First look: The Big Grill 2024 – what to eat, drink and see

The Big Grill BBQ and Food Festival takes place this weekend in Herbert Park, Dublin 4. It will be open from 4pm-10pm on Friday with two sessions on Saturday, August 24th, from 11am-4pm and 5.30pm-10.30pm and the final session on Sunday, August 25th, runs from midday-8pm. The weather for the weekend looks mixed with Saturday being the best bet for those preferring a dry day. Tickets are still available for all days. General admission tickets cost from €29.50 plus booking fee and general admission plus Rancho Relaxo access are priced at €70 plus booking fee. Tickets are still available for all sessions and can be purchased through the festival website.
New talent this year includes traditional food conservationist Max Jones, an alpine transhumance guide, writer, photographer and food producer, who runs The Booley in west Cork. Jones will lead sessions on preserving food with salt and smoke, using all-natural methods based on traditions from eastern Scotland and the west coastline of Ireland.
Barrett Black, the fourth-generation pitmaster at The Original Black’s Barbecue in Texas, founded by his grandparents, also joins The Big Grill this year. With his dad, brother, and now more than 125 team members, The Original Black’s Barbecue has grown to four locations, won many awards, and, most importantly, made countless people happy with their old-school traditional Texas barbecue.
Award-winning Malaysian-born chef, Shamzuri (Sham) Hanifa joins The Big Grill line up, showcasing some of the dishes from his popular Leitrim restaurants. Dublin-born chef Mark O’Brien is also new to the line-up, with 10 years working in some of the best restaurants in London (Barbecoa, The Dairy and Birch/Zebra Riding Club) giving him an introduction to whole animal butchery and live fire. Mark will demo dishes from his Carolina-style barbecue restaurant, Snake Oil Barbecue, in Margate.
Stephen Buckley managing director of restaurant group FX Buckley, will be joined by Wayne Kenny, executive chef at FX Buckley, while other new talent will include, Rama Basilio, Jeremy Charles, Laurent Dagenais, Fingal Ferguson, Brad Leone, Evan Leroy, Cian Mahon, Melissa McCabe, Kevin O’Donnell, Erica Paredes, Ben Quinn, Bradley Robinson, Andy Stubbs, Laura Sylvester, Genevieve Taylor, Killian Walsh and Nick Weston.
There will also be a few new restaurants to add to the ever-growing list, including the much-loved Korean chicken superstars, Chimac, plus Chiya, Scorchio Dogs, and the legendary seafood maestros, King Sitric. It’s not all about food either, there’s lots of fun to be had milling between the huge selection of bars on site including craft brewers, Jameson tent and dance floor, Asahi and Madri beer bars and an excellent coffee-based cocktail stand.
For those who want to experience more intimate, private dining, the Offside tent is situated among the trees away from the hustle and bustle of the festival, offering a unique and immersive live-fire dining experience. Offside will see a selection of different themed meals from different chefs, showcasing the very best dishes with paired drinks. Each sitting lasts 60-75 minutes with a choice of curated menus from a line-up of exceptional chefs, with places limited to 30 guests. Booking is advised.
Bastecamp, the all-action live fire cooking and demo stage offers the opportunity for festivalgoers to learn from the best and brightest worldwide grillers, with in-depth barbecue cooking and butchery demonstrations, plus drinks-focused demos, chats and more. “Little grillers” will be entertained with the Junior Einstein Electricity Workshop plus face painting, balloon modelling and lots more.
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For more information, see www.biggrillfestival.com