Depending on your temperament, having a Michelin-starred chef drop by with something to throw on your back-garden barbecue might be a dream come true, or a bit of a nightmare. Will they judge us for buying ready-made coleslaw? Will they notice how excessively charred the drumsticks are? But chefs are people too – and they like being invited over for a burger and a beer just as much as the rest of us. It’s just that their burgers might be made from dry-aged steak, minced by hand that morning, paired with a carefully chosen low-intervention wine.
Chefs also like thinking beyond burgers, sausages and all the other traditional barbecue favourites, which is why, when we asked 18 of the UK’s best chefs what they would take to a barbecue, they recommended everything from chilli-spiked watermelon salad and intensely flavoured Korean marinades to dry non-alcoholic aperitifs and beautiful tins of spiced salt. (And not a tub of coleslaw in sight.)
The veggie barbie star
I always bring a large head of cabbage – hispi if I can find it, but napa or white work well, too. I cut it into thick wedges (keeping the core intact so they don’t fall apart), brush them with olive oil, season generously, and char directly over the flames until the outer leaves are blackened and blistered and the inside goes sweet and tender. Then I make a dressing: either whisk together tahini, a bit of yoghurt, lemon juice, garlic and water to make a creamy sauce, or simply use some creme fraiche with lemon juice and garlic stirred though. I spoon this over the cabbage and finish it off with whatever chilli oil or chilli sauce happens to be around, and a sprinkle of fresh herbs (only if I have them).
Yotam Ottolenghi, chef, restaurateur and food writer
Throw a few prawns on the grill
Barbecued prawns with harissa mayo make a perfect barbecue starter: place 1kg of raw shell-on tiger prawns in a bowl with two teaspoons of crushed cumin seeds, two tablespoons each of rose harissa paste and olive oil and the zest of two limes. Leave for 30 minutes. Make a sauce with 150g mayonnaise, two teaspoons of rose harissa paste, the juice of a lime and one tablespoon of chopped dill. Barbecue the marinated prawns for 2-3 minutes each side over the hottest part of the grill, until cooked through and lightly charred. Serve with the mayo and lime wedges.
Tom Kerridge, chef, restaurateur and author of The BBQ Book. His newest pub is The Chalk in London
The Italian barbecue go-to
In Italy, when we have a barbecue everyone brings something. My favourite at the moment is spring onions wrapped in streaky bacon. I wrap 20-30 individual spring onions in streaky bacon, chill and then transfer them straight on to the grill. The stems are perfectly salted due to the bacon and are delicious with a homemade spicy mayo.
Giorgio Locatelli, Michelin-starred chef, who has a new restaurant at London’s National Gallery
Just add chilli – to everything
I would never arrive at a barbecue without ají (chilli) sauce: I always have a Kilner jar of it in the fridge. I make it with six large ripe vine tomatoes and 10 red chilies, blackened over the barbecue or in a hot dry pan, then mashed or blitzed with the juice of a lime and plenty of salt. I would also bring a spice mix from Field Blends: they do a delicious maple chilli salt, perfect for sprinkling over meats and salads and they come in handy little tins, so easy to pop in your bag.
Ana Ortiz, chef/co-founder of Fire Made in Somerset
Knock up an Aperol spritz bar
I love taking an Aperol spritz station to a barbecue. A rigid coolbox – so the lid can double up as a table – filled with ice, sliced oranges, Aperol, San Pellegrino and sparkling wine. I have a stash of Bonne Maman jam jars to use as glasses. I get no enjoyment from drinking anything – even champagne – from a paper or plastic cup. Sturdy glasses all the way.
Rukmini Iyer, chef and author of The Green Barbecue
Kebabs are kings
A particular favourite is chicken or lamb kebabs, marinaded in yoghurt with spices overnight and then skewered with slices of lemon and red onion. With a salad of roast aubergine, cucumber, tomato, red onion and mint finished with a splash of red wine vinegar. And then sauces and flatbreads are king of the barbecue – tahini or chermoula work particularly well here. To drink, I love Small Beer or Jubel peach beer.
Julius Roberts, chef, farmer and author of the Farm Diaries newsletter and the book The Farm Table
Carry a watermelon – not just for dessert
My father carried watermelons as gifts to parties long before Baby in Dirty Dancing ever did. At this time of year when the weather is very hot, they are a perfect, big-bellied crowd-pleaser – so refreshing and rehydrating. They can be chopped up and turned into salads, too. I’m partial to a dressing made with smashed garlic, birdseye chilli, palm sugar, fish sauce or soy, tamarind and lime juice; then add roasted cashews and fistfuls of Thai basil. To drink, I don’t think you can do better than rosé.
Ravinder Bhogal, chef-patron of Jikoni and author of Comfort and Joy
The best fish for the job
I would bring a whole turbot: it’s one of the best things you can cook on a barbecue as its high collagen content keeps the fish moist, creating rich, gelatinous juices under the skin. Pat the fish dry and brush it with olive oil, season with salt, then place in a fish grill. Barbecue for about eight minutes a side.
Niklas Ekstedt, Michelin-starred chef and founder of fire-based restaurant Ekstedt at the Yard in London
Get a little salty
To make a barbecue go down a storm I arrive with a pot of Cornish smoked sea salt, which has a big smack of smoky flavour, and some Chimac sriracha caramel sauce, which you can glaze vegetables with or dip straight into. Condimaniac does brilliant rubs and sauces, but their best is an onion gravy ketchup. For drinks, Knightor vermouth is delicious – serve with an orange slice, olive and ice. Otherwise Yew’s rhubarb-flavoured sparkling water is great if you’re not drinking.
Lagom Chef (AKA Martyn Odell), chef and TikToker
after newsletter promotion
The cover-all-bases marinade
Cortas pomegranate molasses is a perfect one-bottle marinade. It works its magic on chicken (wings in particular), lamb (we’re thinking chops), pork or beef, or as a post-grill drizzle on your meat or vegetables for an instant sweet and sour seasoning.
Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer, chefs at Honey & Co and authors of Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant
You can’t beat a potato salad
I love a good old potato salad at a barbecue. New potatoes boiled whole, thinly sliced fennel and red onion, lots of fresh dill and a dressing with unrefined sunflower oil, mustard, lemon and honey. Carrot and red pepper tapenade is also ideal with anything grilled. It’s very simple: thinly sliced onions, red pepper and grated carrots are cooked down to a jammy consistency, seasoned with salt, sugar and smoked paprika, doused in olive oil and some red wine vinegar, then rested in the fridge overnight.
Alissa Timoshkina, chef, food historian and author of Kapusta
A non-alcoholic aperitivo
Botivo is an alcohol-free drink for grownups, made from cider vinegar with botanicals. It’s low in calories so it’s quite healthy, but it can also be mixed with tequila. Also Slap ya Mama is a seasoning rub that I like to use liberally post-barbecuing.
Richard Turner, chef, director at Bodean’s and co-founder of the Meatopia barbecue food festival
A beaujolais that goes with everything
Trenel’s red beaujolais, made from the Gamay grape, is perfect for grilled meat, fish and vegetables. I think it’s wonderful chilled, so it’s perfect for outdoor summer meals.
Michel Roux Jr, Michelin-starred chef at Chez Roux and TV presenter
Pass the peas
In season, I take peas in their pods. You can grill them whole on the barbecue and then toss with sea salt, plenty of soft aromatic herbs, such as mint and dill, and serve to be eaten a little like edamame.
Tomos Parry, Michelin-starred chef of Brat and Mountain restaurants
A showstopper of a salad
I would take a big beany salad, one you can make at home and then take with you. It uses ingredients that will sit happily wallowing in their juices for at least a couple of hours and taste better as the flavours develop. Chopped fresh tomatoes, different colours and sizes, plus lots of fresh herbs, a good dressing, some jarred peppers or artichokes, and not forgetting my favourite – some big creamy butter beans. It only takes minutes to mix it all together, but you look like a hero when you place it on the table.
Claire Thomson, chef and author of One Pan Beans
Baked onions, Sicilian style
In Sicily, they bake whole unpeeled onions wrapped in foil, like potatoes, nestled in the embers, and let them get so soft they are almost a relish. I also often take peperonata, a multipurpose marinade, side or relish which is a cooked mix of tomatoes, onions and peppers.
Rachel Roddy, Rome-based chef and author of An A-Z of Pasta
A spicy Korean twist
Whenever I’m going to a barbecue, the first thing I put in the cool box is Ssamjang Korean soybean paste. Made from a mix of gochujang and doenjang (fermented pastes), sesame oil and garlic, it makes a great marinade and is the ultimate dip for grilled meats, fish or vegetables. It’s even better if you wrap it all up with raw chilli and garlic in a fresh salad leaf.
Kyu Jeon, chef-owner of Korean restaurants Bokman and Dongnae
Take a cooling dip
I always take a homemade dip. My favourite is a crispy spring onion one. I crisp a chopped bunch of spring onions in olive oil, add a half a teaspoon of turmeric, the same of dried chilli and a pinch of salt and sugar, then take off the heat. Once cool, ripple it over about 300g of salted thick Greek yoghurt.
Anna Jones, chef and author of Easy Wins