ABOUT US

We got into barbecuing by accident. Well not really by accident it was a deliberate decision but one we hadn't planed to make. But when the moment came, we did and are glad. (if you follow my drift! Don't worry if you don't, many don't either)

It all revolved about enjoying barbecuing, not finding any UK based information and ultimately not being able to find shops that sold the range of products with the advice, that we wanted. So with one thing leading to another and with a background in design and marketing, a web site was set up selling a basic range of barbecues. This was a few years ago now in the early days of the web, and the BBQ.co.uk became the first UK barbecue site. OK there were 100s of American ones, but they were (and often still are) so much more advanced than us British. Us british having always associated barbecuing with a social occasion burning sausages and using rusty grills propped up on bricks. Oh how wrong we were.

Anyway we digress. Against normal convention at that time, we put our phone number and address at the bottom of every page. Well, within a few months orders and phone calls were swamping the switchboard. Nigh on everyone was in the same boat as ourselves. Loved barbecues. Struggled with charcoal, never really mastering the stuff. Had tried gas. Shocked at how easy it was to control. And wanted to 1) know more about BBQing techniques, 2) enquire about whether a particular product idea was available 3) desperate to know where to get quality products and non standard items from and 4) eager to talk with any knowledgeable person about barbecuing.

Being customer focused right from the start if we didn't know, we used to find out and phone people back.

We were constantly souring new products, new ideas, new methods, new techniques. Well new for us and most of our customers. The rest of the world might have been using gas for 25 years, or smoking food for 100s, but why hadn't any one told us? (Maybe it was to do with not listening) The final acceptance of gas barbecues by us british had given Mr Average control over cooking and timing. Food could be ready when decided - repeatedly. Talk about swimming against the tide of general barbecuing. Decking, large garden umbrellas, and patio heaters, along with the garden make over programmes were also changing social barbecuing into a method of cooking. Everyone (who mattered that is) started doing it twice a week instead of twice a year.

The whole country was apalled to realise that we had only ever been shown grilling and that there was a whole world of taste out there and we could now roast, bake, fry and smoke as well.

As people master 'basic' barbecuing there seems a real interest growing back into 'traditional' barbecuing. What I mean is using charcoal, and playing with fire. Well if we are honest that's what us boys like doing most - we just need the excuse! We are discovering a growing number of two barbecue families. Usually a hooded gas barbecue suitable for those occasions when they come home from work, the weather is pleasant and they fancy cooking and eating outdoors. So instead of being in a hot stuffy kitchen with all the associated smells and mess they take the chops outside and enjoy the occasion. The second barbecue tends to be a charcoal one, quite often a smoker where, time permitting, one can explore and play.

So how does this relate to us? Well from a simple web site with a dozen or so barbecues, we have responded to what our customers have asked for... a huge database of products (over 700 items and counting), a list of brand name and spare parts suppliers and a shop.

Over the years we've grown into 'outdoor eating'. Barbecues and smokers are still our love but we've adopted the bigger picture. Patio heaters, chimineas and garden fire pits to extend the time we can sit outside. It's also a good excuse to play with fire again too! And a bit of well-made-to-last-comfortable furniture. And we are looking at garden lighting (maybe). We had thought about the whole package, you know, decking to keep feet out of the mud, a wind break for the sou'westerly gales and thermal underwear for the vagaries of the British climate - but we didn't. Becoming specialists in barbecues, grills and smokers is more than enough work for all of us here.

This year we're excited to begin importing and promoting the Brinkmann range of smokers from the ol' US of A. They have a well deserved, long standing reputation in the States for quality outdoor grills and smokers. This is a traditional range of grills and smokers that might look old fashioned (people suggest that some look like steam engines!) but they are (in our opinion) some of the best evolved/designed BBQs that you could ever want. To complement these we've found a company near Little Rock, Arkansas, called BBQer's Delight. They do a range of compressed smoking wood pellets, 11 flavours in all, that work out more consistent, give off more smoke and work out cheaper than traditional wood chips and dust.

It's really satisfying when people discover us and obviously are delighted to have come across the help that they were after. We are now having visitors to the shop from all over Great Britain who first found us on the web and made a point of detouring down to us. It's even more fun when people search the entire resources of the world's web to find our site and then are gob smacked that we are a mile and a half from where they live! If you need any help... give us a call. We will be delighted to help. But, be warned, in return we expect an invite to your BBQ!