Fire, Wine and Gemütlichkeit: A Review of Marcus Bawdon’s BBQ School in Devon
By Robert Davidson for ExploringExeter.co.uk
Looking for the best BBQ school in Devon? Our review of Marcus Bawdon’s acclaimed BBQ school reveals why this North Devon experience should be top of your list.
The Science of Fire and Fascination
Whilst I regret not being able to speak any other languages, I do at least admire the quirks that many of them seem to have. For instance, German seems to have a specific word for any conceivable eventuality. There’s a German insult of “Teletubbyzurückwinker”, or ‘one who waves back at the Tellytubbies’, which is a superb use of humanity’s unique ability for language. More pertinent to this blog, a cursory internet search brought up ‘Funkenzwangsvorstellung’ or the instinctive trance of a campfire.
This is a phenomenon backed up by some rigorous science – there’s even at least one study showing that being near a fire (as in campfire, not house or forest) actively reduces blood pressure and enhances relaxation. This could well be at least part of the allure of barbecuing – the open flames, the relaxing, meditative element, the sweet smell of smoke, the crackles… although even if it wasn’t, then simply being around Marcus Bawdon invokes similar feelings of calm.
Why Choose This BBQ School in Devon?
When in the presence of someone who knows what they’re doing, and I mean really knows what they’re doing (like a superbly experienced airline pilot with 1000s of hours under their belt) there is an assured sense of zen, which is an unusual thing to say about spending the night in a wooden building full of naked flames.
Marcus Bawdon’s BBQ school in Devon offers something genuinely special. Marcus greeted us on a glorious August evening to his BBQ School, waving amiably as we parked the car, and upon chatting with him, you are immediately struck by how gentle yet determined his movements are, and how surprisingly softly spoken he is for his obviously ex-rugby player frame (the North Devon lilt helps this). Easing us into the class with some nice background chat about what BBQing we’d done before (I’d done a bit and wanted to show off), put all of us at ease, insisting that it is for everyone, even having written a book called “BBQ for All”. Presumably not on a limited print run.
What You’ll Learn at This Devon BBQ School
Whilst getting into the mood and having a guided tour of the, frankly ridiculous, number of different BBQs of shapes, sizes, nationalities and cooking formats (including one that 100% looked like a safe, but somehow makes focaccia) we quaffed a decent English Sparkling Wine. If you’re not into ESW by now then you are late to the party, easily amongst the best quality wines in the world, rivalling Champagne.
At Marcus Bawdon’s BBQ school in Devon, you’ll discover the fundamentals that separate great barbecuing from garden grilling. We were ushered to sit in a U shape around various grills and he explained what good charcoal is (never briquettes – local farmshop lumpwood is best). He showed us how to light a BBQ, using a ‘chimney’ (to stack the coals so they light quicker). And demonstrated an electric BBQ-lighter-robot-thingy; a cross between a hair dryer and a lightsaber that was superbly fun to use. I called it R2-BBQ.
Dirty Steaks and Divine Madness
Once they were up and smokin’, he took us through his favourite steak cut, the ‘hanger’, from the diaphragm of the cow. Deftly removing the central cartilage, he sliced it into several healthy-looking steaks and then went and put them on the coals…not on a grill above the coals, but actually right on top of the burning bits of charcoal. I decided he was clearly insane at this point, so I just nodded, smiled and opened another bottle of wine. It was a German Spätlese Riesling – I urge anyone with prejudices against German wine to rethink! Tropical notes, touch of sweetness and amazing stone fruit with a really racy acidity and only 8%…banging.
Marcus demonstrated his baste for steaks by blending herbs, anchovies, olive oil etc… His idiosyncratic stoicism violently on display, he pointed out that a couple of us were looking nervously at the little beefy firewalkers behind us and said “I can see you looking, but you don’t need to worry”. We did worry, but we needn’t have.
Don’t add oil!
After far longer than any of us felt comfortable, he went to turn the steaks for another few minutes the other side. Adding the baste to the cooked bits that have turned, he explained that oil on the BBQ makes it flame up and smoke unpleasantly, so don’t add oil before you start to cook your steaks – looking at you, Mr Oliver. Once probed (the steaks-not me), and found to be at the requisite internal temp he took them off to rest, and retrieved some peppers he had (directly) on the other coals and scraped off the char. He sliced the steaks (perpendicular to the grain) and added a bit more baste.
He calls them “dirty steaks” because of the direct cooking on coal method, although I would wager that it is also because anything this sexy should only be accessible via a VPN. Christ, they were good. The direct method gives you an unparalleled crust, delicious crispy bits, and yet still a deliciously rare steak – an absolute game changer, and his baste was the perfect balance of aromatic, umami and salty to truly enhance the flavour. Wine pairing – Barossa Shiraz. There are lots of clever and unusual pairings in the world, but BBQ steak and Aussie Shiraz is a classic for a reason, so no need to mess about (basically, tannins in wine will bind with proteins in food making the whole experience more refreshing, Argentinian Malbec or any big tannic red would work).
Lamachun and Lebanese Revelations
We then moved onto the next course of spiced flatbreads, which are kind of like a ‘lamachun’. His recipes for these are all over the internet to Google if you want them, so just do that. We ‘smooshed’ (technical term) spiced lamb mince onto flatbreads and put them directly on the grill, thankfully not coals, this time. Taking only seconds, before dressing in some yoghurt, coriander, pomegranate… these are easily one of the best BBQ recipes I’ve ever encountered.
I paired this with a light, chilled red from Lebanon. Yes, you can chill red wine and it is absolutely delicious. If you’re the sort of person who thinks that red wine has to be ‘warmed and bit and left to breathe on the radiator’ kindly stop drinking wine and invest in a tippy-cup with Ribena instead, because you are clearly a teletubbyzurückwinker.
The Feast and the Man Behind the Magic
Then it was time to sit down and enjoy the fruits of our/his labours, including a couple of stunning veggie sides of grilled cabbage with spiced butter and some aubergines that the crazy so-and-so had put straight on the coals again. Pairings here were the rest of the Lebanese red and a Georgian Amber wine – just stunning.
The meal gave us plenty of time to chat between greedy mouthfuls and Marcus talked with refreshing openness about his neurodivergence and how it has influenced his approach. To be that obsessed and competent at anything then I imagine it is a prerequisite, but it was another example of how chilled and open the whole evening was.
After dinner we were treated to something arguably even more special, with a private performance of one of his new hobbies – singer/songwriter/guitarist. Some Radiohead and one or two of his own composition, it was nothing short of joyous sitting around being entertained. Followers on his socials can enjoy these too, and I strongly suggest you do so.
An Unexpected Serenade
After dinner we were treated to something arguably even more special, with a private performance of one of his new hobbies – singer/songwriter/guitarist. Some Radiohead and one or two of his own composition, it was nothing short of joyous sitting around being entertained. Followers on his socials can enjoy these too, and I strongly suggest you do so.
The Experience: What Makes This BBQ School in Devon Special
It would be easy to say that the UK BBQ king makes amazing BBQ food. Glib even. He does make literally life-changingly good food, obviously, but this is just one of the parts where he is greater than the sum. What sets Marcus Bawdon’s BBQ school in Devon apart is his relaxed, open and knowledgeable demeanour, chilled outside ambience, excellent taste in country and blues in the background… and my wine pairings… gelled in a truly soothing way.
It’s on this note I’d like to finish with another, single, German word to describe the entire evening – ‘gemütlichkeit’. It has a few definitions depending on context, usually something akin to cosiness, but is a big part of a song at Oktoberfest.
Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, Gemütlichkeit…
In this context it is a description of the utter joy and togetherness one feels when socialising. A night with Marcus meant great music, fine wine, superb food and even better company, so out of all the languages I don’t know, I can think of no better word to describe what I’m sure will be one of the most memorable evenings of my life.
Wines of the evening:
- Everflyht, Brut, NV
- Balthasar Ress, Schloss Reichartshausen Riesling Spätlese, 2022
- Langmeil, Valley Floor Shiraz, 2021
- Chateau Ksara, Le Prieuré Rouge 2021
- Tbilvino, Qvevris Rkatsiteli, 2022
- Prunotto, Moscato d’Asti, 2024
I need to declare a couple of slight interests. A) we were offered this as guests/friends of Steph so didn’t pay for the experience, and B) I paired wines for the evening with wines from the company I work for; I bought them, just making it clear that this isn’t a marketing exercise nor in any way connected to BWC.
Tags: Devon, Exeter, food
