Steve's Culinary Adventure from Joiner to Chef

WEBVTT

00:00:00.100 --> 00:00:05.092
Today's episode of the Meat and Greet Barbecue Podcast is brought to you by AOS Outdoor Kitchens.

00:00:05.092 --> 00:00:09.111
They are the South's leading outdoor kitchen design and installation specialists.

00:00:09.111 --> 00:00:23.611
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Meat and Greet Barbecue Podcast.

00:00:23.611 --> 00:00:36.767
Today we're speaking to Steve from the Charred Food Company about his journey from barbecue beginner to running a professional barbecue kitchen, all in the space in total of three years, but even just cooking professionally within a year.

00:00:36.767 --> 00:00:39.664
It's a fantastic story, but we'll let Steve talk to you about that.

00:00:39.664 --> 00:00:41.731
So, without much further ado, here's Steve.

00:00:41.731 --> 00:00:44.063
Hello, steve.

00:00:44.063 --> 00:00:46.850
Thank you so much for coming on to the Meat and Greet Barbecue podcast.

00:00:46.850 --> 00:00:50.149
For anyone who might not know who you are, please do introduce yourself.

00:00:51.220 --> 00:00:52.063
Hi, I'm Steve.

00:00:52.063 --> 00:00:58.408
Under the moniker of Chad Food Co on Instagram, it used to be I Can, you Can Cook.

00:00:58.408 --> 00:01:00.588
I still am doing some stuff to do with that.

00:01:00.588 --> 00:01:04.620
I'm sure we'll talk about why that name changed before.

00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:06.441
But yeah, yeah, always on instagram.

00:01:06.441 --> 00:01:10.213
Uh started to dip my toe into tiktok and many other different things.

00:01:10.213 --> 00:01:12.662
Um, and yeah, it's a pleasure to be here.

00:01:12.662 --> 00:01:15.111
Guys, thanks for having me on.

00:01:15.132 --> 00:01:17.861
Yeah we're really, yeah, looking forward to talking to you.

00:01:17.861 --> 00:01:30.914
Obviously, we've been in contact for a little while now, um, and you know, seeing some of the things that you're you're cooking, so really keen to try and understand a little bit more about what's got you to where you are now.

00:01:30.914 --> 00:01:45.384
Uh, as well as, obviously we'll talk, you know, naturally we'll start talking about what's planned for the future, but, um, I think I I can't remember if it was uh either on instagram, facebook, or it might even be youtube.

00:01:45.384 --> 00:01:52.251
I think I came across you originally and I know that you've done various kind of bits and pieces on YouTube.

00:01:52.251 --> 00:01:56.891
Where did you kind of start your culinary journey, shall we say?

00:01:58.641 --> 00:02:01.246
I mean, I've always cooked, I've always really enjoyed cooking.

00:02:01.246 --> 00:02:11.325
But I suppose what we want to talk about is maybe the barbecue stuff started pre-lockdown fully enough.

00:02:11.325 --> 00:02:15.734
Um, a friend of mine who's really into barbecue had a weber kettle.

00:02:15.734 --> 00:02:17.647
He only just lives across the road from me.

00:02:17.647 --> 00:02:19.656
He's into his cooking as well.

00:02:19.656 --> 00:02:34.820
We're both really into cooking, and I think it was the summer before lockdown we just had loads of barbecues at his house where we would just make excuses for me to pick meat up on the way home from work from the butchers, buy a load of beers and go to sydney's garden and cook it, and we had no clue what we're doing.

00:02:34.820 --> 00:02:38.939
We didn't know what the vents were for on the bottom of the webber kettle or anything like that.

00:02:38.939 --> 00:02:47.967
We were just lighting a fire and burning things on it and everything just tastes like lighter fluid, like they say, or whatever we use to to get it going and it went from there.

00:02:48.046 --> 00:02:54.049
Then he's, I started to find things on the internet, uh, for cooks, mainly american youtube videos.

00:02:54.049 --> 00:02:57.044
I'd send him links, they'd send me links, and, yeah, that's what.

00:02:57.044 --> 00:03:03.685
That's where it started, that's where it grew from, um, and then I got myself a weber kettle, but it was the most.

00:03:03.685 --> 00:03:09.605
You know, the most basic one, with the three little vents on the bottom that you have to burn your fingers on to adjust when it's cooking.

00:03:09.605 --> 00:03:16.411
So I had that one first Lockdown hit and that was when I really got into barbecue.

00:03:16.411 --> 00:03:23.451
So I was grilling before, but I wasn't doing anything like smoking or anything else like that Lockdown hit.

00:03:23.451 --> 00:03:28.324
I was barbecuing loads, loads, but also cooking loads because I'm just well, I was a joiner by trade.

00:03:28.324 --> 00:03:32.804
I had my own business doing like replacement windows, doors, conservatories and that kind of thing.

00:03:33.205 --> 00:03:41.430
For many years uh, put me in good stead, spent a good living off it, but just the last few years, hated it, just hated.

00:03:41.430 --> 00:03:43.281
When the alarm go off in the morning, just it.

00:03:43.281 --> 00:03:44.203
It was depressing.

00:03:44.203 --> 00:03:51.140
Especially it was raining outside, you know, and I was working on a site and I just thought can I, can I do something with this?

00:03:51.140 --> 00:03:55.971
And, um, like I say, during lockdown I started to do things online.

00:03:55.971 --> 00:04:08.828
So I started to host zoom calls like this with pals, um, cooking, showing them how to make curries or fake kfc or fake mcdonald's and things like that, and doing stuff with the kids, because you couldn't get any of that during lockdown.

00:04:08.828 --> 00:04:14.953
So when I could eventually get the ingredients to do it, started doing it and just it just kind of snowballed.

00:04:14.953 --> 00:04:18.012
So all the things online um, got more and more.

00:04:18.012 --> 00:04:19.096
I was recording videos.

00:04:19.096 --> 00:04:20.482
All my friends like you should do this.

00:04:20.482 --> 00:04:22.187
You should put postings on the internet.

00:04:22.187 --> 00:04:26.062
You've got instagram and, um, I opened an instagram account.

00:04:26.062 --> 00:04:27.567
I had two instagram accounts.

00:04:28.189 --> 00:04:44.797
One of them was doing okay during lockdown and then it got hacked and I had no clue how to get it back, um, and then I just started to post things on the other one, which was the icon you can cook, and, um, yeah, it just kind of grew and grew and grew and these doors just started to open.

00:04:44.797 --> 00:04:52.586
People started to contact me and I don't want to, I don't want to name drop and put, you know, say, oh, this guy give me this for free, or.

00:04:52.586 --> 00:05:02.041
But I did get a few things sent to me because I don't want them getting mired off people, um, which again just sort of fed that hunger that I had to learn as much as I could about barbecue.

00:05:02.041 --> 00:05:03.987
And the more I learned, the more I it.

00:05:03.987 --> 00:05:13.185
And it wasn't just the cooking side of it, it was the talking about it, it was the cooking for people and people go oh my God, how did you cook this beef?

00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:19.622
Or I'm just having getting that feedback and the interaction and I think, um, yeah, that's still what keeps me going now.

00:05:19.622 --> 00:05:36.327
I think, just the feedback that you get from people when you do it, you guys know yourself, you entertain a lot, and I think that's what fuels the fire in your belly to keep going and just get better and better at achieving things and trying to improve on the knowledge you've already got, because you'll never know everything about barbecue.

00:05:36.327 --> 00:05:44.024
I learn things all the time and it's evolving so quickly, especially now with technology and the things that are coming out.

00:05:44.024 --> 00:05:54.769
But yeah, that's where it all started really for me, during lockdown, and you guys I said it just before we started recording you guys are a huge part of why I'm here.

00:05:54.769 --> 00:06:08.427
So thanks for making me give up a very well-paid career and search for a job in hospitality, which pays terribly but, no, I'm loving it, no worries.

00:06:10.201 --> 00:06:15.928
I'm in a fortunate, I'm in a very fortunate position and it was my wife who gave me the push and my family that gave me the push.

00:06:15.928 --> 00:06:20.668
So just try it, because if you don't try it you'll never know and you'll always regret not trying it.

00:06:20.668 --> 00:06:22.685
And I'm fortunate because I've got a trade.

00:06:22.685 --> 00:06:30.781
If it doesn't work out, I've still got the trades and I've still got the contacts in the trade and I still moonlight here and there.

00:06:30.781 --> 00:06:36.966
If I've got a quiet week, I'll I'll go and do like um surveys and things like that for other friends who are still in that industry.

00:06:36.966 --> 00:06:44.428
So, um, and I need that money to subsidize the bobbins money that there is in hospital, but um, but yeah.

00:06:44.428 --> 00:06:45.692
So there's a lot of factors.

00:06:45.692 --> 00:06:46.413
There's a lot of people.

00:06:46.413 --> 00:06:54.048
I'd be here all day thanking the people I've been involved in me making decisions that I've made to get here from those early days during lockdown.

00:06:54.048 --> 00:06:56.040
But I mean you, you guys are definitely part of that.

00:06:56.060 --> 00:07:03.600
So, uh, yeah, thanks that's very kind of you, yes thank you, yeah, and do you know what I'd like?

00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:23.490
I'd love to dig into that more, because the amount of people that we speak to, whether it be at shows or whether it be through instagram, that their dream is to be able to chuck in the day job, as it were, and actually be able to just cook, whether it be on barbecue or even just cooking in general, and for that to be the main part of their life.

00:07:24.011 --> 00:07:35.947
It's very brave what you've done, um, and exciting as well, and it sounds yeah, I imagine, and the support that you had around you must have helped, but what did it feel like when you first made that choice?

00:07:35.947 --> 00:07:40.122
And, on top of that, when did you know that it was going to be okay?

00:07:41.665 --> 00:07:45.189
um, I mean, initially it was super scary.

00:07:45.189 --> 00:07:53.165
It was you hear people talking about imposter syndrome, like I knew what that meant straight away.

00:07:53.165 --> 00:07:54.730
Um, and I didn't.

00:07:54.730 --> 00:07:55.031
I didn't.

00:07:55.031 --> 00:07:59.208
It wasn't like, right, okay, I'm gonna stop doing this job on friday and I'm gonna start this new job on monday.

00:07:59.208 --> 00:08:03.807
I was trying to be as smart about it as I could, so I carried on working.

00:08:03.807 --> 00:08:10.829
I had some contracts that I needed to finish, but I knew that I didn't have to put five days a week into it.

00:08:10.829 --> 00:08:22.865
So I started to speak to people locally who had food businesses, restaurants or takeaways and I already had them contacts because I do.

00:08:23.305 --> 00:08:30.911
I started to do um a radio slot once a fortnight on local radio which is about food, so it could be me talking about a recipe that I've cooked.

00:08:30.911 --> 00:08:32.825
It could be me reviewing a restaurant.

00:08:32.825 --> 00:08:36.715
Um, again, I just that was accidental.

00:08:36.715 --> 00:08:38.702
How I fell into that that's a whole other story.

00:08:38.702 --> 00:08:57.331
But basically I already knew some people in and around the little town where I live, in Altrincham, and um, I just kind of reached out and said look, would, would you have any interest of giving this daft middle-aged guy who's having a midlife crisis a couple of shifts and showing him how a professional kitchen works.

00:08:57.331 --> 00:09:01.331
And a few people were like yeah, yeah, sure, come down, like.

00:09:01.331 --> 00:09:04.405
But one of them was am I all right saying the name of businesses on it?

00:09:04.405 --> 00:09:04.907
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:09:04.907 --> 00:09:05.876
But one of them was am I all right saying the name of businesses on it?

00:09:05.876 --> 00:09:06.139
Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course.

00:09:06.139 --> 00:09:20.908
One of them was a burger place called I call myself Sanchez, and it's run by a real chef who is a Portuguese chef, and it's a burger place, but it's like gourmet-style burgers, so it's not like your typical greasy spoon type thing.

00:09:20.908 --> 00:09:24.149
The ingredients they use are all from local farms.

00:09:24.149 --> 00:09:30.522
It's all local produce.

00:09:30.522 --> 00:09:30.962
It's like higher end.

00:09:30.962 --> 00:09:31.706
The kitchen is tiny, I'm not lying.

00:09:31.706 --> 00:09:33.150
It's probably the size if you imagine four telephone boxes put together.

00:09:33.150 --> 00:09:33.974
That's how big the kitchen is.

00:09:33.974 --> 00:09:40.033
It's tiny because it's in this little um courtyard that's got all trendy bars around it, so they've got great footfall.

00:09:40.033 --> 00:09:40.942
It's always dead busy.

00:09:42.145 --> 00:09:44.994
Um, and I went and started to do a couple of shifts there.

00:09:44.994 --> 00:09:50.610
Um, I was warned off it by numerous people already worked in industry saying it's it's hard work.

00:09:50.610 --> 00:09:59.081
You know, working in a kitchen it's high stress and this, that and the other, and I was like listen, you've not been on a building site on a monday morning when all the plasters have come in and they've been on it all weekend.

00:09:59.081 --> 00:09:59.981
Listen, that stress.

00:09:59.981 --> 00:10:05.006
That stress when customers are ringing you saying why is my conservatory roof not on and it's peeing down.

00:10:05.006 --> 00:10:05.989
That stress.

00:10:06.808 --> 00:10:08.410
And then a strange thing happened.

00:10:08.410 --> 00:10:22.366
I was interviewing a couple who were opening a restaurant, uh, just up the road in a place called nutsford it's quite well to do, very nice little village, and um, they'd had restaurants down south.

00:10:22.366 --> 00:10:35.706
Very established chef, husband and wife team were coming up to Cheshire and opening a restaurant and I was going to interview them for the radio show that I do talk to them about what they're bringing to the area and what kind of food it's going to be.

00:10:35.706 --> 00:10:37.667
And it was a fine dining restaurant.

00:10:37.667 --> 00:10:39.966
I just got chatting, like I'm chatting to you guys.

00:10:39.966 --> 00:10:48.315
We met in a coffee shop and I was speaking to Chris the chef and obviously when you get two people who like food talking, that's, that's it.

00:10:48.315 --> 00:10:49.706
I'm not going to show them up.

00:10:49.706 --> 00:10:51.159
So I'll tell him all about it.

00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:54.966
He was really interested in you know what I do with barbecue and smoking meats and things like that.

00:10:54.966 --> 00:11:05.173
And I said you know I was getting some experience cause I'm hoping to set this, this road into catering or food or whatever, and he basically offered me a job.

00:11:05.173 --> 00:11:13.421
Um, um, stupidly, I accepted it Not stupidly, but just I don't know what the word is that you know through caution.

00:11:13.421 --> 00:11:14.908
So when they thought, sod it, I'm going to do it.

00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:25.538
So that became quite intense and that was, uh, september through to January, I worked the busiest period my restaurant just opened fine dining.

00:11:25.538 --> 00:11:31.903
Never done anything like that before my life over the Christmas period, christmas and New Year, and I absolutely loved it.

00:11:31.903 --> 00:11:34.188
Chris was amazing.

00:11:34.188 --> 00:11:42.562
I learned more in those few months I think that in a compressed portion of time, than I ever have learned anything in my life.

00:11:42.562 --> 00:11:45.490
I was like a sponge, just soaking it all up.

00:11:45.490 --> 00:11:53.948
Um, and the fine dining aspects of it again just ignited something in me that I was like this this is what I want to do.

00:11:53.948 --> 00:12:04.806
Um, and, yeah, I went from there to where I am now, which is in a barbecue restaurant in Stoke-on-Trent, which is about half an hour up the road.

00:12:04.806 --> 00:12:09.850
Uh, is in a barbecue restaurant in stoke-on-trent, which is about half an hour up the road, and I'm running the kitchen crazy.

00:12:09.909 --> 00:12:10.129
That's.

00:12:10.129 --> 00:12:10.831
That's.

00:12:10.831 --> 00:12:19.442
That's quite a journey and really when you've started from in the chefing point of view, within less than a year, yeah, I have no right to be running a kitchen anywhere.

00:12:20.043 --> 00:12:21.488
I can just about run the kitchen in my own house.

00:12:21.488 --> 00:12:22.770
I have no right right.

00:12:22.770 --> 00:12:29.110
But yeah, it's like I say, these doors were opening and I'm a big believer in like things happen for a reason.

00:12:29.110 --> 00:12:35.361
So when these opportunities present themselves to me, I try to grab hold of them If I can.

00:12:35.361 --> 00:12:43.428
If I can make it work and it's not going to affect my family in an adverse way, then I try to take advantage of anything that's put in front of me.

00:12:43.428 --> 00:12:45.273
And yeah, that's where I am now.

00:12:45.273 --> 00:12:58.166
But I've had so many conversations with people in and around the industry and learned so much in the few months I mean it's not even a year, really that I've been in a professional kitchen and I'm running this kitchen Any regrets.

00:12:59.259 --> 00:13:00.264
No, not one.

00:13:00.264 --> 00:13:01.924
I think it's the best thing I ever did.

00:13:01.924 --> 00:13:02.948
I'm having so much.

00:13:02.948 --> 00:13:05.927
I don't want to use the word fun.

00:13:05.927 --> 00:13:08.706
I'm really enjoying it, because if you use the word fun it sounds like it's a walk in the park and it's not.

00:13:08.706 --> 00:13:10.046
It's extremely hard.

00:13:10.046 --> 00:13:28.488
The hours are crazy, like unsociable hours, but just learning about that camaraderie between a team that runs a business that's in hospitality, and all the trials and tribulations that go with that it's all the trials and tribulations that go with that it's just been a fresh challenge.

00:13:28.488 --> 00:13:40.509
I urge anyone who is late 30s, early 40s, around my age if they're stuck in a rut and it's viable security-wise, financial security-wise to try something else.

00:13:40.509 --> 00:13:43.780
Even if it's going to night school and doing it on top of the job that you're doing.

00:13:43.780 --> 00:13:45.043
Give things a try.

00:13:45.043 --> 00:13:47.048
It might, this might not work.

00:13:47.048 --> 00:13:51.446
I'm you know you might interview me again next year and I'm like you guys done me over.

00:13:51.446 --> 00:13:52.748
This is terrible.

00:13:53.389 --> 00:14:00.769
I blame you I was gonna say I love how this is all on us mate but I would urge anyone to do it.

00:14:00.869 --> 00:14:04.260
It's kind of yeah it, it got me out.

00:14:04.260 --> 00:14:17.745
I was stuck in a rut, I was miserable, um, and when you like that you guys have spoke about this before because the first I think one of the earlier shows that I listened to that really caught my interest with you guys was the queue together, sort of bits and bobs that you did.

00:14:17.745 --> 00:14:27.111
Um, I'm not saying I was depressed or anything like that, but I was definitely not myself for a period of time and I feel I feel like I'm myself now.

00:14:27.111 --> 00:14:29.244
I enjoy, enjoy the challenge of it all.

00:14:29.485 --> 00:14:36.831
So, yeah, and so now you're running the kitchen, you kind of because it's a smokehouse, isn't it?

00:14:36.831 --> 00:14:43.432
Yes, so are you fully in charge of the menu and what kind of comes out of it?

00:14:43.432 --> 00:14:44.923
So interested to know.

00:14:44.923 --> 00:15:12.631
Then, taking from where you were what three years ago, to just starting to learn on a Weber, to now run in a smokehouse kitchen, where are you now finding that inspiration to keep that menu fresh, appealing, exciting for you as cooks in the kitchen, kitchen, but also for the guests that are coming, that may be regulars, that come in every friday, saturday and they want, they want something new.

00:15:12.631 --> 00:15:16.008
Where do you kind of get your inspiration from that?

00:15:16.048 --> 00:15:17.250
I mean multiple places.

00:15:17.250 --> 00:15:24.506
I think the main thing is interaction with other people who are into food, not necessarily just barbecue.

00:15:24.506 --> 00:15:27.529
I've made a lot of.

00:15:27.529 --> 00:15:30.274
My wife calls them pretend friends.

00:15:30.274 --> 00:15:32.797
You know internet friends that you've never met.

00:15:32.797 --> 00:15:39.969
Those ones Pretend friends on the internet who I speak to regularly, who are also into food.

00:15:39.969 --> 00:15:42.994
Ruben from Ruben Rubens I don't know if you've seen him on Instagram.

00:15:43.094 --> 00:15:44.436
I speak to him semi-regular.

00:15:50.881 --> 00:15:51.663
How the hell do you do that?

00:15:51.663 --> 00:15:52.163
Please give me.

00:15:52.163 --> 00:15:57.232
And he's that guy is so open and just, he replies to every message, he's supportive and just relationships like that building.

00:15:57.232 --> 00:16:00.546
I get all of that from there.

00:16:00.546 --> 00:16:11.461
And but also now being in hospitality and speaking to suppliers, so, um, the butcher that we use in stoke catering butcher, I now use them as a personal butcher as well, just because I know the quality is right.

00:16:12.563 --> 00:16:21.706
Um, and liam, who is the the guy there that I deal with who deals with all our orders, um, he's really into his barbecue as well.

00:16:21.706 --> 00:16:33.866
So, so he knew of my social media accounts before I'd met him, which was really cool because we already had that sort of point of contact to speak about things.

00:16:33.866 --> 00:16:45.928
So much so that he's now open to me suggesting cuts of meat or styles of hot link sausages that he's going to produce and sell in his shop and things like that.

00:16:45.928 --> 00:16:48.349
And he gives me loads of ideas as well as have you tried this?

00:16:48.349 --> 00:16:50.464
Have you tried this?

00:16:50.464 --> 00:16:54.413
Have you tried using pork collar instead of pork shoulder for your pulled pork?

00:16:54.413 --> 00:17:05.329
And you know, I wouldn't have done that unless he said it, because we do kind of, I think, as barbecues we get stuck in a way like this is how this is done and we don't stray from that lane, how this is done and we don't stray from that lane.

00:17:05.349 --> 00:17:10.856
But being in the restaurant industry has kind of opened my eyes a bit that you need to and you need to push things and try things.

00:17:10.856 --> 00:17:18.314
Um, the menu at the restaurant currently, we try and change it as much as we can and we want.

00:17:18.314 --> 00:17:24.642
We want to change it, not change the whole menu, but change things on the menu at least weekly or fortnightly.

00:17:24.642 --> 00:17:30.299
But we're just waiting for our smoker to be moved, because that takes up a big chunk of the kitchen at the moment.

00:17:30.299 --> 00:17:32.884
Um, so the kitchen is quite small.

00:17:32.884 --> 00:17:35.130
I'm cursed with small kitchens, unfortunately.

00:17:35.130 --> 00:17:41.711
Um so, yeah, so that's where I get my inspiration from, I think just and it's not the size steve, it's what you do with it.

00:17:42.500 --> 00:17:44.044
It's not the size of the ship, it's what you do with it.

00:17:44.044 --> 00:17:46.588
It's not the size of the ship, it's the motion of the ocean out here.

00:17:46.869 --> 00:17:48.732
Imagine what you do with a girthy kitchen.

00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:51.060
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:17:51.060 --> 00:17:53.202
But yeah, Instagram is still huge.

00:17:53.202 --> 00:18:03.834
For me, Instagram is the place that I go when I've got five minutes, whether it's sat on the toilet or I've got five minutes in work before service it's Instagram.

00:18:03.834 --> 00:18:06.517
I'm flicking through and seeing what other people are doing and just being inspired.

00:18:06.517 --> 00:18:15.367
Yeah, I think that's one of the positives of social media, and not just in cooking and any hobby that you've got.

00:18:15.367 --> 00:18:24.372
Social media is a great tool to be inspired and share what you're doing and have feedback on it, because there's a lot of negatives to the internet.

00:18:24.372 --> 00:18:28.989
Well, I think social media, in this case, is amazing and helps everyone.

00:18:29.009 --> 00:18:50.890
I think we've talked about it so much that there's something about the barbecue instagram community which is so supportive and you can reach out to so many people and they're not just willing to engage but excited that someone else is talking about barbecue and anyone urging or anyone who's looking at kind of starting urge you to reach out to people because they just want to help.

00:18:50.890 --> 00:19:26.192
And on that point, going back to when you were first kind of exploring the American style low and slow, I'd love for you if you talk us through either the first or one of your favorite kind of things that you tried from then, how that went, and then take us through to what you know now, being a culinary professional but in a kitchen, and how that's changed and some of the tips that have developed over time to give you what you can do now yeah, so I mean the, the things when you, when you, when you're searching the internet whether it's youtube or instagram, and the big names you know, your Franklins and all that kind of stuff.

00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:31.702
Or Meat Church, all that kind of the things that they post the most of because they get the most hits from.

00:19:31.702 --> 00:19:33.208
It is like brisket and things like that.

00:19:33.208 --> 00:19:33.829
Or beef ribs.

00:19:33.829 --> 00:19:39.721
So beef ribs have always been my favourite thing and I know you're pretty keen on them as well, dan, I think.

00:19:39.780 --> 00:19:47.022
I was asking for how you cook yours at one point, but I've always preferred beef ribs over brisket.

00:19:47.022 --> 00:19:57.070
That might change if I ever go to America get the opportunity to go to America and have their brisket, but for what we can get, I've always preferred beef ribs.

00:19:57.070 --> 00:20:07.509
I wanted to make sure I could nail beef ribs and I have ruined so many racks of beef ribs in the early days Just too tough and just be and it all.

00:20:07.509 --> 00:20:18.190
It all it was was being scared to trust your instincts and think, oh, they need another hour, and then you give them the other hour and you've done them in the dry.

00:20:18.190 --> 00:20:20.512
And that was the thing I wanted to nail.

00:20:20.512 --> 00:20:31.589
So, yeah, we have beef ribs on the menu at the restaurant and I think, with the amount of beef ribs that I now cook on a weekly basis, I think I've nailed them.

00:20:31.589 --> 00:20:33.173
I think I've nailed them.

00:20:33.173 --> 00:20:34.261
So that would be my.

00:20:34.804 --> 00:20:41.704
The one thing I failed at miserably when I first tried to do a low and slow to now where that's?

00:20:41.704 --> 00:20:44.830
That's the thing that I think.

00:20:44.830 --> 00:20:46.834
That's the thing that most of my friends and family know me for.

00:20:46.834 --> 00:21:02.349
That'll be the thing that if I say if someone's coming for a barbecue or I cook, I cook barbecue a lot now at friends as well, so I've got one on the 10th of August, friend's wife's birthday, or we're having a conversation, we're having a barbecue, you're invited, by the way.

00:21:02.349 --> 00:21:05.848
Oh, great, station, we're having a barbecue, you're invited, by the way.

00:21:05.848 --> 00:21:06.589
Oh great, yeah, that'd be, that'd be nice.

00:21:06.589 --> 00:21:06.893
Um, do you want to help us out with the barbecue?

00:21:06.893 --> 00:21:15.458
And they've got like a 49.99 b&q tin pot and I'm like I can't cook on that.

00:21:15.458 --> 00:21:16.498
I cannot cook on that.

00:21:16.498 --> 00:21:23.123
Um, but with ribs it's great because I can cook them myself at home and just hot, hold them and and bring them with me.

00:21:23.123 --> 00:21:24.747
And they're even better when you do it that way.

00:21:24.787 --> 00:21:39.251
so, um, so yeah, I think ribs would be the one for me to me, that's when you know you've nailed something, when you have the confidence that, when they're done, to wrap them and take them with you as they're resting yeah because for ages, even if I was cooking something, I was confident with it.

00:21:39.251 --> 00:21:46.103
As soon as resting don't touch don't move around, don't do anything if anyone breathes near it oh, look at it then I need to know why.

00:21:46.343 --> 00:21:47.446
Yeah, exactly right.

00:21:47.446 --> 00:21:51.840
Whereas, um, when the euros was on recently, I did some pulled pork.

00:21:51.840 --> 00:21:55.612
Um, I got very lucky with the timings because I thought it was gonna be about eight hours.

00:21:55.612 --> 00:22:00.778
It took nine and a half but it just hit kind of 96 and was feeling like butter.

00:22:00.778 --> 00:22:13.609
Finally, literally as I had to wrap it and run down to get the train, I was meeting Owen and one of our other friends, but I never would have had the confidence before to just wrap it multiple times, stick it in a Pyrex dish and think, right, that's going to rest.

00:22:13.990 --> 00:22:14.752
Yeah, yeah.

00:22:15.182 --> 00:22:16.170
Jump on the train, go through.

00:22:16.553 --> 00:22:17.420
Yeah, it's crazy.

00:22:17.420 --> 00:22:23.165
I remember I did a wrap and this is how frequent it was.

00:22:23.165 --> 00:22:25.648
It was the Queen's Jubilee.

00:22:25.648 --> 00:22:31.253
Now I know God rest her soul, she's not here anymore but it wasn't that long ago the Queen's Jubilee and I did a rack of ribs.

00:22:31.253 --> 00:22:44.749
For where I live, on the front, we've got like a green and all our houses are around the green and in the summer, like we all go out and sometimes we have barbecue, sometimes we just get picnic blankets out and snacks and have a drink, and we decided to have this Queen's Jubilee barbecue.

00:22:44.749 --> 00:22:51.208
It rained, it was terrible weather, of course, up in Manchester, so we ended up just going in someone's house.

00:22:51.299 --> 00:23:07.624
But I had this rack of ribs on my smoker and that was the time when I sliced into them and realized that everyone was like, oh, these are so good, and I'm looking at them thinking they are a mess, they're too dry, they're too tough.

00:23:07.624 --> 00:23:09.567
Uh, but I mean, everyone loved them.

00:23:09.567 --> 00:23:15.428
Um, but yeah, that was the point when I said I need, I need to be able to do ribs If I can call.

00:23:15.428 --> 00:23:23.873
If I can't, I can't'm there now.

00:23:23.873 --> 00:23:26.805
I cooked 18 racks a few weeks ago.

00:23:26.805 --> 00:23:52.818
I did a pop-up a few weeks ago and I cooked 18 racks in one sitting, so I cooked them in work on the I still was in work, wrapped them, took them out, put them back in to finish them off, took them home in a hot hold in the car, got them in my hot hold ovens that I've got here um and served them the next day and they were next level delicious for beginners talk about that yeah, I'd love.

00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:53.601
I'd love to know that.

00:23:53.601 --> 00:24:01.705
Sorry, say that again for any beginners listening yes, talk them through the best way to produce some beef ribs.

00:24:01.705 --> 00:24:03.952
What would you advise them with it's?

00:24:04.453 --> 00:24:06.500
the way I do them in work is really simple.

00:24:06.500 --> 00:24:09.087
When I do them at home it's slightly different because depends.

00:24:09.087 --> 00:24:13.247
You've got to look what this this is probably a great tip for beginners.

00:24:13.247 --> 00:24:24.166
Um, don't think that what I tell you or what you guys tell them or what someone on youtube tells them temperatures and times and all that kind of stuff is how you cook a certain thing.

00:24:24.166 --> 00:24:29.180
You need to learn your barbecue, your smoker, because everyone's different.

00:24:29.180 --> 00:24:37.490
So my smoker here I can cook at the exact same temps as I do in work and it takes longer to get to the water one.

00:24:37.490 --> 00:24:41.470
But in work we've got a big cabinet smoker.

00:24:41.470 --> 00:24:45.036
It's an American Cookshack Fast Eddie FEC 120.

00:24:45.036 --> 00:24:47.104
It's got about six racks.

00:24:47.104 --> 00:24:47.987
It's a pellet smoker.

00:24:47.987 --> 00:24:48.710
It's amazing.

00:24:49.880 --> 00:24:58.795
But once you shut that door and seal that door I don't know whether it's because it's a sealed environment and I've got all my probes in and everything's tracked and it self-regulates itself.

00:24:58.795 --> 00:25:01.638
But this is the simplest recipe.

00:25:01.638 --> 00:25:05.510
So put whatever rub that you're putting on it with whether you're using hot sauce, mustard as a binder.

00:25:05.510 --> 00:25:09.210
You might not even need a binder if they're tacky ribs already.

00:25:09.210 --> 00:25:11.145
Put whatever rub you want on them.

00:25:11.145 --> 00:25:20.704
I cook them for the first hour hour and 20 minutes, about 120, 130 degrees, and then that's centigrade.

00:25:20.704 --> 00:25:23.646
I always get mixed up still with centigrade and Fahrenheit.

00:25:23.646 --> 00:25:34.465
It's a shocker For the first hour just to get some smoke into them and then whack it up to 250F and cook it through until it's about 75, 76 degrees centigrade, until I'm bouncing backwards and forwards.

00:25:34.465 --> 00:25:35.087
I am aware of this.

00:25:35.087 --> 00:25:46.482
Once they hit around there, I then wrap them and then get them back in and I just consistently 250 degrees Fahrenheit all the way through until you hit depends how you like them.

00:25:46.482 --> 00:25:47.949
So some people like them to have a bite.

00:25:48.772 --> 00:25:53.410
We found in work the customers like them almost falling apart.

00:25:53.410 --> 00:26:02.103
So we take them to about 95, 96, something like that, take them out, let them cool a little bit and then you don't have to do this at home.

00:26:02.103 --> 00:26:09.345
You can just wrap them in cling film if you want, but we vacuum pack them once they've cooled and then just keep them in a hot hold cupboard at 65 degrees.

00:26:09.345 --> 00:26:12.673
And yeah, the longer you hold them, the better they get.

00:26:12.673 --> 00:26:15.546
If you can do it overnight, even better.

00:26:15.546 --> 00:26:23.213
But at least, at least I would say for best results, three hours, three hour hold.

00:26:23.540 --> 00:26:29.827
I think we, when I first started doing them I was doing an hour, sometimes not even an hour, because you just want to.

00:26:29.827 --> 00:26:30.509
You want to see.

00:26:30.509 --> 00:26:31.800
You want to see if it's worked.

00:26:31.800 --> 00:26:36.071
You want to see if all that effort has worked and there's nothing wrong with them.

00:26:36.071 --> 00:26:40.923
But all that'll happen is, as soon as you slice into them, all your juices will just flow out of them, because it's still too tight.

00:26:40.923 --> 00:26:42.105
The meat's too tight.

00:26:42.105 --> 00:26:46.381
You just need to let the meat relax it's still too tight.

00:26:46.402 --> 00:26:47.987
The meat's too tight, so you just need to let the meat relax.

00:26:47.987 --> 00:26:48.869
Would you say that that's your most?

00:26:48.890 --> 00:26:49.712
popular dish, or yeah, by far.

00:26:49.712 --> 00:26:50.335
Yeah, yeah by far.

00:26:50.335 --> 00:27:11.003
That's what people keep coming to the restaurant we were going to try brisket brisket's really hard to make pay, um, in a kind of a restaurant um environment, just because it's so expensive and the amount, that, how little you would give per portion to actually make money on it, um, I don't think people would want to pay it.

00:27:11.003 --> 00:27:13.824
It depends what area you're in, the area that the restaurant is in.

00:27:13.824 --> 00:27:15.890
That I don't think they'd want to pay it.

00:27:15.890 --> 00:27:22.361
You can have a big fat, juicy beef rib for the same price as maybe two or three pieces of brisket.

00:27:22.361 --> 00:27:24.023
It's a big difference.

00:27:24.023 --> 00:27:30.353
But, yeah, that's what people keep coming back for, that's what people keep tagging us in Instagram for.

00:27:30.353 --> 00:27:31.695
So, yeah, the beef ribs.

00:27:31.695 --> 00:27:40.579
I do love a smoked chicken, though old chicken spatchcock yeah, spatchcock, I did one yesterday.

00:27:41.765 --> 00:27:42.667
It wasn't anything special.

00:27:42.667 --> 00:27:46.759
Liam from Kate and Butcher is going to string me up because it was just an Aldi special.

00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:51.906
I went to Aldi I was only just feeling better and started to get my taste back yesterday so I thought I'm going to get a BBQ on.

00:27:51.906 --> 00:28:01.982
I did a spatchcock chicken and one of those big daddy Aldi steaks which looked it actually looked really good when it was vacuum packed and then I opened it and it looked like you know the facehuggers off alien.

00:28:01.982 --> 00:28:04.109
It was just all bits of flappy bits hanging off it.

00:28:04.109 --> 00:28:07.026
It was a shocker so it was really hard to cook.

00:28:07.026 --> 00:28:07.950
It turned out okay.

00:28:07.950 --> 00:28:11.830
It was only for me, the wife and the kids, so it was all right, yeah.

00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:25.016
I'd like to go back to one of your earlier comments, I think, when you were kind of introducing yourself and kind of talking about how you got into now being a chef from being a joiner.

00:28:25.016 --> 00:28:28.664
Do you still do the radio?

00:28:30.009 --> 00:28:30.971
Yes, not as regular.

00:28:30.971 --> 00:28:38.951
I'm finding now that I'm a bit of a busy fool, that I'm a bit of a busy fool.

00:28:38.951 --> 00:28:45.003
I've got so much on Working at the restaurant Child Food Co which is, I think, there.

00:28:45.003 --> 00:28:55.076
You can see that's kind of not only my Instagram name, it's a catering business that I've started up so I'll be doing pop-ups and things like that, so my time is less so.

00:28:55.076 --> 00:28:58.167
There's just not enough hours in the day or days in the week.

00:28:58.167 --> 00:29:05.376
I've got a young family as well, but two girls, 10 and 12, so any spare time that I get now the whole.

00:29:05.436 --> 00:29:13.065
One of the one of the reasons for do making the decision to do what I'm doing and come away from tools and being a joiner was, and it was, my own business.

00:29:13.065 --> 00:29:13.990
I was working all the time.

00:29:13.990 --> 00:29:20.913
I was out the house at five six in the morning, not getting home till seven, and then you're answering all your emails and customers are ringing you till 10 o'clock at night.

00:29:20.913 --> 00:29:29.267
That was one of the reasons to walk away from that, so I could have more quality time with the family, because I also have a son who's 26.

00:29:29.267 --> 00:29:49.554
And when he was young, I was a lot younger then and working, trying to get the business going and I was chasing the money all the time so I missed so much of, you know, like sports days, you know, school days out and just yeah, and I didn't want to do that any longer.

00:29:49.554 --> 00:29:51.223
I wanted to make this.

00:29:51.223 --> 00:29:53.651
It was a big chunk of why I did it, so it wasn't just you guys.

00:29:53.651 --> 00:29:56.385
I won't just blame you guys if it doesn't work there was other reasons.

00:29:56.405 --> 00:30:00.823
So yeah, Sorry, what was the question?

00:30:00.823 --> 00:30:01.905
Again I branch off.

00:30:01.925 --> 00:30:07.570
You've got to keep me on track no no, so I was just well radio talking about food.

00:30:07.570 --> 00:30:09.986
Yes, Local radio talking about food.

00:30:09.986 --> 00:30:11.770
Do you still do it?

00:30:11.770 --> 00:30:13.467
You mentioned not as often?

00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:14.884
Yeah, so I still do it.

00:30:14.884 --> 00:30:24.537
It's more of a casual thing now rather than it used to be a fortnightly slot, so it's more now when I get time to come in and sit down and record, um, because it's only.

00:30:24.537 --> 00:30:26.803
I only need to record about 30 40 minutes, so it's.

00:30:26.803 --> 00:30:35.112
It used to be a lot of the recipes that were on my um, my blog, my website or on the youtube channel, so it'd be stuff that I was cooking at home.

00:30:35.112 --> 00:30:41.320
I'd share the recipes on there, talk through them, um, or do interviews and things like that.

00:30:41.721 --> 00:30:59.685
But then when I started to do this and it was all barbecue, I did discuss that and I felt I don't know if it come across this way, but I felt like every show that I started the last probably 10 shows that I did were all about barbecue and I was thinking I thought maybe these people are not into barbecue like I am.

00:30:59.685 --> 00:31:03.342
Maybe they're thinking I wish you'd stop harping on about barbecue.

00:31:03.342 --> 00:31:03.963
We don't care.

00:31:03.963 --> 00:31:05.884
Show us how to do spaghetti bolognese.

00:31:05.884 --> 00:31:07.634
You plonker laughter.

00:31:07.634 --> 00:31:14.145
Well, you can, just on a car side over some, over some hot coals.

00:31:15.724 --> 00:31:23.267
I get on really well with Rod Rod Maxwell, who was the guy who interviewed me originally and then said do you want to do a regular slot?

00:31:23.267 --> 00:31:28.411
Because it's part of his show and we still keep in touch and he's a great guy.

00:31:28.411 --> 00:31:30.286
It's just not as regular as it was.

00:31:30.286 --> 00:31:55.509
It's something that I hope I can get back to on a more regular basis, because I do enjoy doing it and it kind of keeps my finger on the pulse of what's going on locally, which, um, will obviously help me with any ventures that I've got on my side going forward as well so you mentioned a couple of things I want to kind of touch upon, then, in terms of, as we look to the future, um, chard food company you mentioned you're going to be doing some pop-ups etc.

00:31:56.593 --> 00:32:03.907
Um, so are you going to be doing that locally to start off with and then start going to the kind of barbecue festivals and events, or you hope?

00:32:03.907 --> 00:32:05.090
What's your plan?

00:32:06.113 --> 00:32:06.294
Yeah.

00:32:06.380 --> 00:32:10.371
So the plan again, the end goal, the goalposts keep moving.

00:32:10.371 --> 00:32:13.369
So depending which week you catch me on, I'll have a different end goal.

00:32:13.369 --> 00:32:17.385
I've already done quite a.

00:32:17.385 --> 00:32:25.470
I think I've done four, four pop-ups locally and they've all gone down really, really well, to the point where people are saying where are you next?

00:32:25.470 --> 00:32:28.020
I get messages when are you doing a pop-up next?

00:32:28.020 --> 00:32:28.542
Where is it?

00:32:28.542 --> 00:32:37.420
I couldn't get to the last one, I want to get to the next one, which again is like what I said earlier on, is it really fuels the fire, and getting feedback like that's amazing.

00:32:37.420 --> 00:32:49.973
It kind of reassures you that what you're doing is the right thing to do and you're not just doing it half-assed, like people are noticing that there's nowhere else locally that they can get that kind of food.

00:32:51.419 --> 00:32:54.307
It was possible to get that kind of food from a barbecue because there's a lot of people.

00:32:54.307 --> 00:32:59.066
I think we take for granted that we we know what low and slow means, we know what smoking means.

00:32:59.066 --> 00:33:06.107
You say the word barbecue and some people it's a very small subject, but in reality it's huge.

00:33:06.107 --> 00:33:07.886
But anyone who's not into it doesn't realise.

00:33:07.886 --> 00:33:13.633
So when you say I kind of thought that when I say no, it's barbecue food.

00:33:13.633 --> 00:33:16.670
People wouldn't be interested because they'd think it was sausages and burgers.

00:33:16.670 --> 00:33:22.528
Nothing wrong with sausages and burgers I love sausages and burgers but I didn't think it would grab people's attention.

00:33:22.528 --> 00:33:31.960
But I think we're in a fortunate position, especially up north, because down south you guys are a bit ahead of us with the barbecue scene.

00:33:31.960 --> 00:33:37.409
There's far more barbecue restaurants, far more options, far more people doing it as a business catering-wise.

00:33:37.409 --> 00:33:40.367
But it is starting to spread.

00:33:40.367 --> 00:33:46.326
So people are starting to realise what it is and it was really nice.

00:33:46.599 --> 00:33:47.382
The last one that I did.

00:33:47.382 --> 00:34:03.746
I had quite a few people turn up from the I Can, you Can Cook Facebook group, which is a Facebook group to do with the initial thing that I started to do with the online zoom stuff and all that um, and it's yeah, people are still very active on it.

00:34:03.746 --> 00:34:12.373
It's great, and people traveled to come to the pop-up, which was really really nice and kind of heartwarming and, um, yeah, I've got plans for it.

00:34:12.373 --> 00:34:14.143
What the end goal is, I don't know.

00:34:14.143 --> 00:34:22.487
Do I want to be sweating my back out on a Saturday afternoon in the summer when I'm pushing 50, you know, serving people?

00:34:22.487 --> 00:34:23.048
I don't know.

00:34:23.048 --> 00:34:27.264
I don't know, maybe if I can get the business going and get someone else to do that bit.

00:34:27.264 --> 00:34:30.331
I can just do the cooking the day before, um.

00:34:30.731 --> 00:34:37.853
But a funny story actually, we had not the last pop-up, the one before it was for the, my wife's gym.

00:34:37.853 --> 00:34:42.371
The owners would do an annual barbecue for all their members.

00:34:42.371 --> 00:34:45.074
So she said oh, you know, do you want me to put your name for us?

00:34:45.074 --> 00:34:46.340
I was like, yeah, yeah, put my name forward.

00:34:46.340 --> 00:34:47.384
It's a prepaid event.

00:34:47.384 --> 00:34:49.208
It's great, it's what everyone wants as a caterer.

00:34:49.208 --> 00:34:51.322
It's guaranteed money and um.

00:34:51.943 --> 00:34:58.023
So I was chatting to the owner of the gym, um and um, he was like yeah, yeah, I've put the word out on all the whatsapp groups.

00:34:58.023 --> 00:35:03.650
I thought I need an idea of numbers because it's getting quite close now, mate, I need to know how much meat I'm buying and stuff like that.

00:35:03.650 --> 00:35:05.867
He's like, yeah, yeah, I think it's about 68 people.

00:35:05.867 --> 00:35:09.449
I thought that's a nice number, that's a nice number.

00:35:09.449 --> 00:35:12.420
And I'd roped in Dec from Cheshire Grill.

00:35:12.420 --> 00:35:24.295
He's on Instagram as well and he started to do the um pop-ups with me.

00:35:24.295 --> 00:35:24.673
Again, he's another.

00:35:24.673 --> 00:35:24.985
He was a pretend friend.

00:35:24.985 --> 00:35:25.873
Now he's a real friend we've actually met and he's not a mass murderer.

00:35:25.873 --> 00:35:26.012
So that's good.

00:35:26.012 --> 00:35:27.168
But he said, yeah, that's about 68 people.

00:35:27.168 --> 00:35:27.938
Um, that's a nice number for us, that.

00:35:27.864 --> 00:35:41.914
And then, a couple of days before the event, he told me it was 68 names, but it was 68 people with their partners and kids, so it was almost 200 people to serve food to just just me and Dec in a pop-up tent.

00:35:41.914 --> 00:35:44.088
That was when I had to do the 18 racks of ribs.

00:35:44.088 --> 00:35:55.206
I think we did something stupid, like 40 chickens which we cut in half, brined, cooked on the day, a lot of burgers pulled pork and it nearly broke me.

00:35:55.206 --> 00:35:59.385
And halfway through that I was questioning the choices that I'd made.

00:35:59.385 --> 00:36:03.331
I was like this that I'd made, I was like this is not for me, this is not fun, this isn't fun at all.

00:36:03.331 --> 00:36:14.869
And then at the end, the elation of handing that last plate of food out and the feedback we got from everyone there was just like actually, yeah, this is what I want to do, this is what I want to do.

00:36:14.869 --> 00:36:15.632
It's amazing.

00:36:22.099 --> 00:36:24.887
If you've been looking or thinking about an outdoor kitchen, then look no further nao-esque outdoor kitchens.

00:36:24.887 --> 00:36:43.708
They are the south's leading outdoor kitchen design and installation specialists their extensive showroom is based just outside bournemouth on the dorset hampshire border and, as well as numerous in-store displays, also features a live outdoor kitchen where they cook every week on Kamado grills, pizza ovens, and all filmed and shown on YouTube.

00:36:44.088 --> 00:36:57.021
They offer a wealth of knowledge on how to transform your patio into the most incredible outdoor dining area, with styles and options to suit every budget, and you can guarantee they will be able to create something perfectly suited to you and your home.

00:36:57.483 --> 00:37:10.351
They stock and supply everything that you're going to need for outdoor cooking, including barbecues, kamado ovens, pizza ovens, outdoor fridges and every accessory that you would need to become the ultimate outdoor chef.

00:37:11.012 --> 00:37:23.853
So if you want to make yourself the envy of your friends and neighbours, get in touch with them today to arrange a consultation and take the first step in transforming your back garden into the most incredible entertainment space visit aoskitchenscouk.

00:37:28.005 --> 00:37:32.614
so talking about um uh deck from cheshire grill.

00:37:32.614 --> 00:37:43.230
So we see recently that, uh, there's another instagram that's popped up and, uh, I think you've got some plans in the pipeline to enter the podcasting world.

00:37:43.739 --> 00:37:51.606
Yeah, so I'm one of those weird guys that I've got quite an addictive personality, so when I start doing something, I do it full throttle.

00:37:51.606 --> 00:37:58.650
I used to play a lot of Saturday League and Sunday League football until my eldest daughter was born and my wife said you know, this ends now.

00:37:58.650 --> 00:38:00.003
You know none of this way.

00:38:00.003 --> 00:38:02.806
I see you on a Saturday morning, I don't see you till Sunday night.

00:38:02.806 --> 00:38:04.804
That stops now.

00:38:04.804 --> 00:38:16.148
I took up golf and I just I got all in on golf, spent fortunes on golf clubs and I was playing golf all the time, but that ended up being worse than the football, because a round of golf takes about four or five hours.

00:38:16.148 --> 00:38:21.262
So, yeah, that was, a round of golf takes about four or five hours.

00:38:21.262 --> 00:38:21.784
Um, so yeah, that was.

00:38:21.804 --> 00:38:33.405
I should have known, really, that buying a barbecue was was a bad move, um, but yeah, so I got chatting to deck online because he's fairly local, he's just up the road in windsford, he's in cheshire as well and, um, I can't actually remember how we first got chatting.

00:38:33.405 --> 00:38:36.632
There's, there's a whatsapp, there's a whatsapp community.

00:38:36.632 --> 00:38:37.661
Are you in the whatsapp community?

00:38:37.661 --> 00:38:37.822
I can't.

00:38:37.822 --> 00:38:38.403
I'm in the northwest group.

00:38:38.403 --> 00:38:39.907
So there's a whatsapp, there's a whatsapp community.

00:38:39.907 --> 00:38:41.010
Are you in the whatsapp community.

00:38:41.010 --> 00:38:41.733
I can't.

00:38:41.733 --> 00:38:43.458
I'm in the northwest group so there's a whatsapp community for barbecue.

00:38:43.458 --> 00:38:43.998
I'll add you sneakily.

00:38:43.998 --> 00:38:45.101
If you're not in, you should be in.

00:38:46.284 --> 00:38:55.271
Um, and I think it was on there that we actually went backwards and forwards with a few things, and it was actually deck that introduced me to ruben from ruben.

00:38:55.271 --> 00:38:58.425
Ruben's not introduced me, but I'd already seen this guy and he.

00:38:58.425 --> 00:39:07.748
He travels a lot, we work, so he goes to London a lot and things like that, and he's mad into his food so he tries all these places, you know, on the company expenses, like you do.

00:39:07.748 --> 00:39:11.746
And, um, that's how we got chatting and we just got on really well.

00:39:11.746 --> 00:39:13.936
We kind of just sort of cut from the same cloth.

00:39:13.936 --> 00:39:19.932
We're into the same stuff, same music, uh, same scenes, and both like barbecue and both like to eat.

00:39:19.932 --> 00:39:21.666
So we got chatting.

00:39:21.666 --> 00:39:24.949
I asked him if he was interested in helping with the pop-ups.

00:39:24.949 --> 00:39:28.050
He was, which meant we were talking a lot more.

00:39:28.050 --> 00:39:42.344
Then we eventually met and we just talk nonsense about barbecue all the time and I kind of said I've always had it in the back of my mind to do like a podcast or something of that ilk or some some sort of regular series, maybe on youtube or something.

00:39:42.344 --> 00:39:49.201
And, um, I thought it'd say no, because it he doesn't talk as much as I do.

00:39:50.063 --> 00:39:52.088
Scott, uh, deck he.

00:39:52.088 --> 00:39:56.782
Um, yeah, he's quite quiet, you know, I mean, so you get him out of his shell, he's quite quiet.

00:39:56.782 --> 00:39:57.686
But he was like yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm up for it.

00:39:57.686 --> 00:39:58.891
So I was like sweet, he come up with a name really good name.

00:39:58.891 --> 00:39:59.293
He's just had a new.

00:39:59.293 --> 00:40:00.639
So I was like sweet, he'd come up with a name, really good name.

00:40:00.639 --> 00:40:02.867
He's just had a new shack built in his back garden.

00:40:02.887 --> 00:40:08.108
He'd come up with a name and, yeah, it's going to be entirely different.

00:40:08.108 --> 00:40:16.413
It's not going to be sort of like this, where it's guest driven.

00:40:16.413 --> 00:40:19.097
We're probably going to cook different things.

00:40:19.097 --> 00:40:23.791
Try and sort of get people to say, try cooking this and we'll, we'll have a go at cooking it.

00:40:23.791 --> 00:40:40.384
Um, we're still ironing out the creases, but we'll just, we want to get a few episodes recorded first, as you guys probably know, like, yep, I would rather have stuff in the bank than sort of say, right, let's meet every two weeks and record something, because in reality that just won't happen.

00:40:40.384 --> 00:40:50.931
Um, so, yeah, I'm excited about that from the, from the chat yeah, I can't wait to hear it's.

00:40:51.132 --> 00:41:03.545
Um, obviously, when we started, there was a couple, a uk-based yeah uh podcast, and you know, obviously ultimately it's about engaging more people into the uk barbecue.

00:41:03.545 --> 00:41:09.186
So whether it's our podcast, your podcast, someone else's, it doesn't matter, it's all, it's all beneficial for for uk barbecue.

00:41:09.186 --> 00:41:18.581
Um, but I think for a while now we've kind of been running solo in terms of of of that, because I think they kind of closed down towards the end of lockdown.

00:41:18.581 --> 00:41:28.644
But, um, yeah, so it'd be nice, it'd be interesting to you know, kind of again start widening that pool of yeah, I think, I think so.

00:41:28.844 --> 00:41:52.364
I think I think social media is a weird I've been in a few different um communities outside of the barbecue community on like social media and I don't know I don't know whether it's because I've come from a background of um always working for myself and being self employed that yeah, yeah, your business is built on relationships and speaking to people and helping each other scratch each other's back.

00:41:53.710 --> 00:41:59.976
I don't know if that's the case, why I feel differently about stuff, but I always think that it depends how.

00:41:59.976 --> 00:42:11.262
If you look at people as competition, there's such a thing as healthy competition, but then there's another thing of it can be quite negative to look at everyone and everyone's is quite guarded about their secrets and what they do.

00:42:11.262 --> 00:42:32.268
And I think, actually, because we'll I mean, I know I will, I'll be, I'll try from the rooftops that the reason I'm probably doing the podcast and this is like I said before you guys were a big part of fueling the need for me to learn more and want to do more around barbecue.

00:42:32.268 --> 00:42:40.010
So you know, you never know we might introduce new people to your podcast.

00:42:40.010 --> 00:42:42.081
That, because that's another thing as well.

00:42:42.081 --> 00:42:55.567
It's, I think, the hardest thing with social media and podcasts, and youtube is getting your stuff in front of new eyes yeah once you've got that sort of core group of people, it's quite hard to get past that and keep going.

00:42:55.606 --> 00:42:59.302
And you need people to talk about it and say, if you've not checked these guys out, go and check them out.

00:42:59.302 --> 00:43:03.612
And um, I know that's how it works in the construction game.

00:43:03.612 --> 00:43:08.650
When you're self-employed, you know I always I say, I've got a plumber, here's his number.

00:43:08.650 --> 00:43:10.001
I've got an electrician, here's his number.

00:43:10.001 --> 00:43:13.210
They'll say, oh no, a guy who can do your windows and your conservatory is his number.

00:43:13.210 --> 00:43:15.824
And I think it works like that for everything.

00:43:15.824 --> 00:43:26.253
It's just that people have this weird outlook that everything's competition and you've got dead secret about everything and also you are completely right about getting some momentum and backing behind you.

00:43:26.675 --> 00:43:28.541
So you have a number of bits and pieces recorded.

00:43:28.541 --> 00:43:37.369
I mean peek behind the curtain, but owen and I try to record in blocks where possible and in a perfect world we're not going to tell you whether that's the case now or not.

00:43:37.369 --> 00:43:42.909
We'd love to have a whole series recorded and edited and dropping.

00:43:42.909 --> 00:43:43.692
So it all drops.

00:43:43.692 --> 00:43:47.045
So you know there's no problems coming up, there's nothing you have to worry about.

00:43:47.045 --> 00:43:54.007
Um, but part of me also worries that towards the end of the block recordings could people potentially tell?

00:43:54.007 --> 00:44:04.206
So if anyone can go back and listen and tell us if there's any episodes where you think maybe that's towards the end of a run, maybe we're better at the end of the run, maybe we're better at the start.

00:44:04.206 --> 00:44:12.150
But definitely having a load there takes the pressure off, because you don't want to get the points where you think I've got another episode dropping next Wednesday.

00:44:12.150 --> 00:44:13.052
It's not recorded.

00:44:13.052 --> 00:44:16.686
When am I going to edit it, cause editing takes forever as well.

00:44:16.847 --> 00:44:17.329
It's the worst.

00:44:20.460 --> 00:44:21.684
Yeah, because editing takes forever as well.

00:44:21.684 --> 00:44:22.327
Yeah, it's the worst.

00:44:22.347 --> 00:44:23.652
Yeah, yeah, owen, it's the worst.

00:44:23.652 --> 00:44:25.338
All right, you do one bit, I'll do everything else.

00:44:25.338 --> 00:44:28.943
Yeah, that's how we do it.

00:44:28.943 --> 00:44:42.827
But again, what we found is, I think there's a stat and I can't remember the stat off the top of my head, but we were doing a lot of research when we first started that not many podcasts go past episode six.

00:44:42.827 --> 00:44:47.567
Right, it's kind of like a there's like a burnout, that happens, and I think we jumped in.

00:44:47.567 --> 00:44:49.186
It was just a spur of the moment.

00:44:49.186 --> 00:44:52.858
I think I texted you, dan, didn't I Just go hey, fancy doing a podcast.

00:44:53.722 --> 00:44:56.268
And it was like a week later we'd ordered mics.

00:44:56.268 --> 00:44:57.632
You know we were doing it.

00:44:57.632 --> 00:44:59.036
There was no time to really.

00:44:59.036 --> 00:45:08.282
But I think we quickly realized when we got between it was a, it was a play, a real uh, I don't, I've got to be careful the way I say it it was.

00:45:08.282 --> 00:45:15.126
It was really kind of fun, new and exciting to do those first six episodes, but then the actual amount of work.

00:45:15.608 --> 00:45:16.971
Yeah, that goes in.

00:45:16.971 --> 00:45:18.541
Just, you know, it's not the record.

00:45:18.541 --> 00:45:18.842
It's not.

00:45:18.842 --> 00:45:20.708
The recording is the easy bit.

00:45:20.708 --> 00:45:25.451
They're having the conversations, the laugh, the yeah, it's all the bits behind that.

00:45:25.451 --> 00:45:42.748
You know, some days you're just like oh god, I've got a four hour episode to cut down to an hour, or I've got 20 platforms I've got to upload this to or whatever it's um yeah, it's, uh, it takes a while to get into the swing of kind of just streamlining the process.

00:45:43.019 --> 00:45:54.271
Yeah, and it's really hard to stop something that starts out as a hobby becoming a job and when it becomes a job it's less fun.

00:45:54.271 --> 00:46:02.588
And I think you guys have mentioned it before, you've mentioned it in a few episodes where you're like burnout and stress.

00:46:02.588 --> 00:46:07.579
I've not been out and cooked on the barbecue for X amount of time.

00:46:07.579 --> 00:46:16.737
I think that's, I think that's normal and I think I think I think we can put too much pressure on ourselves that we need, or I should, be out there three, four times a week.

00:46:16.737 --> 00:46:19.798
Currently I normally am and I'm cooking.

00:46:19.798 --> 00:46:27.173
I cook as a job now anyway, but before that there were times where I'd go.

00:46:27.173 --> 00:46:29.137
I might go a month and not like the barbecue.

00:46:29.137 --> 00:46:31.139
I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

00:46:31.139 --> 00:46:36.666
I think I've sometimes gone to type it and, you know, put comments on your things.

00:46:36.666 --> 00:46:41.875
I thought, no, no, I don't know that well, I think I'm just some weirdo on the internet, but I think, that's all we are.

00:46:42.135 --> 00:46:48.077
That's all we are, I think sometimes just just, I think sometimes just recording an episode and chatting.

00:46:48.077 --> 00:46:52.777
I've said to Dec I think you know we're not just going to talk about barbecue.

00:46:52.777 --> 00:46:55.438
That's going to be the theme of why the barbecue is there.

00:46:55.438 --> 00:46:59.001
But I think we're both into football, we're both from the Northwest.

00:46:59.001 --> 00:47:00.956
You know we might touch on stuff like that.

00:47:00.956 --> 00:47:05.909
I don't know yet, I'm not 100%, but I want to try and keep it as free flowing.

00:47:07.780 --> 00:47:12.318
I know, when I listen to podcasts, I don't, I don't mind if it goes off topic.

00:47:12.318 --> 00:47:13.695
I listen to podcasts when I'm in the car.

00:47:13.695 --> 00:47:20.070
That's when I that's when I listened to you guys, that's when I listened to my Joe Rogan or I listened to a lot of weird culinary stuff.

00:47:20.070 --> 00:47:33.934
Now I'm like a proper food snob, but yeah, I listened to all sorts, but I don't mind if, if they go off track, I actually quite like it.

00:47:33.934 --> 00:47:34.898
It's quite refreshing sometimes because you can.

00:47:34.918 --> 00:47:37.748
You can sort of get yourself stuck in this rut where you're like I need to consume barbecue content, I need, I need ideas, I need this sometimes.

00:47:37.748 --> 00:47:39.175
Just, you do need a break from it and I think that's.

00:47:39.175 --> 00:47:41.588
I think that's fine, I think these are not talking about.

00:47:41.588 --> 00:47:45.480
We're not talking about barbecue now we're talking about podcasts and it's probably interesting.

00:47:45.480 --> 00:47:46.594
That's when they're listening to it.

00:47:46.594 --> 00:47:51.094
We'll find it interesting because they might be thinking of doing a podcast about fishing or whatever.

00:47:51.094 --> 00:47:56.115
I don't know computer games or you know it doesn't have to always.

00:47:56.115 --> 00:47:59.099
We trick ourselves that.

00:47:59.099 --> 00:48:02.380
I think I need to tick all these boxes and I don't think you do.

00:48:02.380 --> 00:48:11.838
People listen to you because you guys are fun to listen to and I think, from my point of view, been on a bit of a barbecue journey with you guys.

00:48:11.838 --> 00:48:17.936
We've never met, we've never spoke on a few messages before this interview, but I've listened to you loads in the car.

00:48:17.936 --> 00:48:23.918
I'm like this weird stalker from the North Is that you?

00:48:23.978 --> 00:48:26.543
I can see out of my window Looks like me.

00:48:26.543 --> 00:48:27.204
It's the bushes.

00:48:27.204 --> 00:48:27.925
Is that you?

00:48:27.925 --> 00:48:29.186
I can see out of my window.

00:48:29.550 --> 00:48:53.436
It's the bushes, you briefly touched upon it, but the two key things, as we kind of said to you before, steve, before we started recording and by now people are, I'm sure, realise that we don't actually have a clue what we're going to talk about until we start talking but the only two things that we like to do and I want to do them back to back just because I want to make sure that we get them in okay, barbecue fails, barbecue bingo.

00:48:53.436 --> 00:48:54.398
So there are.

00:48:54.398 --> 00:48:56.570
There are core things that we've started since launch.

00:48:56.570 --> 00:49:01.927
So you briefly mentioned about how some ribs have, yeah, not cut, not cut the mustard.

00:49:01.927 --> 00:49:07.559
Excuse me, but have you got any uh, amusing stories of barbecue fails for us?

00:49:08.422 --> 00:49:09.284
They might be amusing for you.

00:49:09.590 --> 00:49:10.815
They weren't amusing for me at the time.

00:49:10.815 --> 00:49:13.115
The funnier for us the better.

00:49:13.115 --> 00:49:21.516
There's quite a recent one, actually, which I think just goes to show that you should never get too big for your boots and think that you know everything because you don't.

00:49:21.516 --> 00:49:27.740
And it was in the restaurant and I think it was a Thursday night.

00:49:27.740 --> 00:49:34.014
It was a late booking, so the kitchen closes at eight o'clock on a Thursday unless we sell out before.

00:49:34.014 --> 00:49:41.996
And we got this booking for eight o'clock and it was for eight people, so the number eight was not my favourite number on that night because it's in Stoke.

00:49:42.050 --> 00:49:47.353
I do like to get cleaned down and you know, get away and try and get back on the M6, back to Altrincham.

00:49:47.353 --> 00:49:50.737
And they ordered four platters.

00:49:50.737 --> 00:49:52.619
We do a platter for two which has got beef rib.

00:49:52.619 --> 00:49:59.585
It's got a beef rib on it, it's got a half chicken on it, it's got pork belly and a hot link sausage and then loads of like garnishes and things like that.

00:49:59.585 --> 00:50:04.753
So they'd ordered four of these platters for two, for eight of them.

00:50:04.753 --> 00:50:09.567
So I come in and I was just trying to get through it dead quick and in my head I thought, right, okay, this is what I need to do and the way we do our half chickens.

00:50:09.567 --> 00:50:18.757
We smoke them in the smoker, uh for about an hour and a half till they hit temp, and then we take them off and we we hot hold them in the hot hold oven.

00:50:18.757 --> 00:50:22.469
Now it holds them and keeps them nice and moist in there, which is great.

00:50:22.489 --> 00:50:27.460
But the problem is with chicken, skin doesn't stay crispy as soon as you put it in an environment like that.

00:50:27.460 --> 00:50:32.820
Steam makes it go, it goes, it's not, it's not not nice, it's just not how you want it.

00:50:32.820 --> 00:50:44.179
So we have we inherited, uh, in the kitchen where we are used to be a pizza place before it was this barbecue place and we inherited this huge, uh, real sort of pizza oven, which is fantastic oven.

00:50:44.179 --> 00:51:05.197
I just wish it wasn't there because it takes up half the chicken, but we do use it for this sole intention of we put a cast iron hot plate in there and when you're serving the chickens you take the chicken out the hot hold, we put it skin down, skin side down, on these griddles on the cast iron and it just puts a nice char on them and it makes it skin crispy again great.

00:51:05.197 --> 00:51:10.835
But it happens in like 15 seconds because it's like 500 degrees or something.

00:51:12.297 --> 00:51:21.601
So in my head I'd planned out right for four platters got my trays down, got on my paper down, got all my garnishes done, did it at her that I got the pork belly out, the thing you put onto the hot plate.

00:51:21.601 --> 00:51:26.402
Alright, grab these chickens, but the chickens on, get the ribs out.

00:51:26.402 --> 00:51:27.052
Put the ribs on.

00:51:27.052 --> 00:51:27.376
So I do that.

00:51:27.376 --> 00:51:28.385
I get the chickens out, put the ribs on.

00:51:28.385 --> 00:51:28.809
So I do that.

00:51:28.809 --> 00:51:32.440
I get the chickens out, put them on skin side down, get my ribs out, taking them out.

00:51:32.880 --> 00:51:34.795
And then my mind just went.

00:51:34.795 --> 00:51:36.460
I think it was because it was tired, I was late.

00:51:36.460 --> 00:51:42.989
I just started faffing about with all my garnishes and trying to make these ribs look really nice and I could just smell this burning.

00:51:42.989 --> 00:51:49.403
They were the last four chickens that I had, because I'd saved them, because they pre-ordered, so I knew what they wanted.

00:51:49.403 --> 00:51:53.099
And I just looked and there was just four half chickens in the pizza oven on fire.

00:51:53.871 --> 00:52:03.436
I was like oh no, no, no, no, and I had to apologize profusely and say I'm going to have to swap out your half chicken for a bucket load of wings.

00:52:03.436 --> 00:52:09.382
I do apologize, and I had to just get loads of wings out half chicken for a bucket load of wings I do apologize.

00:52:09.382 --> 00:52:12.565
And I had to just get loads of wings out and deep fry wings and put the wings on instead.

00:52:12.565 --> 00:52:14.387
I mean, they were great, they were fine.

00:52:14.387 --> 00:52:20.059
They were previous customers that had been before and yeah, I just said I'd look after them when they come.

00:52:20.059 --> 00:52:23.360
But never take your eye off anything, don't get too confident.

00:52:23.360 --> 00:52:26.492
So yeah, that was a fail.

00:52:26.492 --> 00:52:27.615
That was my most recent fail.

00:52:27.615 --> 00:52:34.713
I've had loads of fails, loads of fails in the early days, but that's the most recent one.

00:52:34.733 --> 00:52:36.496
I don't think I've had any fails recently.

00:52:36.496 --> 00:52:37.498
Show off.

00:52:38.521 --> 00:52:39.282
Well, yeah.

00:52:39.342 --> 00:52:40.063
I don't fail.

00:52:40.063 --> 00:52:43.875
I don't fail, oh no, I definitely do no, I definitely do.

00:52:43.875 --> 00:52:51.038
I just lost a few things.

00:52:51.038 --> 00:52:51.219
You know.

00:52:51.219 --> 00:52:54.295
Know, when you try and pick up some food and you end up dropping all over the floor.

00:52:54.295 --> 00:52:57.369
I did some of that recently, but that's pretty, that's pretty vanilla.

00:52:57.369 --> 00:53:04.922
To be honest, I don't have anything juicy, which is a bit yeah hoping because we haven't podcasted for a while dan that we could have saved some up.

00:53:05.023 --> 00:53:10.958
I think when you, when you're cooking at home, though, you kind of most of the stuff that you cook at home you're used to cooking and you can sort of do it with your eyes closed.

00:53:10.958 --> 00:53:14.139
It's only when you try new things, really, or, like me, you get distracted.

00:53:14.139 --> 00:53:20.418
But yeah, most of the stuff you do at home I think you're pretty safe with if you've done it a few times.

00:53:21.090 --> 00:53:25.420
Ahem, hold my beer Except you Dan.

00:53:25.702 --> 00:53:40.842
Yeah, been ages since I used the rock box first time I fired up since um being in the new place and luckily I'd done six dough balls, like 300 grams each.

00:53:40.842 --> 00:53:55.181
Um, I managed to save two and so I was cooking for myself, my wife and the two little ones, and luckily, you know, being 20 months and seven, they don't have huge appetites compared to what my appetite is.

00:53:55.181 --> 00:54:07.257
So, second, peter, get the first one done, all sorted, get something out, boil it out with the hands, push it out, get all the air into the crusts, do the toppings and stuff.

00:54:07.257 --> 00:54:11.996
Shark comes in, wants to help, so I'm not really concentrating what I'm doing.

00:54:11.996 --> 00:54:13.670
I was like oh yeah, do you want to put on the peel?

00:54:13.670 --> 00:54:19.708
So she with a disgusting child hands, but it's her pizza, it's fine, gets it on the peel.

00:54:19.708 --> 00:54:23.556
It's like great, go out, launch it into the rock box.

00:54:23.876 --> 00:54:41.570
Didn't put any semolina or flour on the peel because charlotte was doing it, and so it just I watched it tumble on toppings down straight into the rock box and then quickly trying to flick it around and create like a calzone which obviously the children will not touch whatsoever.

00:54:41.570 --> 00:54:45.717
So I obviously ate it, because you know.

00:54:45.717 --> 00:54:50.643
But um, it's one of those things where, like you said, when you're cooking at home you get into a routine.

00:54:50.643 --> 00:54:56.481
Yeah, but if anything distracts you from that routine, you almost have to second guess yourself.

00:54:56.882 --> 00:54:57.182
Yeah.

00:54:57.710 --> 00:55:06.277
Or if there's grubby hands around doing their own things, that's the other thing, because they'll take a step out they haven't even considered yet and then it all goes to pot, right.

00:55:07.652 --> 00:55:08.675
My worst thing with pizza, pizzas.

00:55:08.675 --> 00:55:09.710
I've done this a few times.

00:55:09.710 --> 00:55:16.172
Um, am I allowed to say second fails, yeah, um, yeah, yeah, of course, one of two things when I fail with pizzas.

00:55:16.172 --> 00:55:17.936
Because I've got an uni, I use it.

00:55:17.936 --> 00:55:21.492
I just I, I can't be faffed making the dough the day before.

00:55:21.492 --> 00:55:22.697
I stopped doing that a long time ago.

00:55:22.697 --> 00:55:42.155
I just get frozen dough now and defrost it, but, um, when I'm, when I'm getting the dough out and I'm getting all the air out of it and things like that, I either do it too thin or I'll put the tomato sauce base on it and I'll try to be a smart ass and prep two or three at once, but the first one you do the sauce just, yeah, go into mush.

00:55:42.195 --> 00:55:52.940
So you just I'd like to everything it's the appeal, or you go to get it off and there's just, you can see a hole in the middle of your pizza in the oven, yeah, yeah, and there's dough stuck to your peel.

00:55:52.940 --> 00:55:53.661
Oh, it's terrible.

00:55:53.661 --> 00:55:55.603
Yeah, I do love pizzas.

00:55:55.603 --> 00:55:57.706
I just, I don't know, I ain't got the patience for the dough bit.

00:55:58.429 --> 00:55:59.976
And it's never as quick as people say.

00:56:08.650 --> 00:56:09.393
No, maybe on a professional pizza oven.

00:56:09.393 --> 00:56:28.115
I mean, the rock box is great, the uni is great, but particularly if you've already done two or three and you're trying to knock out six or seven, unless, to be fair, might be different with the gas, and I keep threatening to move across the gas on it, because when you've got kind of the wood burner you've got to be constantly feeding it and keeping an eye on it, but I just, I just like burning things like set and fired stuff.

00:56:28.115 --> 00:56:32.063
That's why, um, the cooking process does slow down.

00:56:32.063 --> 00:56:46.762
You can still get the exact same results, but all of a sudden, if it becomes two, three, four, five minutes, and then you're stacking a lot on top of four, five, six pizzas yeah you know you can't get them all out the same time, right yeah, yeah, I've got my hand.

00:56:46.802 --> 00:56:49.311
I kind of think that's all right you can get two pizzas in it now.

00:56:49.311 --> 00:56:50.072
Okay, in the new one.

00:56:50.893 --> 00:56:57.215
Yeah yeah, I kind of think that's all right, dan, though in terms of what you're saying, I think tell it to my wife.

00:56:57.657 --> 00:56:58.798
Why are we not all eating together?

00:56:59.561 --> 00:57:02.614
yeah, I think when it's a pizza party though, it's kind of different.

00:57:02.614 --> 00:57:05.021
Right there you just as and when they come.

00:57:05.021 --> 00:57:07.815
But also I don't mind.

00:57:07.815 --> 00:57:10.902
I mean I don't think I've ever had a pizza cook in a minute.

00:57:10.902 --> 00:57:11.824
There's two reasons.

00:57:11.824 --> 00:57:17.836
One, I don't think I'm patient enough to get it up to 500 degrees, get it to 200, 300.

00:57:17.836 --> 00:57:27.443
That'll do for me, because then, but I like to watch the fire and I like to watch it start to cook.

00:57:27.443 --> 00:57:31.777
I think if it was all done in 90 seconds there's not much theatre for me.

00:57:31.777 --> 00:57:38.240
Yeah, I actually prefer it to take a little bit longer because I like to watch it rise and cook and all that kind of stuff.

00:57:38.670 --> 00:57:39.614
I like to watch the fire.

00:57:39.614 --> 00:57:41.860
Your Honour, yeah, yeah.

00:57:45.371 --> 00:57:46.193
That's what I'm excited about.

00:57:46.235 --> 00:57:52.960
I know what you mean, waiting for the stone to warm up is a pick, because you kind of think, oh, we'll have pizzas tonight, it's quick, it's easy, it's great.

00:57:52.960 --> 00:58:00.358
And then it's like, oh right, I've got to wait for this stone to warm up and if it's if you live up north, it takes longer than it does down south.

00:58:00.358 --> 00:58:05.842
Let me tell you I did.

00:58:06.664 --> 00:58:08.634
Actually it was in.

00:58:08.634 --> 00:58:12.681
I'll say this is a near fail, but um, so I was.

00:58:12.681 --> 00:58:37.338
I'd had a cat caravan holiday last week, so I took my master built, master built portable grill, um down, popped outside the caravan and we had family come over to us pretty much every night to do the, and I was doing the barbecue, as you would expect, expect, and I just bought some really cheap briquettes proper.

00:58:37.338 --> 00:58:40.684
I bought my own fire lighters and everything to make sure I don't like the fuel.

00:58:40.684 --> 00:58:43.516
You know the kind of oil-based ones I always go for natural.

00:58:44.016 --> 00:58:50.876
Anyway, it took forever and a day to get these briquettes going and it was starting to wind me up.

00:58:50.876 --> 00:58:57.702
We were talking like it nearly took an hour, whereas everything I'd done on this portable grill would take 15 minutes, as you would expect.

00:58:57.702 --> 00:59:01.317
So I ended up asking someone to get me some lump wood.

00:59:01.317 --> 00:59:06.657
Lump wood seems to work better in this particular grill than my experience with briquettes.

00:59:06.657 --> 00:59:09.635
Anyway, the only ones they had was the old light in a bag.

00:59:10.918 --> 00:59:18.179
But because I don't know if you've seen the, the portable one, it's kind of like I've got a tiny little fire box yeah, it's fan assisted, etc.

00:59:18.179 --> 00:59:20.452
So you can't fit a whole light in the bag.

00:59:20.452 --> 00:59:32.878
So I cut the bag open and just poured some in but still use my fire lighters but forgot that that light in the bag stuff has almost got like a, you know, like a fire coating on it, hasn't it to kind of let it go up quickly.

00:59:32.878 --> 00:59:46.135
So my fire lighter on top of the lubricated charcoal, on top of the loop, so as I kind of opened it, there was the kind of heat goes through the box, through the manifold and kind of obviously heats everything up.

00:59:46.135 --> 00:59:57.820
But all you could see it was almost like a, an exhaust pipe backfiring with this fire but it kind of coming across and I was like why did you?

00:59:57.840 --> 00:59:59.744
burn down the caravan my friend.

00:59:59.844 --> 01:00:00.425
Oh, your honor.

01:00:00.425 --> 01:00:04.112
I like watching the fire, yeah exactly it was.

01:00:04.132 --> 01:00:13.286
So it was some uh, it was some boy racer with his backfiring exhaust, right, so barbecue bingo.

01:00:13.286 --> 01:00:18.240
Yeah, it's been a while since we've spoken about this because of Dan's move.

01:00:18.240 --> 01:00:21.760
But, dan, do you want to just do a little recap?

01:00:23.010 --> 01:00:35.322
So we ask every guest to leave us an ingredient for our wheel of fame should we call it which effectively is a number of different ingredients that people like to barbecue.

01:00:35.322 --> 01:00:43.349
Some examples on there might be things like artichoke, beef tongue, beef neck, depending on the guests we've got.

01:00:43.349 --> 01:00:46.534
Sometimes they're really nice and leave something that's a nice ingredient.

01:00:46.534 --> 01:00:48.735
Sometimes they're really nice and leave something that's a nice ingredient.

01:00:48.735 --> 01:00:57.865
Some people don't, but what we'll do shortly is we'll spin the Wheel of Fortune not pantited, of course, that name and it'll land on a barbecue ingredient.

01:00:57.865 --> 01:01:03.739
So hopefully, by this time, owen has shared his screen and you'll be able to see some of the different ingredients on that wheel.

01:01:03.739 --> 01:01:04.621
Is that coming across to you?

01:01:05.021 --> 01:01:05.503
Yeah, I can see it.

01:01:05.503 --> 01:01:08.599
Yeah, there's some absolute rotters on there, isn't there?

01:01:09.030 --> 01:01:10.054
Go on, run us through the rotters.

01:01:13.833 --> 01:01:14.777
I'm not a big fish eater.

01:01:14.777 --> 01:01:16.014
I mean, I shouldn't have said that, should I?

01:01:16.014 --> 01:01:17.416
Because now it's going to land on something.

01:01:21.572 --> 01:01:25.442
All of these are leftover ingredients from our last season.

01:01:25.442 --> 01:01:28.579
The only one that you'll see on there is my signature dish.

01:01:28.579 --> 01:01:32.822
So, uh, that is ultimately what you're best known for.

01:01:33.202 --> 01:01:41.483
Sounds like it's beef ribs, but you may tell me otherwise um, I think, I think, if you, if it was a case of, what would people ask me to cook?

01:01:41.483 --> 01:01:42.490
It probably be beef ribs.

01:01:42.490 --> 01:01:44.755
If it was, what would I like to cook?

01:01:44.755 --> 01:01:48.221
Um, I'm I'm sort of really basic.

01:01:48.221 --> 01:01:49.882
It would be steak or burgers.

01:01:50.985 --> 01:01:59.277
Okay, so if it lands on that, your choice essentially yeah Right, and also, just in the back of your mind, have an ingredient ready to leave for the next guest.

01:01:59.719 --> 01:01:59.878
Yep.

01:02:03.670 --> 01:02:09.817
That's an interesting one, artichoke yeah, have you used that in barbecue before?

01:02:10.349 --> 01:02:14.534
Not in barbecue, but I used it when I worked at Linden Stores, the fine dining restaurant.

01:02:14.534 --> 01:02:16.494
Really nice dish.

01:02:16.494 --> 01:02:16.795
Actually.

01:02:16.795 --> 01:02:20.512
I'm not sure how I'd, because we deep fried it, so I'm not sure how.

01:02:20.512 --> 01:02:27.775
I'm not a fan of putting pans of hot oil over live flames, really Over live flames.

01:02:27.708 --> 01:02:28.063
I'm sure I could think of something.

01:02:28.063 --> 01:02:28.958
I'm not a fan of putting pans of hot oil over live flames, really Over live flames.

01:02:30.670 --> 01:02:31.693
I'm sure I could think of something.

01:02:31.693 --> 01:02:32.876
I'm sure I could think of something.

01:02:32.876 --> 01:02:34.161
I'm quite happy with that.

01:02:34.161 --> 01:02:35.253
I could have got a lot worse.

01:02:35.534 --> 01:02:36.115
I could have got a lot worse.

01:02:36.115 --> 01:02:37.740
Yeah yeah, okay.

01:02:37.740 --> 01:02:40.257
So what are you leaving for the next guest?

01:02:40.771 --> 01:02:43.259
So the thing that I'm going to leave is something that I've never actually eaten.

01:02:43.259 --> 01:02:43.739
Is that okay?

01:02:43.739 --> 01:02:56.596
Yeah, yeah of course, but I have a plan to eat it and it's something that I've noticed the last few weeks has been quite popular in other people who are doing pop-ups and things like that, and it's chicken hearts.

01:02:59.414 --> 01:03:12.222
Oh, I have had numerous chicken hearts before and they are an acquired taste and I would say the threshold for mess up is quite high.

01:03:12.222 --> 01:03:24.271
I've had good ones and I've had horrendous ones, but you'll find they're quite often served in a lot of the Brazilian all-you-can-eat restaurants where you turn the thing over green.

01:03:24.271 --> 01:03:26.599
Keep bringing me food red, but you've got to request them.

01:03:27.753 --> 01:03:31.099
I always say take them away, just put them in the pecania.

01:03:31.099 --> 01:03:32.204
Please just keep that coming.

01:03:32.204 --> 01:03:36.536
Yeah, yeah, I am going to try them.

01:03:36.536 --> 01:03:38.780
That's why I've suggested, because I'm going to try myself.

01:03:38.780 --> 01:03:42.235
Um, I've seen some people do some pretty interesting things with them.

01:03:42.235 --> 01:03:44.023
So, yeah, there we go.

01:03:44.023 --> 01:03:46.030
But artichoke is my one.

01:03:46.030 --> 01:03:49.721
I will definitely do something with artichoke yeah, look forward to.

01:03:50.411 --> 01:03:52.802
If you post them on socials, just tag us in and we'll.

01:03:52.802 --> 01:03:53.748
We'll give them a reach out.

01:03:53.748 --> 01:03:55.132
Be interested to see what you can do.

01:03:55.132 --> 01:03:58.161
Artichoke 100 yeah, sounds good.

01:03:58.161 --> 01:04:04.916
Okay, so we're kind of coming towards the end now, steve, so just wanting to, is there?

01:04:04.916 --> 01:04:10.465
Is there anything else that we haven't covered yet that you would love to talk to us about?

01:04:10.465 --> 01:04:15.056
Ask us questions, talk about.

01:04:15.056 --> 01:04:17.896
Is there anything else that you'd like to cover?

01:04:18.994 --> 01:04:26.809
I think the obvious one is when From the Shack podcast starts up, are we going to flip these roles?

01:04:26.809 --> 01:04:28.096
Are you guys going to come on as guests?

01:04:28.096 --> 01:04:29.117
I think not only are we going to flip the roles?

01:04:29.137 --> 01:04:30.001
are you guys going to come on as guests?

01:04:30.001 --> 01:04:34.123
I think not only are we going to flip the roles, but you might be able to get two episodes out of us if you do us one at a time.

01:04:34.123 --> 01:04:37.523
That's a good shout, but that's up to you, of course no, that's a good shout.

01:04:37.523 --> 01:04:45.432
That's double the content for half the effort and we'll tell you that means everything when you're doing this.

01:04:45.632 --> 01:04:47.135
No, I think that's a good shout.

01:04:47.135 --> 01:04:53.260
I think that's a really good shout we exclusively, actually only, apart from doing this podcast.

01:04:53.521 --> 01:04:55.083
We don't actually ever talk to each other.

01:04:55.083 --> 01:04:55.902
We don't like each other.

01:04:55.902 --> 01:04:57.045
We'll only do things separate.

01:04:57.045 --> 01:04:58.806
We like the Oasis, you know the Gallagher brothers.

01:05:00.889 --> 01:05:01.949
Like if we go in somewhere to do any collaborations.

01:05:01.949 --> 01:05:03.911
We did one recently with AOS Outdoor Kitchens.

01:05:03.911 --> 01:05:17.938
We, with AOS Outdoor Kitchens, we take two separate cars and, if anything, I just like to drive up his backside beeping at him the whole way, just in case you have a tiff on site.

01:05:18.159 --> 01:05:22.855
But no, yeah, I mean that's on film now, so you can't get out of that.

01:05:22.855 --> 01:05:23.918
There's nothing else.

01:05:23.918 --> 01:05:31.898
Really, I think I don't really want to plug anything, because most of this stuff I spam instagram with everything that I'm doing anyway.

01:05:31.898 --> 01:05:34.471
So people are probably sick of seeing and hearing from me.

01:05:35.353 --> 01:05:38.760
Um but yeah, tell people, tell people where they can find you on socials.

01:05:38.780 --> 01:05:44.139
Then uh, so on instagram it's charred food, co or one word, um.

01:05:44.139 --> 01:05:45.702
I have a facebook group called I can.

01:05:45.702 --> 01:05:48.541
You can cook, um, if you're interested in any that.

01:05:48.541 --> 01:05:51.211
That's not that themed around barbecue, that's just cooking.

01:05:51.211 --> 01:05:52.978
In general, it's a really cool group Actually.

01:05:52.978 --> 01:05:53.960
I've been dead lucky with it.

01:05:53.960 --> 01:05:55.737
I think there's nearly 4,000 people in there.

01:05:55.737 --> 01:06:01.523
I've never had to tell anyone off for being a douche or being horrible, so I've been quite lucky.

01:06:01.523 --> 01:06:10.155
Um, but yeah, I mean on my profile on Instagram.

01:06:10.155 --> 01:06:11.119
If you click on that, all my links are on there.

01:06:11.119 --> 01:06:12.929
I've got so many I'm a bit of a weirdo that I just have an account with everything.

01:06:12.929 --> 01:06:17.175
Like I say, I just go all in, but Instagram is probably the best place.

01:06:17.175 --> 01:06:24.554
Or TikTok TikTok seems to be doing okay for me for videos, but most of my photographs and things that I'm doing or announcements go on Instagram.

01:06:24.554 --> 01:06:30.081
That's the most user for me, I think perfect.

01:06:30.161 --> 01:06:39.456
Great to meet you, steve, and look forward to A being on your podcast and seeing what's upcoming soon thanks for having me guys.

01:06:39.496 --> 01:06:42.577
It's been great to be on finally chat to you.

01:06:43.663 --> 01:06:45.775
It's been a pleasure thank you so much for coming on.

01:06:45.775 --> 01:06:47.913
It's been great speaking to you and you take care.

01:06:47.913 --> 01:06:49.559
Cheers, steve, bye, bye, it's been a pleasure yeah thank you so much for coming on.

01:06:49.579 --> 01:06:52.250
It's been great speaking to you and you Take care, cheers, cheers, steve, bye-bye, bye.

01:06:52.250 --> 01:06:55.079
That's it for another episode of the Meat and Greet BBQ podcast.

01:06:55.079 --> 01:07:12.315
It was great to talk to Steve and find out more about his journey, the fact that he's about to launch a new UK BBQ podcast, which we can't wait to hear, and just about how he's moved into to chefing and pop-up catering around barbecue.

01:07:12.315 --> 01:07:13.117
Um, as ever, we want to hear from you.

01:07:13.117 --> 01:07:17.791
So you can now, directly in the episode description there'll be a link to essentially direct message us.

01:07:17.791 --> 01:07:19.074
So please get in touch.

01:07:19.074 --> 01:07:25.605
We'd love to hear from you, find out what you want us to talk about, what your thoughts are about this particular episode or anything else.

01:07:25.605 --> 01:07:27.170
Doesn't even have to be barbecue related.

01:07:27.170 --> 01:07:31.061
So, uh, make sure you click that link and drop us a text.

01:07:31.061 --> 01:07:33.496
Until next time, keep on grilling.

01:07:33.496 --> 01:07:50.746
Today's episode is brought to you by AOS Kitchens, the South's leading outdoor kitchen design and installation specialists.