The UK is experiencing record high temperatures this summer as warm weather provides the British public with the perfect excuse to fire up their barbecues and host smoke-filled garden parties with plenty of tasty food.
If you’re strapped for inspiration for how to take your BBQ recipes up a notch and put together an offering that will wow your guests, then look no further. Read on to discover seven of the best food-based docuseries that are essential viewing for summer BBQ ideas.
1. Binging with Babish and Basics with Babish
Two cooking shows that take place within the Babish Culinary Universe, Binging with Babish and Basics with Babish, bring us chef and filmmaker Andrew Rea’s unique takes on pop culture recipes through the power of YouTube.
The channel launched in 2006 and quickly grew in popularity through recipes such as the “Moistmaker” from Friends, “Blue Macrons” from The Mandalorian and “Brock’s Doughnuts” from Pokémon. He is regularly joined by celebrity guests including Jon Favreau, Maisie Williams, and H. Jon Benjamin.
Andrew (alias Oliver Babish) presents a delicious recipe for Freddy’s Ribs from the TV series House of Cards and also offers a guide to the basic steps for BBQ staples.
2. Ugly Delicious
Ugly Delicious is a docuseries on Netflix that combines travel, cooking, and history. The show focuses on unusual dishes from different regions and cultures, exploring how they are made and how the recipes evolved.
The show is hosted by celebrity chef, David Chang, who pushes viewers to challenge their beliefs regarding dishes that might seem unappetising or “ugly” from their own cultural viewpoints.
In episode five of season one, David looks at the evolution of barbecue in America and how it is approached differently in Korean and Chinese cultures, as he works on creating recipes that fuse American and Korean BBQ ideas.
3. The Chef Show
Chef was a 2014 road comedy-drama film directed, produced, and starring Jon Favreau. The film gave birth to the cooking series The Chef Show starring Favreau and his chef friend Roy Choi.
Roy had previously helped Jon prepare for his role in Chef and the cooking show expands on that initial training with Roy teaching Jon new and exciting recipes alongside celebrity guests from the culinary and acting worlds.
In the show’s second episode, Jon and Roy visit Aaron Franklin and learn all about southern BBQ brisket.
4. Somebody Feed Phil
Somebody Feed Phil is an American travel docuseries on Netflix hosted by Phil Rosenthal. Each episode focuses on a different city as Phil explores the local culture and cuisine.
Phil’s adventures have taken in food and culture from across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North and South America featuring dishes such as Nordic smørrebrød, Cajun crawfish and Hawaiian huli huli chicken.
In the Mississippi Delta episode, Phil soaks up southern scenery and delves into American BBQ traditions with fried lobster, smoked ribs, and alligator steaks.
5. Tom Kerridge BBQ
Two Michelin star chef Tom Kerridge fires up his barbecue to cook using charcoal, smoke, and fire, while showcasing his tips and recipes for achieving the best summertime BBQ.
The Food Network series will be popular with meat lovers, who will find his rib-eye steak, complete with brown butter sauce and salted tomato salad, or his beer can chicken with a spicy sweetcorn side to be mouth-watering sights.
Tom doesn’t forget to neglect BBQ based desserts and share his recipes for grilled pineapple smores and baked banana.
6. Sorted Food
The Sorted Food YouTube channel was launched in March 2010 by British boys: Jamie Spafford, Ben Ebbrell, Barry Taylor, and Mike Huttlestone. The foursome went to school together in Hertfordshire before dipping into the food industry in different ways.
The channel presents accessible recipes, product reviews and chef tips in a fun and dynamic way. The format follows chef Ben Ebbrell putting his non-chef friends through different types of culinary training across tutorials and challenges.
There are plenty of barbecue based episodes across the channel including an episode focusing on a smokeless BBQ grill.
7. Chef’s Table: BBQ
Chef’s Table is a critically acclaimed food docuseries on Netflix that explores some of the finest culinary institutions in the world. Each episode focuses on a different restaurant that has achieved some semblance of fame on the food circuit for its cuisine, many of the venues holding Michelin stars.
The spin-off series Chef’s Table: BBQ takes the original’s format and focuses purely on barbecue venues. It features chefs and pitmasters including Tootsie Tomantez, Lennox Hastie, and Rodney Scott who present their unique takes on smoky and juicy BBQ cuisine.
If you’re looking for barbecue inspiration on the gourmet end of the spectrum, then this is probably the series to view.
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