We'd love to hear from you, drop us a text!

A promise to honour a father’s memory became a cookbook that rallied a whole barbecue community. We sit down with John Wilson to trace the gritty, very human path from “let’s do a book” to holding a 204‑page charity cookbook that climbed Amazon’s barbecue charts and put first‑time contributors next to big names.

John walks us through the real barriers no one talks about: post‑pandemic print costs that quadrupled, the tough decision to abandon a traditional print run, and the steep learning curve of Amazon KDP. He shares how AI became a practical assistant for formatting recipes consistently, while the painstaking work of proofreading, indexing and layout stayed stubbornly manual. Proof copies exposed mismatched fonts and an off‑by‑one index that demanded days of fixes. Hitting publish brought 72 anxious hours, then a wave of support as cooks opened the book and found their recipes on the page.

There is heart at every turn. We unpack the legal care required when naming charities and using logos, the slim KDP margins that still make the project worthwhile, and the moments that made it all land—like a young contributor presenting his printed recipe at school and earning an award. John also reveals a bold plan for volume two: a global live‑fire collection with curated regional dishes, a “Live Fire Legends” chapter, and a smarter submission flow to avoid duplicate recipes while encouraging cooks to stretch beyond their comfort zones.

Along the way, we talk sold‑out charity events, festival demos, and a playful barbecue bingo segment that lands on sweet chilli halloumi. If you care about cookbooks, community and the craft of getting ideas into people’s hands, this story will light a fire. Grab the cookbook via the links in our Instagram bios, cook a recipe, and tell us what you make. If this conversation resonates, subscribe, leave a quick review, and share it with a friend who loves live fire as much as you do.

Support the show

If you want to get involved and showcase your cooks or fails, join our Facebook Group.
For all of our other episodes you can listen or watch them on our website.

We'd love to hear from you, drop us a text!

Fire changes everything—how food tastes, how we cook, and how people gather. We sat down with Ben, co-founder of Somerset Grill Co, to explore the craft behind Argentinian-style, wood-fired grills built in the UK for serious durability and everyday joy. From a superyacht encounter with a $30,000 parrilla to welding the first prototype in a shipping container, Ben shares the gritty iteration path that led to their “unquestionable quality” mantra and the design choices that make open fire feel approachable at home.

We break down the real mechanics of live-fire control: why an ember maker matters, how grate height transforms heat management, and when to move coals instead of meat. Expect practical tips and plenty of inspiration: fast-cooked flank short ribs with chimichurri, porchetta with shattering crackling, charred pineapple thrown straight into the embers, and a light, clean smoke from a simple tapa on cold days. We also dive into accessories that earn their keep—the crowd-pleasing rotisserie, the endlessly useful ember grill—and compare open fire’s roast-forward results to heavier American smoke.

Holidays get the spotlight too. Think rib of beef slowly spinning while you baste with butter, cola-braised gammon finished with a hot honey glaze, and crisp sprouts in a cast iron skillet over live coals. Leftovers become strategy, not afterthought: brisket chilled and rewarmed in stock for extra smoke and gravy depth, short ribs turned into the richest eight-hour chilli, chicken skin re-crisped into addictive “crisps.” There’s honest talk about fails—seasoning switch-ups, underfuelled fires, even a duck ruined by a soapy board—and why they make us better cooks.

We round things out with the Asado Go portable, how engineering changes at smaller scales, and dream setups that blend live fire, ceramics, and pizza ovens. If you’re curious about parrilla-style cooking, grill design, or just want new ideas for your next cook, this one’s packed with insight you can use tonight. If you enjoyed it, subscribe, leave a review, and share the episode with a friend who loves cooking over real fire.

Support the show

If you want to get involved and showcase your cooks or fails, join our Facebook Group.
For all of our other episodes you can listen or watch them on our website.

We'd love to hear from you, drop us a text!

A food truck, a festival stage, and a sword stacked with sizzling meat—DJ BBQ shows how live-fire cooking becomes unforgettable when craft meets theatre. We dive into his story from early days on the Jamie Oliver network to building a mobile pit operation that feeds tens of thousands, all while sharing the techniques that make barbecue consistent and crowd-pleasing. Think precise temperature zones, the confidence to probe to target, and the art of trusting the rest so joints finish tender, not tough.

We get practical and specific: why British-made lump charcoal beats chemical‑laden imports, how grass‑fed British brisket delivers deep flavour once you’ve mastered fat and carryover, and when beginners might “goofproof” with imported packers. Christian breaks down cooking by senses—listening for sizzles, reading smoke, feeling for that soft‑to‑tough‑to‑soft arc—and admits the hard lessons learned from opening pits too often or trapping embers in greasy gloves. The tips are actionable: pull turkey around 64°C and rest upward, carve radiant heat for rare spit‑roast beef, and skip full-bed coals in a kettle to keep a safe zone for flare‑ups.

The conversation roams where the fire leads. We champion winter grilling with stews, chilis, and cauldrons over embers; trade notes on Weber kettles, Kamado efficiency, and insulated fireboxes; and set our sights on pizza—New Haven and New York styles that crackle without the heavy chew. Regional cues thread through it all: Alabama white sauce you can double-dip on the grill, Memphis-style one-hour ribs at Rendezvous, and the Piedmont “outside brown” technique that turns pork shoulder into burnished, addictive steaks. It’s a celebration of the UK’s melting pot—techniques and flavours borrowed, blended, and made our own.

Ready to level up your barbecue with skills you can use this weekend? Hit play, then share your winter fire plans and favourite live‑fire tip. If you enjoyed the show, follow, rate, and leave a review—your support helps more people find the flame.

Support the show

If you want to get involved and showcase your cooks or fails, join our Facebook Group.
For all of our other episodes you can listen or watch them on our website.