Warming up for summer: Get fired up

Barbecues are booming - will people be able to sniff one out at your pub?

Never mind Bondi Beach. Barbecues have become Britain's favourite summer food, even outstripping roast dinners on summer Sundays. While more households than ever own their own barbecue grill, two-thirds still don't. And for Lorne Maclennan, trade marketing manager for Foster's Lager, that adds up to a potential 13 million customers for pubs to target.

"People will be trying to sniff out a barbecue to go to and that's great news for pubs," he says. "As barbecues have grown more popular, people have built up a repertoire of pubs they know have barbecues.

"A barbecue increases footfall and spend and improves both wet and dry sales. People stay longer at a the pub if there's a barbecue. So it's good for everyone if we help licensees make the most of the opportunity."

Foster's is looking forward to its fourth year of barbecue activity. This summer the ScotCo brand will be supporting barbecues at 8,000 pubs around the country, as far north as Inverness, supplying free banners, catering equipment, menus and more.

Barbecue pubs will be listed on a special website which will be advertised in the press and on the radio.

"All Foster's stockists with some outdoor space have been included," says Lorne. "You don't need to have a big beautiful beer garden to make a barbecue worth while, a small patio is fine. It's an enthusiastic licensee that makes a good barbecue.

"We are encouraging pubs to host a barbecue every week. It's a 22-week season so it should make a big difference - that's why we can afford to be generous."

Selected pubs will be getting an enhanced barbecue kit worth more than £300, including patio heaters and the Foster's gazebo to extend the barbecue season further.

Foster's will be kicking off its main activity in May - earlier than previous years - but Lorne hopes these pubs will be able to stretch barbecues from April to October.

Barbecue facts​

• The UK barbecue food market was worth £265m in 2004 and is expected to rise to £352m by 2009
• More than 70 million barbecues were held in the UK in the summer of 2004
• Two-thirds of households say they prefer a barbecue to a traditional Sunday roast
• Week day after-work barbecues are growing faster than weekend barbecues.

Weather has a huge impact on the the British barbecue season.

The Foster's barbecue promotion enjoyed its most successful year during the long hot summer of 2003.

But last year's dismal summer saw growth halved. Pubs averaged only seven barbecues during the season compared to 14 in 2003.

National BBQ 2005​

The rise of the British barbecue is measured not just in quantity but in quality. The market has changed significantly over the last 10 years with the shift to more sophisticated styles of cooking. Where before chicken legs were seen as an exotic variation on sausages and burgers, now people are slamming swordfish steaks and stuffed vine leaves on the grill.

"People have become more adventurous in their barbecuing," says Brian George, chairman of the National BBQ Association, organiser of National BBQ 2005 - Europe's biggest summer eating campaign specifically targeting people who enjoy experimenting both in cooking and socialising.

Now in its ninth year, the campaign heats up from early May and will sizzle away until the end of August. Sponsored by several barbecue food, drink and equipment companies, it is worth in excess of £3m in media impact.

The campaign gets under way with BBQ RoadShows followed by National BBQ Week from May 30 to June 5, which kicks off a series of events and celebrations throughout the summer.

Suggestions for a GoodLife​

Barbecues are arguably the ultimate in informal dining, and if you don't want to risk your best china disposable crockery could be the answer - and it, too, is moving upmarket.

As well as plastic and paper, you now have a biodegrable alternative that claims to be as durable as plastic and light as paper. The GoodLife range is made from reeds harvested from waterways. Once mixed with soil, compost or water, the unbleached plates and bowls will bio-degrade within weeks, helping you meet your environmental waste obligations.

Goodlife also uses edible, biodegradable inks to print logos or graphics around the rim, helping to emblazon your pub on diners' minds.

If it's plastic glassware you're after for the garden, safe doesn't necessarily mean boring and there's now a choice of stylish designs on the market. Charles Glassware even offers nucleated plastic glassware to help produce a good head on lagers.

"We offer crystal-clear tumblers that reflect today's continental shapes, as well as mixers, wine and shot glasses and, of course, jugs and pitchers," says Peter Blythe, sales manager of Charles Glassware.