Time over the fire with James Doyan

James, you mention that you have been cooking with fire since you were a child? How did you have the opportunity for this early start? (Considering many parents get very nervous about the fire/child combination).

I was a boy scout and was obsessed with fire from an early age – some would say an unhealthy obsession - but I was always interested in cooking, especially over fire.  I used to take food from home and build fires in the woods behind our house and cook.  As I grew older, the passion never went away and that’s when a passion turned into a hobby which turned into a career. 

What draws you so much to cooking outside?

Just being outside in the great outdoors is something that I relish, and I hate being stuck inside for too long.  There is something so cathartic and inspiring about building fires and then cooking over heat and flame – not to mention the incredible food and flavours you can create.  I am a big advocate of husbandry and ethical sourcing and bringing out the best in what you consume – to me there is no better and more respectful way of consuming than doing the very best by what you eat, and to me that is cooking on fire.

How was your experience using the Hornbeam Skillet?

Brilliantly made, very balanced weight and I’ve used it directly over fire, on a plancha, over a diffuser and in all environments - which many pans can’t take - it delivered every time.

Then cleaned up and used inside on our induction hob - brilliant. Made kids pancakes then toad in the hole - from hob to oven to table it was great. Mine's a bit small for everything I’d need it for so would use a few sizes, but as a standalone pan it does what it needs to do for sure. I think the best measure would be to ask my grandchildren what they think about it. Bravo!

It's so interesting how the Whittle & Flame charcoal retains the carbon structure and character essence of the tree. How does this impact if at all the flavour of the food on the barbecue?

There is a common misnomer that charcoal adds flavour to cooks.  Only badly made charcoal or charcoal soaked in chemicals and nasties for transport purposes and ease of lighting infuses flavours to food – and to me petrol should not be an ingredient.  Whittle and Flame charcoal, and all of the House of Charcoal products are made brilliantly, which means in essence they are 90% carbon so there aren’t any real elements left that can deliver a strong flavour.  The big difference between charcoals is the species they are made from as that delivers different burn properties – not different flavours.  Some love to get hot quickly, some burn for hours, some do it all – but in terms of flavour profiles, on the whole they are quite neutral.  The reality of great fire cooking is starting with neutral flavours and then adding in flavour with smoking chunks – that’s the key to those amazing infusions of smoked flavour.

In Britain we often ascribe the barbecue to our summer months, can you suggest some things we might cook all year around, weather allowing? We would value any tips on seasoning and preparing produce for the barbecue and perhaps a simple recipe that can be interchanged with different ingredients?

Fire cooking for me is an all year round obsession and whilst there is nothing more satisfying than a gathering of friends around a fire and cooking amazing food, barbecue delivers all year round and there is an amazing sense of satisfaction delivering a Christmas lunch cooked on fire.  To me, everything you can do in a conventional oven can be elevated massively if cooking on an open fire.  Take that to the next level and anything you can cook with heat, or smoke should be done outside.  We rarely use our oven at home as its always done outside because of the lip smacking flavours that can be achieved and my wife doesn’t get angry because I’ve smoked the house out – although my neighbours are not always best pleased!

Any tips for getting started as a novice to barbecuing?

The number one tip is to understand and master airflow.  More air delivers higher temperature, and less air keeps the temperatures more moderate.  That’s the crux of it all and live by understanding airflow, together with high grade British charcoal that will respond accordingly, then you’ll be the fire cooking master in no time.