Levi Roots, Jamaican British reggae musician, chef, author and food entrepreneur leads a strong line-up of participants in The Big Grill Festival which is coming to Dublin next month. On August 13th-16th, the barbecue and craft beer event will transform sedate Herbert Park in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, into a rockin', smokin' hotbed of eating, drinking and learning from the best in the business.
Roots, who earned funding for his Reggae Reggae sauce range from the TV show Dragon's Den, will be sharing his famous jerk chicken recipe on the final day of the event, as well as taking part in a Banter discussion session with Irish Times journalist Jim Carroll. But it's barbecue, in all its guises, from US-style low 'n' slow to straightforward grilling, that's the big draw.
Experts who will be demonstrating how it should be done include Kerryman John Relihan, who until recently was head chef at Jamie Oliver's Barbecoa in London (he's now working on a venture of his own). Tyson Ho, who says he "smokes hogs for a living" and is the owner of Brooklyn's Arrogant Swine, specialises in whole hog barbecue. Italian/Brazilian pitmaster Andre Lima De Luca, head chef at Boss BBQ in Sao Paulo will bring his unique take on Tex-Mex.
Pete Griffiths, head of operations at Grillstock, the annual festival of "meat, music and mayhem" that takes place in London (September 5th-6th), Bristol (July) and Manchester (May) will be cooking Grillstock favourites in the low 'n' slow style of the US deep south.
FoodTube sensation DJ BBQ (Christian Stevenson) is the event’s “official host”, and as well as DJing throughout the weekend, he will have his Lang Smoker in tow, serving up his 21-hour pulled pork, cooked over wood, as well as Piggy Backs – beef burgers topped with pulled pork.
If you think your grilling techniques are up there with the best, you can enter the Big Grill Pitmaster competition, the winner of which will earn a cash prize as well as being invited to represent Ireland at the Jack Daniels World Championships in Tennesee. Entry costs €100 per team, each team can have up to five members, and the judging will cover pork shoulder and ribs, beef brisket and chicken, as well as an “anything but” freestyle round.
And if you think you like it hot, you can take the hot wing and hot chilli challenges; last man or woman standing is the winner.
The Weber Grill Academy will be running free 30-minute sessions throughout each of the four days, demonstrating how to use a barbecue to cook an interesting variety of things – including pizza and banana bread, if you need a break from all that meat.
Colin Harmon of 3FE coffee will stage Munch & Gargle, a live podcast series on food and drink in Ireland and show how to brew coffee over fire. Survivalists will make a beeline for Johnny Walshe and Clare Creehan of Bushcraft.ie, whose demos will share a range of useful skills such as how to make fire by friction, campfire cooking techniques and how to make jerky.
Craft beers and ciders are a big part of the event,with Ireland’s top independent brewers represented. There will be music throughout the four days , with DJ Yoda, Stomptown Brassband, and samba ensemble Morro 16 among the acts signed up. A children’s area with entertainment and a make-a-pizza stand will keep the little ones busy, and safely away from fire pits, barbecues and grills. Just as at Taste of Dublin, the Just Eat waiters will be on hand to queue for food and deliver it to you, if you don’t want to waste a moment.
See biggrillfestival.com for tickets and programme information.
