Fire Pit Stories with Angie & Paul Boyer
There’s something so simple about cooking with fire. Nothing embodies summer more than cooking over flames. We’re all great aficionados of the barbecue, but with fire pits becoming a sought-out feature in our outdoor living spaces, we were fuelled by a desire to find out what this type of cooking can bring to the ambiance of our social gatherings.
We all know that gathering around fire with friends and family is good for the soul, and even better for knowing there is also good food to be enjoyed. Whether you are grilling, smoking, searing or roasting with fire, keep the food fresh, simple and unfussy, and the flavour will tell the story.
Our story began on a summer’s day as we travelled through the East Yorkshire countryside to meet Jennie’s parents, Angie & Paul, at their home near the coast. Both share an obsession for homegrown food, which has led to a passion for cooking with fire. Enjoying fruit and vegetables picked from their extensive garden and greenhouse, straight to the grill, they live a good life. With Angie enjoying mainly a vegetarian diet, what is grown in the garden very much drives what they cook and when to enjoy the seasonal fruits of their labour.
With a desire to discover what drives their passion for this type of cooking, along with some knowledge to help us get started, and of course we wanted to experience a feast of fresh, seasonal, homegrown food, cooked to perfection on their fire pit.
Let us share a bit about their background. Back in the day, Angie worked as a photographic stylist in some of the busiest London studios. Mostly covering fashion and food, it was the most brilliant experience and was huge fun. Although it was all studio work, with no fire pits in those days! Paul is a graphic designer, so a day of fire pit cooking with us took them both back to their roots.
Paul had been led to the art of cooking with fire following the discovery that you can impart interesting flavours into the food by using different sorts of wood. It also brings together his love of being outdoors, cooking in a completely natural way, using whatever is at hand.
During our day with Paul and Angie we heard those memorable moments of them enjoying the best of food around a fire pit. Angie shared with us that her favourite times spent around the fire pit were experienced on winter holidays in sunnier climes. Gathered around the fire on those warm evenings after a day in the sun, and cooking beautifully fresh fish and a colourful selection of vegetables, perhaps with some cheese and fruit on skewers too. Coming back home to recreate those special moments during summer, and placing some bunches of herbs from the garden on the fire first to get those senses fired up.
For Paul, he very much enjoys those lazy summer evenings, drinks around the fire with friends whilst cooking good, dry aged steaks over vine prunings, taken from their greenhouse. Delicious!
The Basics of Cooking with Fire
On a fire pit, Paul prefers to cook with wood logs. He told us that it’s important not to use treated or tanalised wood. Not only would this result in a fire risk, but it can also be dangerously toxic. Using it would also taint the flavour of any food you cook, so no pallets! Save them to burn to keep warm!
He recommends using seasoned hardwood such as ash, beech, oak.
Don’t use damp wood, or this will result in too much smoke, and again it could taint the food. Get ahead, as it will take around an hour for the wood to reduce to the grey embers you need to cook on.
Each of the recipes we cooked with Angie and Paul were cooked on a large grill supported by fire bricks placed in the firepit to elevate the food away from the embers.
The Nice to Haves
Very few tools are essential for cooking outdoors, but here’s a few items Paul wouldn’t be without…
Blow torch - a good investment for lighting the wood safely and efficiently
BBQ gauntlets – a pair of these is essential to allow you to handle pots and other hot items
Pair of tongs – a good sturdy pair is essential to move food around
Digital probe thermometer – essential to measure the internal temperature of meat whilst cooking and before serving
We enjoyed a wonderful day watching Angie and Paul working together in perfect harmony that only a couple who have been together for 45 years do, to prepare and cook a special feast for the most delicious lunch. Tucked away in a corner of their tranquil, beautiful and vibrant oasis of a garden, this lunch made for our own sensory experience. Enjoying good food, sharing stories, listening to birdsong and delighting in the sunshine, it was certainly a lunch to remember.
We hope you really enjoy recreating our raft of nourishing dishes that perfectly complement each other, and leave you inspired to make your own fire pit stories this summer.
Try our Fire Pit Recipes
Mackerel & Green Beans in Chilli, Garlic & Ginger with Charred Limes
This oily fish is perfect for grilling over high temperatures, and ideal for cooking on a fire pit. Living near to the coast we can get our hands on fresh fish very easily, and the fresh flavours pair perfectly with the Asian flavours of our Chilli, Garlic & Ginger Bread Dipper.
Salty Fire Pit Potatoes
These salt encrusted nuggets of potato are delicious served alongside our Mackerel & Green Beans recipe for a real taste of the sea. Pop onto the fire pit for half an hour before cooking your mackerel and you'll have a tasty dish with little effort. This recipe uses our ever versatile Smoked Garlic & Black Peppercorn Bread Dipper.
Lemony Prawn Fire Pit Skewers
The longer you marinade these prawns the better. The trick is not to overcook them on the grill. Our Rosemary, Thyme & Lemon Bread Dipper brings all the summer flavours to these juicy, fire pit cooked prawns. Perfect for outdoor cooking as a starter - you can be eating these in minutes, whilst your other food cooks away on the fire pit.
Fire Pit Camembert with Peaches & Grapes
This recipe takes melted, grilled cheese to a whole new level with the addition of fruit. Using our Garlic,Oregano & Balsamic Bread Dipper, this is the perfect dish to share straight from the grill. Both sweet and savoury, it will become your new food addition!
Charred Aubergine Dip with Garlic & Thyme
A super simple way to make the most of this smoky and earthy vegetable. Cooked over the grill with our Smoked Garlic & Black Peppercorn Bread Dipper, complementing those flavours perfectly. Our Garlic & Thyme Plant Based Mayonnaise makes this the ideal dip for anyone following a plant based diet, or indeed not!
Fire Pit Flatbreads
We love to see these flatbreads puff up on the fire pit grill, and that's how we know they are ready. this makes for the perfect serve with our Charred Aubergine Dip with Garlic & Thyme for a real zesty flavour boost.
