Ben's Barbecue Spatchcocked Chicken

For me cooking is all about sharing good food and having fun with friends and family. As the sun was shining today, and my brother is king when it comes to barbecues, I managed to persuade him to let me record him preparing a spatchcocked chicken for the barbecue.

For those who haven't heard of it before, this is simply a chicken that is cut down the breast bone and opened out so that it lays flat, and cooks evenly on the barbecue. As the weather is often temperamental at this time of year it is a great choice as it can still be roasted in the oven if all goes wrong!

When the forecast is good, we sell spatchcocked chickens in the shop, but it is also very easy to do yourself (if I can do it with my weak wrists anyone can.) We can always advise you on this in the shop if you would like to give it a go!

We had a real giggle making the video as it wasn't something we had done before, and hopefully it gives you some inspiration for barbecue meats that are good value for money and adaptable to the British weather!

Parisian Inspiration

I wasn't able to cook this weekend as I was in my favourite city, Paris, visiting a friend who currently lives there. Despite all good intentions to find meat and cheese recipes my diet consisted mostly of chocolate crepes and brioche- my weakness! Yet strolling the Parisian streets I was in awe of the beautiful presentation and design the Parisians bring to their food and shops.

At Les Deux Magots, famous for the writers and artists that used to go there, where I sat and watched the world go by. You know when food looks this good it is going to taste delicious! 

Nearly every bakery I came across had the most beautiful shop fronts and were filled with items that looked so delicious you wanted to buy one of everything- nothing like the Greggs stores we have dotted over the country in their place. When I am in the shop, Dad is constantly telling us to check the display and how everything looks to the customer and I think this makes for a much nicer shopping experience.

With projects and plans in the pipe line that may involve packaging, it was interesting to see how these herbs are bottled and how the simplicity of the design makes them look so much nicer than standard herbs and spices we find in the supermarkets. In fact I found these herbs in a local corner shop; it was inspiring to find such good design across the spectrum.

While this wasn't the most beautiful butchers shop in the world it was great to see the shop was completely open to the street for everyone to see what they had on offer. While the British weather permits us from opening up the shop, we definitely want to work on shop visibility from the street. I was also inspired to see samples on the top of the counter, something I definitely want to introduce!