Succulent, hand-reared, corn fed chicken with a spicy tikka marinade; crisp, fresh iceberg-lettuce with cherry vine tomatoes and a herb vinaigrette; ice-cold Pinot Grigio grown in the Italian lakes…. This is not just a barbeque, this is an overindulgence. Listen up for some top tips on how to spoil yourself this summer and achieve the ultimate BBQ:

Bristol is simply swarming with hidden treasures where you can find locally sourced meat, flavour full salads and scrumptious side dishes, or all the ingredients to make your own, depending on how advanced one’s culinary skills are. Although you could cheat and buy everything from supermarkets or M&S, my advice would be to take advantage of some of the great produce that’s right on our doorstep.

Dave Giles Butchers on Gloucester Road has locally sourced, organic and non-organic sausages, steak, chicken, lamb….all for very low food miles. Alternatively, MJ Dalton a bit further up has a deal for everything you could ever want for a BBQ with all you mates for a ridiculously good price.

The obligatory salad doesn’t have to consist of bog-standard iceberg with a couple of cherry toms thrown in. Take a twist on the original with a Greek salad, it’s just as easy to do and a hell of lot more impressive. So, in the words of the delectable Mr Ramsey; Cucumber/tomato/black olives/feta cheese/lemon juice/olive oil/black pepper - Delicious Greek Salad – done! St Nic’s Market has a stall with the best selection of every kind of olive you could imagine.

As for the beverages, while white wine for the women and lager for the lads will always remain firm favourites, for those seeking a little joie de vive, why not go for a big juicy jug of Pimms? Just add fruit and either lemonade or tonic and capture a little taste of British summer in a high ball glass with lots of ice.

For all the little extras that complete your perfect BBQ, it simply has to be Fresh ‘n’ Wild on the Clifton Triangle. This place is teeming with sumptuous little indulgences that add the perfect finishing touch to what will already be deemed BBQ of the summer by your mates.

And as for the apparatus itself, it absolutely has to be a Weber (or for a cheapy version head down to Wilkos in Broadmead where you can pick one up for about a tenner). The point is; it has to have a lid! Especially if you’re trying to avoid that endearing (yet bloody dangerous) black on the outside, pink on the inside take on the sausage. The lid-ed Weber works like an oven so it cooks everything evenly on the inside. Trust me; you’ll never be named a BBQ-cheating oven user again. After all, what’s the point of even hosting the perfect BBQ if you’re stuck at the stove while everyone else is outside meating and greeting with a glass of Pimms?!

Steph Burns