Banter at The Big Grill (144, Aug 2016)

If youā€™re arbeading to Herbert Park in Dublin this weekend forĀ The Big GrillĀ festival, there will be a lot of stuff grabbing your eyes, ears and tastebuds. Between masterclasses and demos from dons likeĀ Neil Rankin,Ā Andre Lima de LucaĀ andĀ John RelihanĀ to music, kidsā€™ stuff and bingo, thereā€™s something to keep you buzzing all day.

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If youā€™ve still room on your plate, be sure to drop by theĀ BanterĀ stage to check out whatā€™s on offer. Weā€™ve brought together some Big Grill participants and visitors to chew the fat over a range of topics and themes. Hereā€™s whatā€™s in store

ThursdayĀ 

7pm: Fire! Charcoal! Meat!Ā 

We kick off Banter at the Big Grill in conversation with our Big Grill palsĀ Matt WilliamsĀ (Oxford Charcoal Company) and the one and onlyĀ DJ BBQĀ to talk fire, charcoal, meat and technique.

Friday

7pm: Putting the beer into BBQĀ 

Susan BoyleĀ (Two Sisters Brewing),Ā Judith BoyleĀ (Two Sisters Brewing),Ā Christina WadeĀ (Ladies Craft Beer Society of Ireland),Ā Emma DevlinĀ (Rascals Brewing) andĀ Caroline HennessyĀ (journalist, broadcaster and co-author ofĀ ā€œSlĆ”inte ā€“ The Complete Guide to Irish Craft Beer and Ciderā€) talk about the beers that go well with whatā€™s on the grill.

Saturday

2pm: The Hang Fire Smokehouse story

A conversation with Samantha Evans and Shauna Guinn from theĀ Hang Fire SmokehouseĀ about their life on the grill

3pm: The Butchersā€™ Block

A high level pow-wow about breeds, high quality meat and the art of butchery withĀ Richard TurnerĀ (Hawksmoor,Ā Turner & George,Ā MeatopiaĀ etc),Ā Marco PeedemanĀ (Orange Butcher),Ā Peter HannanĀ (Hannan Meats) andĀ Pat Whelan

4pm: Music and food

Hereā€™s a quote to mull over: ā€œrestaurant designers and owners spend millions on marble, sandalwood and unicorns, but ignore the music. For years, youā€™ve seen ludicrous money spent on bars and then a spotty kitchen porter was sent down to Golden Discs 10 minutes before opening and would come back with ā€œHits of Tranceā€ and ā€œA Womanā€™s Heartā€ (for the lunchtime trade).ā€ Weā€™re joined byĀ Aran McMahonĀ (Cafe Rua, Castlebar),Ā Eoin CreganĀ (Bodytonic),Ā Aoife McElwainĀ (food writer, events planner, Slow Series operator and Sing Along Social host) andĀ Tom DunneĀ (Newstalk,Ā The Cookbook Cafe) discuss the subtle art of music and food.

Sunday

2pm: The ins and outs, ups and downs and swings and roundabouts of food pop-upsĀ 

John MahonĀ (The Locals) andĀ Gustavo BottinoĀ (Churrascada) on the economics, science and sociology of successful food pop-ups

3pm: A conversation with Neil Rankin

After a busy weekend at The Big Grill, a conversation about a life in food withĀ the chef and low-and-slow chief.

4pm: Attention to detailĀ 

Itā€™s often the small things which make a difference in a restaurant: the writing and spelling on blackboards, the smell of cooking, the choice of flowers, the selection of magazines and books. Itā€™s also often one of the restaurant tradeā€™s blindspots. Our panel discuss what works and what doesnā€™t work when it comes to those subtle attributes which often make a huge difference.

Big Grill tickets are availableĀ hereĀ and kids under 12 go free.