Origin BBQ: Celebrating the Changing Seasons with Feasting and Fun!

Since my last post, daylight savings time has changed, bringing us shorter days and longer nights. But fear not! We're keeping the spirit of fire cooking and feasting alive through our mouth-watering, belly-warming events!

Origin Barbecue's chillier season events are all about creating warmth and merriment.

Crackling firepits to gather around, rosy noses, chatter amongst friends and the irresistible aroma of steaming hot and wholesome fire-cooked food.

We love creating intriguing themed menus from the heart, gathering locally sourced and foraged ingredients

To warm the cockles and make every bite a celebration of each season... that is the aim!

Using seasonal ingredients to make a hearty autumn roast!

Those who came and supported our Álfablót Viking Feasting event on Saturday, participated in exactly that - a celebration of the darker days rolling in, with a feast of foraged ingredients from the New Forest and surrounding areas!

While Álfablót may be an ancient Nordic tradition, it has significant meaning to our family, who are descended from Vikings in my dad's paternal bloodline.

Chris, myself and Christian went on our travels to Norway last Christmas and studied some traditional recipes.

We sampled an array of delicious food in some very fine Norwegian restaurants, who source ingredients from their local region.

One such establishment being Den Glade Gris in Oslo, where Chris sampled the most divine pork knuckle, which let out all the steam as he cleaver-chopped it, Viking-style, from above. It seemed to be their signature plate.

The vibe and flavours of this establishment were as cosy and authentic as it gets! We felt fully immersed in the local culture and this resonated with us.

We wanted to recreate a similar feel and taste exploration for our Nordic feasting event, and to help with this I went full-swing into theme to manage front of house for our Álfablót diners...

I dressed up as a Viking Shield Maiden!

Victoria front of house - dressed as a Shield Maiden!

We put out a three course feasting menu, which featured:

• A smørrebrød starter, with choice of local smoked Mudeford mackerel or whiskey oak smoked wild venison from the Hinton Admiral Estate.

• A roast dinner with all the seasonal trimmings with choice of low 'n' slow fire roasted Hampshire pork belly, wild venison or homemade vegetarian nut and mushroom roast.

• A pudding of foraged and pilfered fire pit apple and blackberry crumble, with a smoked whipped cream.

Smoked mackerel and smoked venison smørrebrød for diners Jo and Steve!

Our feasting guests had a choice of seating either in the warm snug, or braving the elements Viking-style al fresco in the yard.

For those who wanted to immerse in the community feasting concept, we had set up long tables in the barn, which we decorated with ivy, berry sprigs and candles for a cosy rustic feel!

The feedback was immense! And we have so far acquired two new 5* reviews on Google from Álfablót feasting comrades!

We were humbled to have pulled this out of the bag. Head fire cook Chris along with our second-in-command fire cook Rich @gastronaut.bbq smashed it with this menu creation, and delivering everything on it so impeccably.

And a huge thanks to everyone who came down!

Belly-warming fire cooked roasts, are what's good about the winter drawing in!

NEXT EVENTS

DJBBQ's Greatest Hits BBQ Masterclass - Saturday 22nd November

Our very own Chris is at SoCal BBQ, serving as assistant chef to the OG of barbecue, who is known as the American King of Cater-tainment, the one and only DJBBQ!

To join in this exciting and rare opportunity to learn to fire cook a celebrity of the BBQ world, click on the event details or info and booking! Here.

Chris @bignosebbq with Christian Stevenson, aka @DJBBQ

12 Beers of Christmas Beer Festival - Saturday 6th December

Our popular, annual collaborative event is back!

Join Origin Barbecue, Drop The Anchor Brewery and Backroom Productions for hearty seasonal street food, copious award-winning festive beers, and a full line-up of quality live entertainment!

Expect much merriment, things for the kids to do, a flying visit from Santa, a gin bar and local trader stalls to potter around.

All welcome - details here! and the menu is up here!

We are chuffed to bring back our winter smoked meat Poutine, which was a belter last Christmas!

Our show-stopper Texas-style pork belly bites will also feature, with a festive edition glaze! Come down early as those are guaranteed to sell out!

Promo teaser for 12 Beers of Christmas.

We are grateful for your continued support. It is challenging being a seasonal business, out of season, trying to keep the magic alive!

Chris and I are working hard to create more intriguing concepts, including foraging and fire-cooking experiences. These will feature guest chefs and are set to be scheduled over winter and spring.

Stay tuned! :)

Big Love,

Victoria, Chris and the Origin Team.