There is a genuinely useful bit of consumer BBQ news this week . . . and it starts with a £15 charcoal grill that Which? says can leave food undercooked.
Elsewhere, Manchester is preparing to get through 100,000 wings, Abergavenny has given live-fire cooking a proper stage in its castle grounds and a Devon farm is showing visitors exactly where their BBQ comes from.
A £15 charcoal BBQ gets a Which? Don’t Buy
Which? updated its charcoal BBQ comparison on 14 September 2026, covering grills from Argos, Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe, Napoleon, Weber and more.
The standout result at the bottom of the table is the Argos Home Charcoal Portable Round BBQ. In the captured results it costs £15, scores 45% and is labelled a Don’t Buy.
Which? says the grill struggles to reach and maintain adequate temperatures, which can result in undercooked food. It also says airflow is poor because there is only a small vent in the lid and no air vents in the bowl. The positives are that it is lightweight, easy to carry and easy to clean.
That last bit is slightly beside the point if dinner is still not cooked properly, to be honest.
The methodology is worth noting. Which? says two independent professional chefs cook on every BBQ, using steak, sausages, chicken thighs, vegetable skewers and veggie burgers. The tests also look at how quickly the barbecue reaches cooking temperature, whether it maintains heat, cleaning, assembly, stability, portability and build quality.
So the useful takeaway is not simply “cheap BBQ bad”. It is that a bargain grill still has to perform the same basic job as an expensive one. If it cannot get hot enough and stay there, the saving stops looking particularly clever.
Which charcoal BBQs came out on top?
The same Which? comparison lists five Best Buy charcoal BBQs. The Big Green Egg MiniMax is the top scorer at 84%. The Weber Master-Touch 57cm and Heston Blumenthal Everdure Cube both score 83%, while the Kamado Joe Jr and Weber Performer Deluxe GBS both score 80%.
There is also a cheaper standout. The Weber Smokey Joe Premium 37cm scores 75% and receives a Great Value badge. Which? describes it as a straightforward charcoal model that gets the important stuff right, and the captured results show it at £103.
That spread is probably more interesting than simply naming a winner. A compact portable Weber and a ceramic kamado are very different bits of kit for very different jobs, but both can score well when they actually do what they are designed to do.
Manchester Wing Fest expects 100,000 wings
Manchester Wing Fest is taking over Victoria Baths from 18 to 20 September 2026.
The organisers say 10 street-food traders, restaurants and BBQ teams will serve 100,000 wings over the weekend. Visitors and judges decide which wings deserve the titles, alongside live music, DJs, games, axe throwing and eating competitions.
Friday evening tickets are listed at £21.45 including the booking fee and the session is over-18s only. Saturday sessions are £25.85, with the evening session again restricted to over-18s. Sunday is £25.85. Tickets include the entertainment and a Wing Fest trucker hat, while the wings are bought separately.
One hundred thousand wings between ten traders is a fairly committed weekend. Anyone going has my full support . . . and possibly a requirement to report back afterwards.
Cooking over fire takes over Abergavenny
Abergavenny Food Festival runs on 19 and 20 September across the Welsh market town, with more than 120 stallholders and over 80 chef demonstrations and talks.
For BBQ people, the interesting bit is the dedicated Cooking Over Fire programme in the castle grounds. Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn of Hang Fire BBQ are hosting the fire stage, with cooks across the weekend using live fire for meat, vegetables and more.
The festival says more than 80% of its events are included with a day or weekend ticket. Day tickets are currently listed at £17, weekend tickets at £26, and under-16s are free. Some talks, tastings and masterclasses are separately ticketed.
I like that the fire element has its own proper programme rather than being treated as a novelty. UK live-fire cooking has become much broader than low and slow brisket, and events like this are reflecting that.
From pasture to BBQ in East Devon
Farm2Fork at Dalditch Farm near Budleigh Salterton is holding a Farm Safari & BBQ on Sunday 20 September 2026 as part of the Taste East Devon Festival.
Visitors join farmer Ollie White for a covered tractor-and-trailer tour of the organic farm, meet livestock and learn how the farm produces 100% grass-fed beef and lamb alongside pasture-raised poultry. There is then the option of a BBQ using meat reared on the farm.
This is a quieter story than Wing Fest, but I think it is a good one. BBQ discussion can become obsessed with cookers, fuel, rubs and technique, while the quality and provenance of the meat gets pushed into the background. This puts that bit back at the front.
Coming up: Thame Food Festival
Thame Food Festival returns to Thame Showground in Oxfordshire on 26 and 27 September 2026.
The Big Cookery Stage has two BBQ-focused names to note. Ben Ramsdale of World Feast is scheduled for 11am on Saturday, followed by Rob Stevens for a Kamado Joe BBQ demonstration at noon. Rob is back at noon on Sunday.
Adult admission is listed at £12, children aged 12 to 16 are £6 and under-12s go free. Once inside, the cookery demonstrations are included with admission. The schedule is, sensibly, marked as subject to change.
What have I missed?
If there is a new UK BBQ opening, competition, event, sauce, rub, bit of kit or genuinely useful story I should have on next Friday’s list, send it my way. The smaller local stories are often the ones worth knowing about.
