Right . . . this week’s UK BBQ news starts with a £219.95 charcoal grill designed to sit on an outdoor table. There is also a Newcastle live-fire opening, a new Heinz sauce and a Welsh castle hosting a rather tempting weekend of fire cooking.
This edition covers 19 to 25 September 2026, alongside useful diary reminders for the weekend. The dates matter: some of the events were announced earlier, while the product updates are this week’s news. Here is what caught my eye.
A £219.95 charcoal grill for the middle of the table
The Petromax Griddle Spot GS43 has a UK price and arrival date: £219.95, with availability due from 28 September 2026 through Berry Useful and selected specialist retailers, according to the UK report published on 23 September.
Petromax announced the product internationally in August. The news here is the UK availability update, rather than a claim that nobody had seen it before this week.
The GS43 uses charcoal beneath a 37.5cm enamelled cast-iron plate. Flip the plate for either a smooth or ridged surface. The raised edge is intended to retain fat, while the manufacturer claims a warm-up time of around 15 minutes and capacity for up to six people.
A removable charcoal tray handles the ash, the body is stainless steel, and the feet are beechwood. The chimney stores inside the grill after use. Petromax’s official specification puts the weight at 10.6kg, so compact does not mean featherweight.
What interests me is the change in how you eat. Usually the person cooking gets a very detailed view of the grill while everybody else gets the conversation. Bringing the cooking to the table could make the whole thing more sociable.
That is an interesting idea, not a verdict on this particular grill. I have not tested the GS43, measured its heat or tried feeding six people from it. The capacity and timing are Petromax’s claims.
This is for outdoor use, with the manufacturer’s placement instructions followed. A smaller charcoal grill does not become an indoor appliance just because it fits neatly on a table.
Would you make it the centre of dinner, or would you spend the entire meal monitoring everybody’s sleeves?
Read the UK price and availability update
See the manufacturer’s GS43 specification
WYLD brings a new live-fire kitchen to Newcastle
WYLD’s announced opening date at Freight Island Newcastle is 25 September 2026. Its official restaurant page describes a kitchen led by executive chef Nick Grieves and senior sous chef Lawrence Norman, with a focus on North East produce and cooking over fire.
Grieves founded The Patricia and Ophelia, both described as Michelin-recognised in the opening announcement. Norman’s experience includes The Patricia and Hjem. That is background on the chefs, not a claim that the new restaurant already holds a Michelin award.
The venue combines its restaurant with a cocktail bar and stage. You can see the chefs working, and the menu is intended to encourage ordering for the table.
The official website lists Thursday 5pm to 11pm, Friday 5pm to 1am, Saturday noon to 1am and Sunday noon to 10pm. These are venue hours; check meal bookings and kitchen service directly.
To be honest, I am most interested in what lands on the plates. An open kitchen gives you something to watch, but it is the food that makes you book again. If you visit, send me your impressions.
Heinz gives the burger sauce shelf another option
Heinz Chilli Bite Ketchup launched through Heinz to Home on 21 September, with a supermarket rollout announced for 29 September 2026. It is a limited-edition Halloween product.
The brand describes tomato ketchup with added chilli heat, aimed at food such as burgers and chips. There is no taste test behind this mention: I have not tried it, and people’s idea of a comfortable chilli level varies enormously.
For outdoor cooks, the useful part is having another readily accessible sauce to try without buying a whole box from a specialist supplier. Whether it earns a permanent space in the fridge is something the food needs to decide.
Personally, the seasonal packaging matters less to me than whether it improves a burger. Anyone who tries it before I do, let me know how noticeable that chilli actually is.
See the Chilli Bite Ketchup announcement
Happening this weekend
MABON at Caldicot Castle
25 to 27 September 2026 | Caldicot Castle, Monmouthshire
MABON, from Hang Fire BBQ and Street Food Circus, is the strongest dedicated fire-cooking diary option in this edition. The organiser’s ticket listing confirms the 2026 event at Caldicot Castle, and its date selector shows sessions across Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The programme centres on food cooked over flame, with small plates, cookery demonstrations, food talks and a produce market. It is a weekend reminder rather than a fresh announcement.
The practical point is to book the right session. Saturday has two time slots, and the overall three-day date range should not be read as an all-access weekend ticket. Use the live ticket selection for current times and availability.
For me, a collection of fire kitchens is a good reason to arrive curious rather than committed to one dish. Try something you would not normally order, watch how it is cooked and leave enough appetite to investigate another stall. That is half the fun of these events.
The setting does not hurt either. There are worse ways to spend an autumn weekend than following the smell of woodsmoke around a castle.
Check MABON sessions and tickets
Rogue Sarnies x Hon’s BBQ
25 and 26 September 2026 | Bethnal Green, London
Rogue Sarnies and Hon’s BBQ have announced a two-day collaboration, with smoked ox cheek and pork belly as the sandwich choices. Friday is a ticketed evening with a vinyl DJ set; Saturday is walk-in until sold out.
The pork belly option has a ginger and black-vinegar glaze, cucumber and pickled daikon. That combination sounds appealing to me: rich meat with something sharp alongside it. Check the venue’s current details before travelling.
Check the current Rogue Sarnies details
Thame Food Festival
26 and 27 September 2026 | Thame, Oxfordshire
Thame Food Festival’s published Big Cookery Stage programme lists Rob Stevens demonstrating Kamado Joe BBQ from noon to 12.30pm on both days. Ben Ramsdale from World Feast is listed for 11am on Saturday.
It is a broader food festival, so use the stage schedule to plan around the cooking you want to see. The organiser warns that the timetable may change. Charcoal at noon sounds like a useful starting point to me.
See the cookery stage timetable
Quick smoke signals
Smoke + Barrel at Lannock Farm near Hitchin is a current weekend kitchen and taproom option, rather than a verified opening announcement from this week.
The venue describes changing menus built around farm produce, smoked meats from an Ironbrand smoker and vegetables. Its current diary includes 25 September.
That connection between ingredients and fire interests me more than flames for the sake of a photograph. Friday information differs between sections of the website, so confirm the arrangements before setting off.
See the Smoke + Barrel details
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What have I missed?
Know a new opening, event, competition, bit of kit, sauce or rub that deserves a place in the next roundup? Send it my way. Small local stories are welcome too . . . especially when somebody is doing something interesting with fire.
