Idea fired up industry

COOKE by name but not cook' by nature. Which is strange because back in the 70s when his workmates wanted volunteers for the annual staff barbecue bash, Bill Cooke was the only cook who ever came forward to offer his services, despite the fact that he doesn't actually like cooking.

"I just happened to be on the social committee," explained the man in question.

In those days Bill's barbecue' was a dodgy converted oil drum with limited capability.

"Every year it was a problem. There was nothing around that we could buy or borrow that was big enough to cater for a few hundred people."

However, holes in markets are there to be filled, usually by entrepreneurs with designs on their futures. Bill Cooke is such a man.

In 1984 he gave up credit control for British Gas to design his first gas-fired mass catering barbecue "it's only common sense, not rocket science" - and went into business, first based in Lancaster, then more recently in High Bentham.

Twenty years on, Cinders Barbecues dominate the UK professional catering market - you'll find them on every cruise liner in the P&O portfolio; they're big in Europe and sell like hot cakes in Iceland, the Maldives and Tahiti too. What's more, they are also wowing the American market, the very same America which introduced Britain to the idea of alfresco dining back in the early 60s.

Coals to Newcastle, Cinders to the States!

"We now export 30 per cent of our barbecues to America," said Bill, whose attention to detail has resulted in a partnership' which he reckons has proved key to Cinders's success.

Back at the beginning, when he'd bagged a UK patent for his first barbecue (The Caterer), Bill contacted the laboratories at Calor Gas. The law at that time didn't require him to cover all the safety angles, but Bill is such a stickler he needed to be sure before the big launch. Calor Gas had the only safety mark of the day and Bill wanted it on The Caterer.

Likewise, Calor Gas, having given the product a resounding thumbs-up, wanted to be associated with this pioneering new professional barbecue. Indeed, the Cinders barbecue is the only product Calor Gas sells now that it was also selling 20 years ago.

CB's and CG's is a partnership which, over the years, has opened doors for both parties. Recently, for example, they have joined forces to help farmers learn how to prepare, cook and sell their meat direct to the public as a way to add value to their produce through a course pioneered by Darlington College and organised locally by the Westmorland County Show Society.

One farmer who has already reaped the benefit of such diversification is Tony Holland, of Bowland Outdoor Reared Pork, at Lowgill, in the Forest of Bowland.

A couple of years ago he approached Cinders Barbecues about a rotisserie with a view to starting a small sideline for his succulent pork products. However, Tony's first hog roast' proved such a hit at the 2002 North West Food Lovers Festival, held at Crooklands, that he now has two spit roasts and a barbie to cope with his ever-expanding catering service which can be found in action anywhere from farmers' markets to wedding receptions.

The hog roast equipment is made in Germany by a company called KSF which was impressed by Cinders Barbecues when the boss man saw them on display at a foodservice exhibition in Chicago.

"They saw our product and wanted it, so I went out to Bavaria to check them out and saw the hog roast and though it would fit perfectly into our range," said Bill, who reckons the roasts are popular at outdoor events because they offer such theatre' lots of lights and plenty of action and the food tastes fantastic too.

The very first Cinders barbecue was built by Bill himself but within 12 months he had taken on two more people - Simon Fort and David Morris who are still with the company, now co-directors in charge of production.

In all, Cinders employs ten people and from 24 barbecues built in the first year now produces them annually by the hundreds.

Other manufacturers have come and gone unable to cope with the seasonal nature of the barbecue business.

"It can be difficult to live with," commented Bill whose busiest time is from Easter to September. The capital cost implications of the quiet times are usually what see off the competition.

"I sold my car to see me through my first winter," recalled Bill.

In fact, though there is a season' for barbecuing, its popularity in the UK is nothing to do with sunshine it seems. Centres of population are what govern sales, reckons Bill. The biggest Cinders barbecue sales are, therefore, in the South East, Birmingham, Manchester, for example. Not too many in the Outer Hebrides then?

However, should a Hebridean islander want to hold a barbecue for all the other Hebridean islanders, then he could hire a Cinders barbecue.

CB caters primarily for the foodservice industry hotels, event organisers, and so on barbecues for the professionals.

But Bill conscious of the very difficulty which led him to found the company has also designed a mini Caterer, The Cavalier, for those members of the public whose usual barbecue equipment simply can't cope with the likes of an occasional street party.

You can hire Cinders Cavalier barbecues from HSS hire shops (call 0845-728-2828 for your nearest supplier) or Freephone Calor Gas on 0800-626626.