the crayons got plenty of use, all the recipes I would like right down, and I think that was the best thing I've done while being a chef. I just wrote everything down. And even now there's like recipe books under my bed that haven't opened up yet And they're kind of the secret weapons for me. Stop producing something every week. I can't find them. And yeah, and then I come out. I went in, so I left that place. I wanted a little change up, went and worked for Butchers While I was there. They wanted to start a production kitchen, so I helped them start that up, build that from the bottom up, and then. And then, yeah, i just wanted to do my own thing. After that I felt like I'd kind of done everything. So I left there and I'd done a little like a couple of private parties and private dining experiences with barbecues, and I'd take my smoke to their house and stuff like that. And then and everyone used to say, like you should like, how'd you do it? I was like I don't really, like I don't know, like the trigger does it all for me, telling what I'm doing and put the food in it. But then they would notice I'd bring these like bottles with me that might have marinades in and stuff like that. And there was like will you sell them? And I was like I think so. Like you can buy this one for you when I'm done with it. And they was like no, like if you make that oil, i buy it. And then I started doing a couple like that, selling them, and I was like maybe I should give it a go. And I regret it ever since.
Speaker 1:So, as a professionally trained chef, effectively you know that's what you've been through? What drew you to the barbecue? What was? what were those flavors offering that you weren't getting elsewhere?
Speaker 3:I think with like with a lot of I think number one the chef world is very toxic. Every chef's better than every chef. Every chef's the best. If you have a professional kitchen, you have to have the best oven, you have to have the best knives. You have to be buying in like Wagyu, or the best ingredients you have to be using, like Italian white summer truffles and stuff like that. And then when you see the barbecue community and they're like, oh, look, what I cooked for four pound nightly sliver. And then someone else might be like, oh, look, i'm cooking this on a homemade barbecue And I think that's incredible. And everyone's like oh, that's awesome, nice cook, and it's so like it's such a positive community And like everyone will big up, everyone, everyone will share other people's stuff. And there's none of that like in, like the chef world, and I do think it's quite a toxic place. No, other people don't want to see other people do well in it, Whereas you know like, even when I was just starting out in the barbecue world, and you might get someone from like Scotland to share your stuff and you've never, ever spoken to them before. But they're doing your favor by like, helping increase your reach and stuff like that. And then, as in like the food, there's no strict way of doing barbecue. If, say, for instance, i was making like a cheese sauce in a professional kitchen and I didn't do it with a roux base to start with, i didn't heat my milk and stuff like that, there'd be a chef that would comment on that, on how I was doing that. There's like a million ways to make pulled pork. It doesn't matter how you do it, it doesn't matter if you wrap it or you wrap it in tin foil or paper or parchment. There is no wrong or right way to do it. It's just like, it's just your way. There's a million ways to do a brisket and ribs and wings and I kind of like I enjoy that. You don't have to follow by a like 1920s recipe book that was written in a French calf. You just like make your own book and you make your own mistakes and you learn from them, and that's what I enjoy about it.
Speaker 2:So what are you cooking with at home? What barbecues have you got?
Speaker 3:So I actually have a little fire pit. I've got a fire pit. I think it was designed to be like a decorative pit. First ever day I got it, i took it too hot. It cracked And now I'm in a cooking pit ever since The lid of it went in the bin. And yeah, and I love that, because you just chuck charcoal in it, you can put logs in it, you can wrap stuff in foil and hide them in the charcoals. It's got some little. I don't think you're supposed to eat off them because I think they're painted, but it's got grates that you can like put steaks on. It comes out tasting a bit weird. I think it's even lined with something that's probably dangerous, but yeah.
Speaker 2:You're still there.
Speaker 3:you're all right, yeah yeah, yeah, you can cook dirty on it And I really like that. You can go up high on it with a pole. And then I've got my Traeger, i've got a little, i've got a little Weber, i've got a Gosney in the shed And I don't think that should be in the shed, i think it should be outside, but yeah, I'm not excited to hurt anyone, right? Yeah, yeah, we're all still here. Yeah, i've just recently got into all the Petromax stuff, so that's really cool on the open fire. Yeah, i've kind of only found out about that in the last couple of months And I think I've got four of their bits and I think they're quite cool, especially like on open fire. I think they're quite. They take a beat in and yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I got one.
Speaker 3:I got their loaf pan. Oh yeah, and I don't think I will ever use it. The time just looks cool And I kind of regret getting it.
Speaker 1:The great thing about barbecue stuff and Petromax. I picked up one of their three liter Dutch ovens when we met at the Alton's event And I've used different lamb shanks and I love it, but they look gorgeous and they're fun bits of kit And, like you said, they take a beating and you can really get involved. I'd never seen a potato cooker before, for example.
Speaker 3:I saw that. I saw that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, having those gadgets and stuff must be exciting. What else have you got your eyes on? Do you have a next barbecue purchase in mind?
Speaker 3:So I originally I have a couple cold smokers as well, like Bradley and ProQ, stuff like that I've probably got more bits like in sheds. So I originally got the Traeger as an excuse for like a business, a business tool. I guess. I don't think I've ever used it in making any of my products yet, but it is a business tool.
Speaker 2:Which Traeger is it?
Speaker 3:There's a tax man listening to this. I've got the Ironwood A85.
Speaker 2:Yeah, same here.
Speaker 3:And I love that. I think it's really smart And especially like if you're working all day, it's one of them things where you can put your meeting in the morning, come back, you can turn it down on your phone, on your watch. You can get like stuff like that. I think the new ones look really smart. I think they're really cool, especially with the induction and the light. For some reason I was like that light has sold it to me. When you open it up, it's got a little light inside. And then I think there was someone up there on that, all he's like trying to sell it, and I was like no, it's just the light.
Speaker 2:And then You went to a barbecue shop and you came home with a flashlight.
Speaker 3:Yeah, a little head sword. Came up for a half grand The Cosme Dome. I think they look really cool. I think it'd be quite cool to do like a roasting or in there or big steak and stuff like that. My next purchase, i think, will be like a Caddye Fire Bowl. Been looking at it and I think it's quite cool with a tripod because I think you can go a little bit barbaric with it and almost like experimental and you can see what you can play around with. So I've been playing around with things that I haven't seen. This show actually made me do the crème brûlée that Sue was talking about, yeah, yeah. So I kind of took that as a personal challenge and I managed to crisp the sugar on the top of the crème brûlée with the Cosme Flame before preheating it, wow, so it was almost like a soft blowtorch. So it was cold enough to not carry on cooking the crème brûlée. So I thought that quite cool And, yeah, i like kind of like challenging myself and I feel like I can do a bit of that with the Fire Bowl. Yeah, yeah, maybe some bigger bits of meat. And it's quite handy because my brother's a butcher, so, like in the future, if I do go to make videos, i can almost go like above and beyond, like stupidly big Something that would be so cool.
Speaker 2:So for yourself then, that spent five, six years working in a smokehouse. You've obviously done your fair amount of ribs, pulled pork, brisket chickens, et cetera. What would you say your favourite thing to smoke is?
Speaker 3:I think I would say ribs purely because they fit on a shelf. Perfect When you have like a big smoker. Briskets are awkward chicken wings. I think this smoker had like five shelves and it was like it was huge, It was like a transit van And when they said I would put in chicken wings on the menu, I used to hate that. It was probably about 2,000 chicken wings and halfway through you got to turn them And that was incredible. That was like it took you about an hour to turn them. But yeah, ribs, they fit perfectly on the smoker. I feel like brisket. I'd want to say brisket, but then I feel like everyone wants to say brisket. I think you need to know how to do brisket And once you've done that, not many people do them again Once you've got like a really good one. Short ribs I love short ribs. They're short ribs in many ways and you can plate short ribs, So I quite like like plate in my food. Yeah.
Speaker 1:What's going back to ribs. So there's so many different ways and techniques of like cooking a rib to get the most out of it. I've also had conversations not on the podcast yet from people talking about well, actually, the best way to do ribs is to trim them in certain ways as well and take off a number of the actual bits that you get from a food. What tips can you give people to take a rib from what they're doing at home to perhaps the next level?
Speaker 3:As in as in baby back ribs.
Speaker 1:Anything. What should people be looking for if they want to do any sort of pork?
Speaker 3:ribs, so with baby back ribs, how I would do them in bulk. So it might be different at home And you know like when you may be doing like 150 or 200 of them in the morning before you open for service, that's a normal morning for me, it's fine. Yeah, now I've got a dog that helps me, it's the same. You wouldn't want to like individually wrap them. That's a little bit like of a long process. So we'd lay them all out, you'd spray them and that'd be like your, like your glue for your for your thing, and then you'd have a big bowl and I'd put them all with a spice, smoked them maybe two hours, two, three hours, like nice and nice and low, and then that go in a big tray, so it'd be like a maybe like a half meter deep tray, and then you'd put three or four blocks of butter in there with a spice rub. You'd put your whiskey in there then and then a lid would go on that and then back in the smoker You'd give them a shake about and that's that's like primarily like braising them, and that go in there for an hour And then you'd pull them out, that come back out of there And then, no, you just drain the liquid out and then barbecue sauce in and then you'd lay them back out on the smoker individually And then, and then you turn the temp up and you'd want to reduce that barbecue sauce down on the on the rib. So that was give you that like it was kind of like explain like a sticky lip, and that's how we like, that's how we like our ribs. So when you bite the rib it's not saucy, it's not dry, but you get a bit of something that sticks to your lip. That's how I used to like them And I still like them with a bite, personally. So you can't pull the, you can't pull the bone out, you have to, you still have to come, and when you bite into them they leave like teeth mark. That's how I like them.
Speaker 1:So kind of like a modified three to one method.
Speaker 3:Pretty much, yeah, but it was just, it was just tapered to that, to that smoker. It was really hard to get the temperature on the smoker because it was it was gas fed, but the gas would feed a big like blowtorch flame. And then in front of that you had a big fire basket which was probably about half a meter by half meter, where you'd stack your logs in. So you could never get your temperature perfect, and which is why we always followed by, like we're cooked to temp rather than cook to time, so like one morning the ribs might go in for three hours and the next morning they might go in for two.
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Speaker 2:Visit AOSKitchenscouk, did you have a preference in terms of what would you would use for smoking?
Speaker 3:So we would try the place I was at then, maybe more so like the last year or the last two years I was there. There was like some change of hands, not like not big, but we were trying to get as much as we could from the garden. So we would make our own. I'd make my own vinegar, like apple cider vinegar. We had apple trees in the garden. We'd get the apples up in the winter And then we'd use that as me going off subject, but apple would sometimes or oak, like local apple, local oak, local cherry, whatever we could get. That was close to us really.
Speaker 2:And do you have a preference at home? in what kind of flavour would you go for?
Speaker 3:I prefer oak. It's nice and strong And when you're using flavours like the peppercorns, that was a really hard one to get a smoky flavour on something that is so strong and as soon as someone grinds that all it's going to smell like is pepper. Really, i wanted something a little bit stronger. Sometimes I'll go with hickory. I think that's kind of classic Cherry. Cherry is quite strong and powerful Anything that's strong really And I'd much rather add a little bit and then a little bit and then a little bit to the amount that I want, rather than trying to add as much as I can. Yeah, you can always add a little bit, but you can't take it out.
Speaker 2:So, as you know, you've obviously listened. It's fantastic that you did the creme brulee we discussed with Sue. You know that we like to talk about barbecue fails. You've spent a long time, professionally and at home, cooking barbecue, so we'd love to hear some of the things that haven't gone so well for you, ben So.
Speaker 3:I've got two. One was at that barbecue place. A lot of the evenings I was there on my own in the smokehouse and then literally there was like an emergency door with a glass panor And then on the other side of that there was a full kitchen for the other side of the pub And that maybe had like eight chefs in it and I would smoke elsewhere, maybe close two hours before their kitchen. So I'd clean down or take as long as I could to avoid me going into help them guys. And I remember one time I was making pizzas that come for an oblong, making up a new spice wrap. I was making pizzas for my dinner And the only ovens were in the main kitchen, so I had to do it in the smoke. I had no trays or nothing like that And I was like I'll get the smoke as hot as I could. And I was like young, i was naive, and I put this pizza in there, closed it, set a timer, went back about eight minutes later, opened up the smoke and it all melted through, but everything, the pizza had gone, just like gone. And then my other story So we done It was, i think it was like the Jubilee, so it was last June or July, i was doing a private event And I think there was maybe 60 people there. I had my partner helping me and she was like, will it be easy? And I was like, yeah, it'll be smooth. It's all, like you know, done it loads of times And we were supposed to be serving in about two hours. The trade would been on three hours And so I just turned up, put the trade on And then I was like the other side of the garden sitting, sitting up like tables and bringing out like cheese and chutneys and stuff like that, and after about an hour and a half went at the trade and someone unplugged it straight away. So the auger wasn't even full And I was like, oh no, i was supposed to be serving food in about half an hour.
Speaker 1:Oh God, yeah, how'd you see that sort of situation?
Speaker 3:Yeah, how'd you see that. So I think I kind of blagged like a reverse sear, but it was a total opposite of a reverse sear. So I was doing lamb racks And I was intending to smoke them, bring them up to like 48 degrees and then finish them on the weather next to it. But instead I seared them on the weather next to it and then finished them on the trailer when it had come up to heat.
Speaker 1:Just a lick of smoke.
Speaker 3:But yeah, that was hard And I ended up doing everything like hot and fast and then just resting it low and slow, were they?
Speaker 2:happy, did it taste good?
Speaker 3:Yeah, loved it, loved it, So is your partner going to help you again.
Speaker 2:You've told her it was easy, and then you had a massive hold up.
Speaker 3:I think I'm quite good at hiding stuff like that, maybe, like because when you're in the kitchen and you're doing lots of things all day, everything will always go wrong Or not everything, hopefully, but something will always go wrong And you just kind of get used to it like oh that's okay, I'll just deal with it like every day, And I think for her she was like the days ruined. I was like, oh, just deal with it And still serve good food. It might not be like what you intended to do, but we can still make it really good And the end customer would be happy. They don't need to know that it's not going like perfect. You're running around the garden with an extension lead And I think you just deal with it and you learn from it.
Speaker 2:I suppose running around in the garden with an extension leads better than an extinguisher, so yeah, I had a barbecue fail last week.
Speaker 1:I've not told her in a bout which I think you'll find hilarious, so probably won't, i don't know.
Speaker 2:You'll enjoy this.
Speaker 1:So my wife is half Dutch, her mom's Dutch, and so we had some Dutch family over last weekend So they were going out for a meal. But before that Steph had baked them a load of stuff And she'd left out on the side a little pot not even a pot, like a small kind of bowl with like white granulated stuff in it And she'd been telling me that they'd run out of sugar. So she was having to be careful and bounce and different stuff. So I was like okay, cool, there's a pot of salt there. So she'd gone out and I thought I'm just going to quickly just do myself a stick. So rubbing stuff, get this, get this granulated stuff. Sprinkled all of that over the top, got some pepper ground. It left it for a bit for like a this kind of mini dry brine for like an hour. And then I was like right, stick it on, cook it. And as it was going on I was like that smells really weird, flip it. That's really dark for the amount of time, took it off, rested sugar. I was like this is your sugar.
Speaker 2:Did it taste nice.
Speaker 1:I was weird. After the previous episode of speaking to I think it was Jürgen from culinary demons. He talked about like maple syrup works well and stuff. So I've done a maple syrup before, so it was kind of a crappier version than that And also a weird kind of burn because, like sugar acts very differently from salt to course as well. So a hard crust after I'd let it rest and it kind of solid. Don't do that, kids. I mean it's funny if you're playing trick on someone or something, but not good for yourself.
Speaker 2:I don't think I've had a. I have to tell the truth, I don't think I've. it's almost been a week since I've actually turned on a picked up a barbecue, So I don't know any fails.
Speaker 3:Probably the safer way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's just been one of those. You know, it's just like some. Obviously we always try and get out as much as possible, right? That's why we do the things that we do and we love barbecue. But it's just been one of those weeks where just stuff's been happening that I just haven't managed to get out, and also the weather's been crap.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the weather has been crap. I've tried to give my Traeger a break for the last week. I don't know if you was following the Orton's restaurant roulette.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Was it the?
Speaker 1:semifinals you got through.
Speaker 3:Yeah, semifinal. So I think the Traeger was quite relieved. They got like a week off. The last week was quite heavy on it. I think my butcher was quite happy because I was hassling him quite a bit on WhatsApp. But yeah, yeah, so I'm glad, glad to have a week off cooking. The weekend off It was. it was still odd because I was like I wanted to go all the way but I was still happy with where I got to.
Speaker 1:Talk our listeners through it. So so explain exactly what restaurant roulette is and what you did.
Speaker 3:So you kind of they take you on a live and then they spin a wheel, So you'd be like paired up with someone.
Speaker 1:Have we copyrighted this though? Have we copyrighted this because it feels similar to a bit of barbecue bingo. Go on.
Speaker 3:They spin a wheel and then, yeah, like similar to barbecue bingo, they tell you what to cook and then you go like head to head with someone And, yeah, i managed to make it. I think they was 32 of us or something like that. I managed to make it in the final four. I was quite happy with that.
Speaker 2:So what things have you been cooking?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So the first one was Valentine's Day. I done Oh God, what did I do? So I done like parmesan upside down potatoes It's where you get like a baking tray and fill that tray with garlic, butter and parmesan And then you put potatoes facing down on it and then smoke them When you like, take them off, all the parmesan's like caramelized onto them. I made a beef wedding. I made a chocolate brownie, some other bits in that one. Next, i don't really know what I had next One week I had Wagamamas. I think that might have been that. So I made smoked brisket shredded. That made some sushi. I made chicken spring onion gyoza. There was a steak noodles in there. I made some noodles and then laid them between two sheets and smoked them, so they went crispy like a disc. I thought that was a little bit different because I quite like texture. There was loads. I can't remember what else I said, but the sushi was my favorite. But I thought it was quite cool to incorporate barbecue into sushi and I don't really like fish, So that was quite different. And then I had Mila and Carter the week after I'd done two caveman Tomahawks.
Speaker 2:So if that was me, I'd have literally just presented half a quarter of a lettuce and a bit of sauce on top.
Speaker 3:I did do a wedge as well, so I'd done a wedge.
Speaker 2:You should have. Just that's all you should have done. Just charred it and then go there you go.
Speaker 3:I was thinking how risky do I do it? How far ahead do you go? That was what I was thinking. But it was so hard for me because the cooking part I found easy. But then I'm crapper taking pictures videos. I'm awful at like pictures. I'm so awful Like some people I watch you sell. And then I realized that I haven't got my new pictures of like what I sell on my Instagram. It's not what I cook, yeah, so that Mila and Carter was quite cool. And then the last one was an Indian And I wanted to do like Indian slash, barbecue slash, like Michelin star kind of thing.
Speaker 1:So my first- one was like an actual kutcher type feel to it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So like I think my first dish, I had like a coriander puree with a little onion barge cake. Oh, this is maybe my fourth dish. Actually on my pin There was like an onion barge cake. On top There was a croquette that had like smoke shredded chicken korma inside Some sauce. I don't remember what my dish is. One of them there was like sagaloo with a mint foam and smoked lamb chops And the lamb chops had like a masala paste And then they were crusted in little onion pieces. That was quite cool with the mint foam on top. And then my last dish. So I try and like offset on my carbon footprint for Ben's kitchen. So we like, we buy, we plant trees and stuff like that. We do like solar panel projects in South Africa, We do like wind farms in Vietnam and stuff like that, Like solar kitchens in Turkey and stuff like that, just to try and like give a little back to environment because we do use quite a bit of plastic, We do print on plastic and stuff like that. But then my argument with that is we're carbon negative, We're like carbon negative, So we give something back. So my kind of final plate in the Indian I'd done like a curry inspired edible forest as a dessert. So there was like chili ginger chocolate And we made a log with that and we filled it with like turmeric, mango passion fruit coulis. We made some chocolate chili sponge and that was like the chocolate soil. There was a coriander shortbread that was blended down to make moss. There was some almond and marzipan mushrooms in there. There was red amaranth, which is like an edible herb And it just tastes like mud. It's not really nice, but so we kind of put that on the edible forest as well. There was some glazed mint in there. So that was kind of like a deforestation as a pudding, but it was curry based. So that was quite cool.
Speaker 1:Was that your semi final? Yeah, what the hell be. Let's get an edible forest.
Speaker 3:Literally. Jay gave us like 15 minutes because I think there was connection issues And I had mine laid out. I had the crayons out, because I even wrote a little script What I was going to say and everything. And then he was like you've got to make a video in 15 minutes and it can't be longer than a minute long. And I've done my minute. I worked my way through it, filming it. After stuttering about 20 times, i've redone it and I had like one minute left to do it. I cut the croquette right on video, i smash a log so that all the coulis could fall out, click pause, looked in and it was like one minute 45 seconds. I was like fuck. I was like edit out so much So it'd send over on Instagram. But yeah, it took so long, i'd done like a Mumbai Martini and everything.
Speaker 2:Oh man, That sounds amazing And I just want to circle back to that message. then around the business. So talk to us more about it. so you're offsetting your carbon neutral.
Speaker 3:So we try and do everything we can Like. We ship out a lot of our orders in weird boxes Like you get an Amazon box that probably have my address on there. That I shouldn't really do. We will use stuff like that And then, yeah, so every ton of CO2 that we use, we will try and offset 1.2 of a ton. So we're kind of giving something back because we do like we use a plastic, we print with glue and stuff like that, and I personally don't ever think there's a world where we won't use plastic. But that's just me personally. But maybe we can carry on using that plastic but then give something back to the world. So we do. We work with projects that might use solar cookers So, rather than using ovens in like third world countries, they can then use the sun to cook their dinners, to boil their water, to make it safer drinking, like we're doing that in Turkey at the minute. We are doing the solar. The solar panels are in Vietnam, so we put towards solar panels in Vietnam And we have got a South African project And then we have like our virtual forest as well. So that would be on our website when it comes out. So that every like, yeah, every like 100 bottles we sell, we're planting a little bunch of trees. We're trying to plant them in Kent as well. It might make us better after cooking on that little pot we've got outside. There's more like fresh trees in Kent And then planting them around like Vietnam, turkey and places like that Brilliant.
Speaker 1:Yeah, fantastic, because it is well, it's something that you don't necessarily have to do, which is a fantastic fact that you're going out of the way to do it and more companies, where they can, should be doing it.
Speaker 2:I suppose it's the right thing to do, though, isn't it? That's important Yeah.
Speaker 3:And, whether it's personal or not, i'm trying to bring a little girl up And I'm sure eventually she'll try and bring a kid up. And I think when you kind of grow up like that, you kind of want like it won't affect me at all planting the trees or planting the solar panels and stuff like that. But then you've got to think about the younger generation And hopefully they will take Ben's kitchen with them And, yeah, just make it a better company. And I feel like a better company. That sounds like I'm slagging off Ben's kitchen. They will take that with them and progress with it. And I kind of feel like it's such a better thing to do when you're in your first year or two, because otherwise, before you know it, you're 10 years in. You've got like you've got maybe like 1,000 tonne of CO2 to offset, and then you're looking at like a 40 or 50,000 pound bill. And that's just why it don't get done now with companies They might say that they're carbon neutral, they're working towards net zero, and a company that's working towards net zero Some of these big companies they like assume that they will reach out by 2070. What good is that? In my opinion, you might as well start from day dot And then the price of offsetting. It will only grow with your company.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's also built into the foundations of the company. So as you upscale and upscale, it's already there, it's not something that retrospectively you're thinking, christ, that one machine, there is X amount of tons And it's also using more to produce.
Speaker 3:Whereas everything you do is included. Yeah, but it's a lot easier that way And it just sets itself, makes us a little bit different, like, so we were just in talks with that Taster Kent Awards And like, and it wasn't until, like you list what you're doing, you're like bloody hell, i'm doing, like I'm doing more for the environment than I'm making money from selling oil. So it's like yeah, the only thing I haven't tried offsetting is the smoke that the trade group produces. I just kept that between me and me and the trade go.
Speaker 1:So a little water wheel above it and the smoke can go up and power that Yeah.
Speaker 2:Let's circle back to the ingredients. Obviously, you've just had a fantastic run on the roulette Restaurant Competition.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yes, thank you.
Speaker 2:You could tell. I've forgotten what the first bit was. I think everyone will be able to tell. To be fair, Yeah, that's all good, I was listening. Then promise, Right, let's talk about Barbecue Bingo. The OG Barbecue Bingo is brought to you by Lumberjack Food Company. Your ticket to Flavortown, OK, So hopefully you can see the screen.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Brilliant. So a load of different ingredients on there. My signature dish, which is your signature dish. What would that be if it lands on that?
Speaker 3:My signature dish.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so what?
Speaker 2:are you known for?
Speaker 1:Yeah, what's your specialty?
Speaker 3:I don't really know, i'll probably something fancy. Oh steak, yeah, yeah steak. I feel like I cook that too much.
Speaker 2:A forest of an edible steak forest.
Speaker 3:I'd probably say, yeah, steak a lot of fillet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sounds good. Okay, so, in the back of your mind, while I'm giving this a spin, think about an ingredient you can leave for another guest.
Speaker 3:Yeah, let's go. Can it be one of my ingredients to force them to buy in it?
Speaker 2:That's up to you.
Speaker 1:Look at that chicken hearts. Oh, So that was literally left from the last episode as well.
Speaker 2:It was, so Can I spin it? Yeah, oh, sorry.
Speaker 1:So that was Al Fresco Chapel left that He was devastated with what was spanned for him because he ended up with liver. So he tried to think of something that he thought might be worse than liver.
Speaker 2:So what's your thoughts for chicken hearts?
Speaker 3:I feel like I've got to give Al Fresco a message. Yeah, i have actually got a box waiting here to be sent out to him tomorrow morning.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you should put a note in with it. You've got to put a note in there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you've definitely got to put a note in just saying thanks for the chicken hearts.
Speaker 1:Or go out and buy a few chicken hearts. Chicken hearts. Yeah, just put it in there with it so it opens up. Yeah, they are a bit like gourmet. Now, though, you know, when we were at Sizzle Fest last year, there was a dish there that Urban Street did, which involved chicken hearts, and they turn up a lot of like Brazilian restaurants and stuff on scooters. I'm sure you can do something special with them. It's whether you want to.
Speaker 3:I'm sure I can do something with them.
Speaker 2:What are you going to leave for next year, for the final work?
Speaker 3:So straight away I said pineapple, but I've just seen that Yeah.
Speaker 2:So far there's octopus, polo smoked sausage. Well, obviously, chicken hearts has just gone. Mango, monkfish, beef, tongue, artichoke, duck, leg of lamb, seshuang, pepper, oily fish beef shin and paella.
Speaker 3:So as I would have wanted it to be filet, so I'm going to leave filet. Good idea Be filet, yeah.
Speaker 1:It doesn't always have to be a negative ingredient for people to use either, but I do think that quite often, when people have been burned, such as yourself, most people end up going right, i'm going to screw someone else over. So well done, not doing that. I thought you're doing awful then.
Speaker 2:So is there anything else that we kind of haven't spoken to, you know, spoken about yet in regards to barbecue, anything like that you thought would be good to chat about on the podcast?
Speaker 3:I think we're pretty much there. Like, yeah, going back to like some of the chef toxicity, i can only say thank you to any of the listeners here that support us. Everyone is incredible. Like everyone. We've just taken on some ambassadors and they're really good. We're just taking on John Wilson and he is on it Like he makes. He makes like content quicken I can, so he's really good. We're just taking on hidden ingredient. He's really good. He's like really good with a camera, really good with his cooking. Some of the shops, like Alton's, are really good. El Fresco, we're in as of Monday. The Shaq, we're in their call They got some call bits up there And yeah, like obviously we're in like the cooking side of it as well. I can't leave that out. But as the barbecue community, it's awesome, everything's awesome. Like we've got a good butcher's behind us. We've got Haywood's butcher's behind us. They're really good. Like anything I ask for, they kind of get it. But yeah, the whole thing it comes together like a puzzle. Yeah, thank you Everyone that supports us.
Speaker 2:Well, it's been fantastic to have you on the podcast. You mentioned about a website coming along. Please tell people where you know. Obviously you've told people where they can find them in stores but by your socials and things.
Speaker 3:I mean socials. we do Facebook, but I don't really go on Facebook. I think when I post on Instagram it automatically goes on Facebook, but mostly we're on Instagram. There will be a website in about a month. I think. I've got about five emails from him asking for pictures and stuff like that, so we'll get on there Eventually. I would sort that out.
Speaker 2:So by the time this comes out it's going to be probably late May, early June, So hopefully the website should be live.
Speaker 3:So if you want to tell people what it is, i haven't even got a domain yet.
Speaker 1:Well, Instagram is Ben's underscore kitchen right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, that's it. Yeah, Ben's kitchen 22. Well, it's one of them.
Speaker 1:They'll go find you. Yeah, do a Google, ben kitchen, i'm sure you'll get what you want, right? Yeah?
Speaker 3:the website will be on the Instagram. But yeah, I think that's everything.
Speaker 2:Brilliant Well. thanks ever so much for coming on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, great speaking to you. Thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 3:Having me.
Speaker 1:Loved it, cheers.
Speaker 3:Have a good one, Ben. Thank you very much, guys See you later.
Speaker 2:Bye, bye. That's it for another episode of the Meat and Greet BBQ podcast. Thanks so much to Ben from Ben's kitchen, talking about his new business, ambitious launch and new products every single week And actually a really good message behind starting a business to be carbon negative and giving back to the planet. So that's a great, great message for the business. As ever, we want to hear from you, so please do get in touch with us through our socials Instagram, facebook, at Meat and Greet BBQ podcast, through the website Meat and Greet BBQPodcastcom, and until next time, keep on grilling. Today's episode is brought to you by AOS Kitchens, the South's leading outdoor kitchen design and installation specialists.
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