This started as a daft little idea in the UK BBQ Community WhatsApp group.

Get the regional groups talking. Get people meeting up. Get some food on the fire. Create a dish that represents where you’re from. Simple.

The original plan was to wrap it up at the end of May . . . but apart from the Southern Region turning up and cooking an absolute monster of a feast, the rest of the regions mostly just stood around looking suspiciously quiet.

So I’m extending it through June.

The bar has now been set.

The Southern lot came out swinging with venison, smoked lamb, lobster, scallops, mackerel, monkfish, prawns, focaccia, fresh green sauce and enough coastal swagger to make the rest of the WhatsApp group go a bit silent.

Which means the question is now pretty simple:

What have you got?

This isn’t about being a pro chef. It’s not about perfect plating, fancy gear, or pretending your garden is suddenly a Michelin-starred smokehouse.

It’s about getting people together, cooking outside, representing your region, and having a laugh while gently shaming everyone else.

If you’re already in the UK BBQ Community, jump into your regional group and start plotting.

If you’re not in yet and fancy getting involved, you can find out more about the community here:

Join the UK BBQ WhatsApp Community

The June Challenge

Cook a BBQ dish, feast, platter, or full-blown outdoor food event that represents your region.

It could be based on local ingredients, a regional classic, local producers, food history, coastline, countryside, city grub, pub food, street food, or just something that screams “this is where we’re from”.

Cook it outdoors. Take some decent photos. Tell the story.

How the winner will be decided

Once the entries are in, I’ll pull everything together and open it up to a public vote.

The winning region gets bragging rights, full permission to be unbearable in the WhatsApp group, and hopefully a prize or two if I manage to sweet-talk the right BBQ brands.

The Southern Region have set the bar.

Now it’s time for everyone else to step up.

South BBQ Group

Well then . . . while most of the other regions were still apparently “planning”, “thinking about it”, or possibly just hiding quietly in the corner, the Southern Region BBQ Crew actually turned up and did the thing.

And not just a little token effort either.

They got together, lit the fires, and put on an absolute feast — the sort of cook-up that makes you stop scrolling, zoom in on the photos, and quietly mutter “fair play” at your phone.

This was proper land, sea and fire stuff. Venison haunch wrapped in nori, reverse-seared smoked lamb, lobster, scallops, shell-on prawns, black sea bream, Sussex mackerel, monkfish, grilled veg, focaccia, fresh green sauce, and even a Sussex Smokie finished with a breadcrumb crust.

Basically, they didn’t submit a dish.

They staged a hostile takeover of the competition.

What made it even better is that this is exactly what the challenge was meant to be about. A group of BBQ people getting together, cooking outdoors, sharing ideas, having a laugh, and turning “lunch” into a full-blown event.

The Southern Region have now set the bar properly high.

The rest of the regions have officially been put on notice.