[Updated 19/8 with what the chefs are serving up]
Hawksmoor's Richard Turner is also one of the partners in Pitt Cue Co, so there's no doubt of his love for all things barbecue. And now he's taking it one stage further by bringing one of America's biggest "meat and BBQ" festivals to London later this year that certainly has Hot Dinners very excited.
The American Meatopia festival has been going since 2007, originally set up by Time magazine's Josh Ozersky, attracting many big name chefs from all over the country. This London event will hopefully be the first of yearly Meatopias, with a mixture of UK and US chefs being lined up to take part. From the UK contingent the chefs will include Turner himself, Fergus Henderson (who will be cooking Grilled Ox Heart with Horseradish), Gizzi Erskine and - of course - Pitt Cue's Tom Adams.
New additions to the UK line-up are Daniel Doherty from Duck & Waffle, Neil Rankin, Tayyabs, Sam & Sam Clark from Moro, The Wild Game Co, Ceviche and John Hargate from BBQ Shack in Brighton, Junya Yamasaki from Koya, Beau Myers from Almost Famous (Manchester), Grillstock, Chop Shop from Michael White and new Londoner Shake Shack will be appearing too.
Of those newcomers, Koya willl be doing a venison on the barbie while Neil Rankin is hoping to cook up a whole cow at the event and they are "planning to build a bespoke structure for it" which boggles the mind...
From the US, Aaron Franklin from Austin's famed Franklin Barbeque (which has some people queuing up to four hours just to get a taste) will be smoking his brisket 15 hours ahead of the event and that's bound to be a huge draw. Also coming over are Boqueria’s Seamus Mullen and Tim Byres, chef patron of SMOKE in Dallas (side note - Hot Dinners went to SMOKE earlier this year and LOVED the coffee smoked brisket). There's also Dario Cecchini from his Tuscan artisan butcher shop in Panzano-in-Chianti. More names will be added as the event gets closer.
All the meat will be from British independent farms and supplied by James George of Turner & George. And to wash down the copious amounts of meat, there will be craft beer, aged spirits and pairing wines. There'll also be plenty of music and entertainment with live bands, cabaret, DJs and more.
Update 19/8 - we've loads more menu details from the folks at Meatopia. Here's what you can expect on the day:
- Richard Turner, Hawksmoor: Charcoal Grilled Deckle Steak with Anchovy Butter
- Gizzi Erskine: Grilled Korean Free Range Chicken Wings, charcoal grilled, served with smashed cucumber
- Chris Hastings, Hot & Hot Fish Club (Alabama): Grilled free range Chicken with McEwen and Sons Crimson Grits with Smoked Chicken, Stone Fruits and Verjus
- Martin Morales, Ceviche: Corazon Andino (Ox Heart of the Andes). Tender beef heart marinated in Panca chilli, served with Huacatay sauce and Yucca chips
- Dan Doherty, Duck & Waffle: BBQ pigs head. Boned rolled Korean style pigs head with truffle slaw
- Beau Myers, Almost Famous: The Run BMC Burger (Beefy Munch Crunch). A chuck, marrow and brisket patty with BBQ salt n pepper pretzel beef rib, pork crackling, crumbled beef monster munch, peppercorn mustard cream mayo and a tangy beef stock beer BBQ jus dip
- Jon Finch, Grillstock: Tri-tip beef: Barbecue Tri-Tip Beef with Pit-Smoked Meaty Beans and Garlic Green Herb Sauce
- Mark Rosati, Shake Shack: The Shackburger. American cheeseburger made with 100% Aberdeen Angus Beef topped with lettuce, tomato and ShackSauce
- Wild Game Company: Venison steak frites. Red deer venison steak (served medium rare) with béarnaise and frites
Tickets for Meatopia are on sale now at meatopia.seetickets.com. Ticket prices are £45 for entry plus two dishes and two drinks (£35 for teens) or if you're really up for a meatfest, £85 for six dishes and six drinks as well as express queuing and a special goodie bag.
Meatopia is at Tobacco Docks, Wapping on September 7, 2013. Follow them @MeatopiaUK for more info.
