Foundation BBQ Class

Whether you’ve just bought your first barbecue, want more consistent results, or would simply like to improve your outdoor cooking, our Foundation BBQ Class covers the core skills you need to cook confidently over charcoal.

Hosted at Millington Hall Farm BBQ School, this four-hour, hands-on class introduces the fundamentals of modern barbecue and live-fire cooking.

You’ll learn how to light and manage a charcoal fire, control cooking temperatures, use direct and indirect heat, prepare ingredients and judge when food is properly cooked.

The class is practical throughout. Working in small groups alongside our Pitmasters, you’ll prepare and cook a range of dishes before sitting down together to enjoy the food at the end of the session.

The principles covered apply to most charcoal barbecues, including kettle BBQs, kamados and smokers, so you don’t need a particular type of barbecue to take part.

This isn’t a cookery demonstration. You’ll be involved throughout the session.

Guests work in small groups, typically sharing a grill between two or three people. This gives everyone the opportunity to light and manage the fire, prepare ingredients and cook over charcoal with guidance from our Pitmasters.

The aim is not simply to give you a collection of recipes, but to help you understand the techniques behind them so you can apply what you’ve learned when cooking at home.

We’ll explain how the vents on your barbecue affect the fire, how much fuel to use and how to make adjustments when you need to raise, lower or maintain the cooking temperature.

We’ll look at how a charcoal barbecue works and the relationship between fuel, airflow and heat.

You’ll learn how to break down a whole chicken into individual cuts while developing practical knife skills.

Throughout the class, you’ll prepare and cook a selection of dishes designed to demonstrate different barbecue techniques.

Good barbecue is much easier when you can measure what’s happening rather than guess.

You’ll learn how to manage cooking temperatures, when to use direct and indirect heat, and how internal food temperatures can help you judge when meat is cooked.

We’ll cover the role of seasoning, rubs, sauces and fresh accompaniments in barbecue cooking.

You’ll learn how these can be used alongside smoke and fire to add flavour, balance and texture to a dish.