Get Into The Groove: From 5-Star Hygiene to Unforgettable Events!
- Victoria
- Aug 28
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 6
Join us as we celebrate some exciting achievements at Origin Barbecue!
What a fab and fun couple of weeks we've had here at Origin Barbecue! The last time I wrote on the blog, we had just completed Deep In The Forest and were gearing up for the New Forest Food Festival. That was only two weeks ago, and so many great things have happened since!
Let’s dive into our big news...
WE ARE NOW OFFICIALLY A 5-STAR FOOD HYGIENE LOCATION!
I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that we’ve received our first inspection from the New Forest District Council and have been awarded a 5-star food hygiene rating! 🎉
Can you believe it? We’ve only been in business for a year as Origin Barbecue! The time and effort we’ve invested in building our outdoor BBQ kitchen, revamping our indoor prep area, and ensuring all those crucial controls and records are in place has truly paid off. Not to mention the significant investment in equipment! We are immensely proud of this achievement.
Being recognised as a 5-star outfit by the Food Standards Agency is a pivotal moment for us. It’s the point where we realise this is no longer just a passion for BBQ; we are running a professional business!
With this reassurance from the authorities, we can confidently get involved in even more exciting ventures. We just have to keep our standards high, but with our dedicated and enthusiastic team, that’s not an issue at all!
NEW FOREST FOOD FESTIVAL
This year marked our debut at the beautiful New Forest Food Festival, an annual showcase of food and drink. The event featured many amazing vendors, and the choices available to visitors were simply overwhelming. It was a little daunting at first, but we were ready to bring our A-game!
Our pitch was the last one at the end of the field, right next to the stage. We set up our pit smoker to provide that authentic smoked flavour to our food. Our family-fielded team of five was busy serving hungry festival-goers eager to try our locally sourced low 'n' slow barbecue. It was full-on from 11am!
Following their noses, festival-goers gravitated towards our tasty treats, which you can't get just anywhere, like our "Texas country fair-style pork belly bites."
Our pork belly bites sold out both days by mid-afternoon, thanks to our son (age 8) telling everyone they were "insane!"
Our ever-popular Butcher Joe's chuck steak cheeseburgers went down a storm, especially the Big Daddy burger! This beauty is a Butcher Joe's topped with low 'n' slow Hampshire pork, homemade slaw, BBQ sauce, and pickles.
The crowd-pleasing pulled pork sandwiches and dirty fries flew off the counter as we hoped. The star of the show (alongside the belly bites) was the famous Andy Renyard burger, also known as the New Forest Wild Venison, aka the Hinton Bandit. (We change its name depending on the event!)
Locals and holidaymakers alike were enthusiastic about this unique offering, exclusive to Origin Barbecue. They loved hearing the backstory: that they were eating local wild venison that had been roaming the very fields it was now being BBQ'd on.
The venison was provided to us by Hinton Admiral Estate gamekeeper Andy Renyard, who even came to see us on our pitch to try one of our (his) wild venison burgers.
The New Forest is a magical place, and it is a privilege to prepare fresh, local, wild venison from this very soil. People seemed genuinely excited!
Would you believe we even had a former vegan (who had been a strict vegan for several years) try a New Forest wild venison burger? This lady made an exception because we presented such a wholesome, organic, untainted meat offering. As a friend of ours, she’s probably reading this, so I won’t name her... but she loved it!
JO'S 50th BIRTHDAY AND VERY SPECIAL GUESTS
A much-loved part of our team at East Close Farm are Jo and Jamie of Backroom Productions. They provide the backline and PA equipment and collaborate on music, beer, and food events with us and Drop The Anchor Brewery.
Last Saturday, we hosted a private guest list of 150 party people to celebrate Jo's 50th birthday. What a fantastic gathering it was!
We had back-to-back DJ sets throughout the afternoon, featuring a collection of tunes by the Backroom Selectors (Jamie and Jo). The Origin kitchen delivered a hot food service of Butcher Joe's classic cheeseburgers along with our signature street food offering - Beirut Bowls.
The Beirut Bowl is described as a “Lebanese mezza on fries,” topped with a choice of 16-hour low 'n' slow pulled spiced beef, shawarma, or a spinach falafel veggie option.
All that deliciousness was served with Lebanese mountain flatbreads, handmade using flour from Wildfarmed.
Origin Barbecue shares synergy with Wildfarmed because their brand ethos aligns with ours: organic, regenerative, sustainable farming that’s ethical and kind to the environment.
One of Wildfarmed’s co-founders is farmer and house music legend Andy Cato. He took a road trip to us on Saturday and tried our Beef Beirut Bowl, with a Wildfarmed mountain bread on the side.
Andy’s DJ partner Tom Findlay also arrived at East Close Farm and popped over to our counter to order a Shawarma Bowl.
As much as I would love to say they had travelled all the way down just to eat our food (which they both said they loved!)… they had made the trip down for one special lady, and that’s birthday girl Jo.
If you’re into house music and the names Andy Cato and Tom Findlay ring a bell, you’ll know they are prolific artists in the music industry who perform under the stage name Groove Armada.
So here's the connection... Jo and partner Jamie of Backroom Productions work with Groove Armada as the tour management team.
The Groove guys wanted to help Jo, family, and friends celebrate her big birthday, which they did in legendary fashion. They rocked a full DJ set as the “very special guests!"
It was tune after tune of house music classics mixed with cool remixes, including their own iconic banger, "Superstylin."
There was even some disco thrown into the set, building the type of energy that got even the non-dancers up dancing. What a hip and stylish way for Jo to celebrate her 50th! Drinks flowing, barn bouncing—it was epic!
I remember enjoying Groove Armada’s music back in the days when they became a prominent feature in the industry (in the mid-90s), so it had a nostalgic feel for me. I still can't believe they played in our humble little barn. We were so blessed to have them, and it’s all thanks to Jo and Jamie.
Special thanks to DJs Beerwax, CallMeCharlie, and Bobcat who smashed out some awesome warm-up sessions.
The barn also witnessed a rising star, 14-year-old Leo Barnes, rock his debut live DJ set! It was a proud moment for the family, including his uncle Jamie and aunty Jo.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR ORIGIN BBQ?
Let’s keep the fun times and good vibes flowing! Here are the next instalments, and you’re invited!...
Friday 29th August: Burger Night!
Make this Friday night a tasty one! Come on down and try our Hinton Bandit (New Forest Venison Burger), served with cheddar cheese, plum chutney, lettuce, tomato, and onion. Beef and veggie options are also available.
Expect vintage tractors and engines in action! Steam, ploughing, and welly throwing galore in the Drop The Anchor barley field! (If you're not sure how to find this, come to East Close Farm, and we will direct you).
Origin Barbecue will be cooking up a breakfast of bacon and sausage baps from 10am in the field, and teas and coffees will be available from our Drop The Anchor friends.
From 1pm, we have our fire cooking brethren Chris Chops Taylor and Lee Morton of Berro Kitchen doing a lovely pizza popup in the yard at East Close Farm.
These fire masters are set to bake some delicious nettle sourdough pizzas using Wildfarmed flour in the Gozney Pizza ovens.
I can't tell you how delicious they are! The picture below is making my mouth water!
Our fam at Drop The Anchor Brewery opens the taphouse at 12pm to serve their marvellous array of award-winning beers, wines, and soft drinks. They will keep you refreshed all day!
Entertainment-wise, we’ve got it covered! Chris, for a change, is not cooking. He is going back to what he did before lighting fires at Origin Barbecue—lighting up decks!
On Saturday, he is 'DJ Bignose,' back-to-back with our much-loved resident DJ Goldchain Paul. They are playing an eclectic collection of music in the barn from 3pm.
If you can't make it down on Saturday, we are also open Sunday from 1pm with Berro Kitchen serving their delicious nettle sourdough pizzas again.
I can't wait to eat yummy pizza two days in a row!
Friday 5th and Saturday 6th September: Sizzlefest at SoCal BBQ Shop, Southampton.
This year we are due to celebrate the 5th annual Sizzlefest! We invite you to be a part of this popular fire food and music event for the BBQ community that promises to be the best showcase yet! Details and tickets here!
Thank you to everyone who supports all that we do here at Origin Barbecue. It is a pleasure to have you on board this journey with us!
Big love,
Victoria, Chris, and the Origin Team.
A great atmosphere, with superb food from Chris and Victoria and the crew, tasty beer from Neil and his team at Drop The Anchor, and the best music around