5 Tips for hosting a BBQ this summer (ad)

Hello everyone! Welcome back for another summery post – although as I’m writing this I’m looking at rain on my window. When the weather is nice, we Brits can’t help ourselves and have to crack out the BBQ. In fact, as soon as we can smell a BBQ in the air, we HAVE to announce “someone’s having one”! It’s tradition. Here are a few tips on hosting a great BBQ:

Know the dietary requirements for all your guests

There’s nothing worse than having a vegetarian show up to your BBQ and all they can eat is the salad (as a veggie myself, it’s beyond frustrating). Make sure to cater for all, whether that’s vegan, gluten free etc. Put out a little message beforehand to ask everyone’s requirements.

Have everything prepped before your guests arrive

You don’t want to be faffing about with all the packaging and seasoning when you’re trying to entertain guests. Take your meat out of the fridge 20 minutes beforehand (trust me, it’s so much better), get all your salads and sides ready to bring out in advance and you’ll have more time to socialise with guests. It’ll be far less stressful.

Have a range of delicious drinks available

Make sure you have a range of drinks chilling, including both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. There’s bound to be someone who’s driving, or someone who just doesn’t want to drink alcohol, so ensure there’s a nice selection (and just water/squash doesn’t count)! It’s also important to have a range of alcoholic drinks available for those who’d like some. PSA – not everyone likes beer!

Speaking of alcohol, I recently discovered some delicious ciders that I really wanted to share with you today. They are by a lovely company called Napton Cidery, who are based in Warwickshire, who started out making cider as a hobby. They have grown their company over the past few years, from pressing 2000 litres back in 2015, to now pressing over 90,000 litres. They source their apples from small orchards across the UK to support sustainable British farming. They have a wide range of products on their website, and I was lucky enough to try a few recently:

Recipe No3 – Strong Dry Cider. “Off-dry with a fruity aroma from complex bittersweet character.”

Recipe No4 – Bold, sweet cider. “Cloudy farmhouse cider with bold caramel sweetness.”

Recipe No5 – Blackcurrant cider. “This truly special cider is clear and rich in colour. A bold blackcurrant body with a delicate sweetness.”

Recipe No6 – Medium, refreshing cider. “A lovely light golden colour with fruity aromas, easy drinking, delicate and refreshing.”

The blackcurrant one was 100% my favourite – if you know me you’ll know I love a fruit cider. I really enjoyed the other flavours as well, especially the sweet No4. This is such a lovely range of cider and they really do have something for everyone! I love that they use apples from British orchards and you can definitely tell they are made in smaller, natural batches rather than mass produced products. I highly recommend checking out this company if you’re looking for some delicious ciders!

Have lots of seating options available

You’ll want to make sure you have enough seating available for all your guests. If needed, make it a ‘bring your own chair’ kind of situation. Picnic blankets and rugs are also a great option if your guests include children and/or younger adults – but obviously this isn’t a suitable option for Grandma & Grandad!

Be prepared to use the oven

Let’s face it, in the UK the weather can be pretty hit or miss. 3 times this week I’ve left the house in the morning in a nice summery outfit, only to come home drenched in rain. There have been many occasions where we’ve had a BBQ and it’s suddenly started pouring down with rain, and we’ve had to haul ass into the kitchen. Have your oven and grill at the ready, just in case you suddenly have to migrate inside!

What are some of your top tips for BBQ hosting? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time.

XOX