Get cooking outside
Cooking outdoors is all about preparation: luckily there’s very little you need, and it feels rather like taking a holiday from your kitchen to rely on so few pieces of equipment. It’s just as nice to prepare for a barbecue outside as it is to take a tray of salad ingredients out and prep them in the sunshine rather than indoors.
My top tip is to stick everything you think you’ll need on a large tray, and then you won’t have to keep diving back into the house to fetch things. I set up a neat barbecue prep and cooking station outside, doing all my chopping and marinades while sitting at the patio table. Once all the veg is prepped, the barbecue gets lit and I can roll food on and off in courses.
Your outdoor essentials:
K A large tray with a knife, a chopping board and a couple of prep bowls.
K Scrap paper to lay over the table – it protects your surface and you can use it to wrap up any peelings and pop them in the compost bin.
K Vegetables, herbs and seasonings for whatever you’re cooking.
K If barbecuing, a bowl of olive oil, a heatproof silicone brush, a pair of long-handled tongs and a roasting tin to put cooked food in.
K Sustainable charcoal for your barbecue (unless it’s gas fuelled). I also gather dry twigs and stems from the garden to use for kindling. Avoid oleander though, as it makes toxic smoke. K Sparkling water, because hydration is important– along with a glass of very cold rosé for the chef.