International BBQ Fest with Chef Andy Annat

International BBQ Fest with Chef Andy Annat at Movenpick Hotel!

I love BBQ (and BBQ Fest) stuff, setting up the grill, lighting the coal and then grilling the food around it while sipping some chilled beer and chatting up with friends. It is a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon or like we did this new year eve’s.

Set up the grill, get drinks ready, some music playing in the background and all of us sitting on the terrace floor chatting non stop while eating just off the grill hot food. Perfect for an evening with friends where you don’t want to be running around making stuff in the kitchen and miss the party or slog yourself like mad before and get super tired to enjoy the party anyway.  We do manage to setup a decent BBQ at home usually but the last time I attended License to Grill workshop by Manu Chandra I realized how much value addition a little expert tips from here and there can add to the whole experience (Pictures here ).

So couple of days back, I got a media invite for a BBQ festival being arranged by Weber in association with MoevenPick Hotel with world renowned BBQ Champ Andy Annat. I lapped it up and I know for sure that Weber does a fabulous job when it comes to organizing events.

I reached a little late for the event and it has already started when I reached and Chef Andy was in full form explaining things.

 

 

He took us through the basic of grilling and kept all of us entertained by him fabulous sense of humor and oh he gave me a hug too 😉

What he kept emphasizing throughout the session and something that I think most of us have a wrong perception with is the fact that who we can cook just about everything in BBQ.  Meats of course we all know, grilling veggies but going beyond that he also baked a yummy bread for us and some Yorkshire pudding too.

 

 

Another tip he gave was that keeping the moisture going while grilling helps in keeping the meat moisture intact and the fact that he advocated using beer for this purpose just increased my love for him 😉

 

 

Yet another lovely tip he gave was to use wet wooden planks for grilling things like fish which usually get cooked faster and also get stuck to the grill, the wetness of the plank keeps the moisture also intact and adds to the smoky flavour as while grilling it the bottom of the plank gets charred.

This one another yummy thing he made, layered grilled zuchini, aubergines, roasted red pepper in a ring mould and topped it with hummus in the grill from about 3-4 minutes and its ready.

 

 

And we ended the session with the most common BBQ dessert the grilled pineapple, it was yumm as usual though.

 

 

I had such a good time that day, all this demo was followed by dinner and tasting of Giest Beer which I loved!  The wheat and dark! And I can’t wait for the next grilling session at home to use the techniques I picked up that day 🙂

Also please do read interview of Chef Andy on Ruth’s blog in the Across My Table series , we thought after seeing this it might complete your experience on reading about him.