 we look to either spark up the barbecue or a firepit or, in a more recent trend, our wood-fired pizza ovens . This summer, architect Michael Worthington and his family of four have cooked all their meals outdoors while building work is taking place at their London home. He describes the experience as being 'surprisingly fun; we joked that we'd never get the children back inside'. Previously the family only barbecued occasionally, but Michael and his wife Jolene struck a deal with their children, Ella (17) and Constance (12), that they'd get a Big Green Egg – the now-cult ceramic grill that can barbecue as well as cook pizza, pulled pork and steak – for their adventure. They have happily lit the charcoal every single night since. Michael explains that meals took longer at first 'because I was still getting used to using the barbecue, but everything has been so delicious'. His triumphs include steak, with a flavour that couldn't possibly be matched in the kitchen, 'a really delicious roast chicke){kind=link}
Cooler temperatures needn’t spell the end for al fresco dining
For some people, barbecue season concludes with the start of the new school term. The grill is returned to the shed just as the uniforms reappear in the laundry basket. Others will eke it out through September if the weather allows, but only the hardy greet October with tongs in hand. And yet we’re about to enter a season that is just ripe for al fresco feasting; dinners needn’t be relegated indoors just yet.
Al fresco dining really began to boom during the pandemic when we embraced socialising outdoors in all weathers, upgrading our garden furniture along the way. Cooking equipment, too: according to data from Statista Research Department, “cooped-up Brits held nearly 190 million barbecues in 2020, compared to just 135 million the year before”.
And it looks like our back-garden mealtimes have turned into a habit that isn’t going away. Two out of every three households in the UK now own at least one barbecue, and as soon as the rain passes (it doesn’t even have to be sunny) we look to either spark up the barbecue or a firepit or, in a more recent trend, our wood-fired pizza ovens.
This summer, architect Michael Worthington and his family of four have cooked all their meals outdoors while building work is taking place at their London home. He describes the experience as being “surprisingly fun; we joked that we’d never get the children back inside”. Previously the family only barbecued occasionally, but Michael and his wife Jolene struck a deal with their children, Ella (17) and Constance (12), that they’d get a Big Green Egg – the now-cult ceramic grill that can barbecue as well as cook pizza, pulled pork and steak – for their adventure. They have happily lit the charcoal every single night since.