First, you need to know that the 3 day Bob Hart Australian Barbecue Academy Masterclass has been moved to December 5-8, so you can enjoy the Yarra Valley at its very best and soak up all that summer has to bring.

Second, in addition to attending the December Academy, winners will also receive an exclusive invitation to a private gourmet masterclass with Bob Hart and Iain ‘Huey’ Hewitson on September 13 at Bob Hart’s private Hawthorn residence. Best of all, Huey will film an entire episode for Huey’s Kitchen there!

So hurry, you’ve got just four days left to tell us, in your own words, why your dad should be The Daddy of All BBQers.

To recap, we are giving away two places (worth over $2,000 each!) to the prestigious Australian Barbecue Academy 3 day December Masterclass run by Aussie BBQ legend, Bob Hart.

If you win, your dad will enjoy three blissful days at Balgownie Estate Winery with Bob Hart and other like-minded gourmet BBQ enthusiasts.

What will he do?

Learn, share and taste some of the most scrumptious creations to come off the flame.

The experience includes luxury accommodation, a welcome cocktail party and of course, some wonderful souvenirs to take home including bottles of wine, a digital meal thermometer and more.

Additionally, dad (and a guest of his choice) will be one of the lucky few to watch, learn and dine with Bob Hart & Huey on September 13 whilst they film an entire episode for one of Australia’s highest rated cooking shows!

Entry is free and easy to complete. Just enter your details in full on our competition entry form.

We’ve seen some really creative entries so far, but we think the best is still around the corner – good luck!

*Entries close this Monday August 30, 12:00pm AEST. We recommend you read the full terms and conditions available on our entry form prior to participating.

Redesdale Camp Oven Cook Off
*Updated 1/9/10 – Due to a severe weather warning forecasted for September 4, we’ve just received news from the Redesdale Team that the event has been postponed to Saturday, November 6. That’s another 2 whole months to perfect the ultimate BBQ recipe!

Whilst we are on the topic of competitions, if you are in the mood for some serious fun and BBQing, head over with dad this Father’s Day weekend to the Redesdale Camp Oven Cook Off on Saturday, September 4. They will once again host an exciting cook off – all done over Heat Beads^® BBQ Briquettes, of course! Visit Camp Oven Cook Off to find out more and download a competition entry form. You have four different categories to showcase your fine BBQing skills!

BBQ Starter & Platform Combo – Now available for purchase online

We are delighted to announce that the BBQ Starter & platform is now available for purchase together at the incredible price of $49.95. Remember, the Heat Beads^® BBQ Starter and Platform is one of the most efficient ways to get that BBQ roaring in no time! For further details, plus a look at our other BBQ must-haves, please visit BBQ Products.

Spit

Dribble

We thought we’d give you a peek at Terry’s schedule so you’ve got plenty of time to organise a family fun day! To see a showcase of Terry’s spits (including the brand new mini spit, Dribble), pick from any of these local events:

September 3-5 – National 4×4 Outdoors Show and Fishing & Boating Expo
Melbourne Showgrounds, Epsom Road, Ascot Vale.
Adults $16, concession $11, kids under 15 free

September 4 – Red Hill Craft Market
Arthur’s Seat Road, Redhill.
(Melway map: 190 J3)
Free entry

September 5 – Healesville Racecourse Craft Market
Healesville-Kinglake Road, Healesville.
(opposite the RACV Club)
Free entry

September 19 – Lardner Park Craft Market
Burnt-Store Road, Drouin.
(Melway Map: X912 U8)
Free entry

Come by for a friendly chat, learn the secrets to cooking with coals, find out how best to use the spits, and pick up a bag of Heat Beads^® BBQ Briquettes whilst you’re there.

To find out more, read our previous post on spits and visit Terry direct at www.spithouse.com.au

P.S. Don’t forget our Father’s Day Who’s The Daddy? Competition is still running! Fill in your details here and tell us why your daddy should be The Daddy of All BBQers! Entries close August 30, 12:00pm AEST.

Who’s The Daddy, you ask? Well, you tell us!

That’s right, just tell us in 25 words or less why YOUR dad should be The Daddy of All BBQers. If we find your entry to be most original and creative, we will give your dad an exclusive place at the Australian Barbecue Academy 3 day Masterclass run by Aussie BBQ legend, Bob Hart.

The Masterclass will take place from December 5-8, 2010 at the picturesque Balgownie Estate Winery and will include a three day semester with Bob Hart, luxurious accommodation, a welcome cocktail party, six bottles of Balgownie Estate wine, and the chance to mingle with like-minded gourmet BBQ enthusiasts.

But wait, we are awarding not one, but TWO places, so enter today and tell us Who’s The Daddy?

Click on our competition entry form, fill in your details in full, and wait for the big winner announcement on September 3.

*Entries close August 30, 12:00pm AEST. We recommend you read the full terms and conditions available on our entry form prior to participating.

*Updated 25/8/10 – We’ve just received some exciting news.  The Australian BBQ Academy 3 day Masterclass will no longer run in September, but from December 5-8, 2010. The winners will not only attend the December Masterclass, but they are also invited to an EXCLUSIVE Masterclass with Bob Hart and one of Australia’s most watched television chefs, Iain ‘Huey’ Hewitson, at Bob Hart’s private residence in Hawthorn. Best of all, Huey will film an entire episode of Huey’s Kitchen at this Masterclass!

The event, now in its fifth year, was held again at the Olympic Speed Skating Oval in Lake Placid and attracted over 45 different teams. Among the 45, 11 went on to compete for the title of Junior World BBQ Champion with the winning team (Pepperque BBQ) walking away with a $10,000 scholarship to nearby Paul Smith’s College.

At the conclusion of the event, net proceeds of close to $18,000 were raised – all going to the Shipman Youth Centre, a not-for-profit community organization providing support to children and youth ages 10-18.

According to Dmitry Feld of ILBBQF, “The youth centre was inspired by Thomas Shipman, a designated Lake Placid youth Police officer whose life was cut short in 1995.”

For those that missed out this year, organisers have confirmed that the ILBBQF will return next July, although details of the venue have yet to be disclosed. For more details, visit I Love BBQ Festival at www.ilbbqf.com

Jamie Oliver’s Best Marinated Chicken Kebabs
Makes 6-8 kebabs

• 500g/1lb 2oz free-range boneless chicken breasts
• 4 courgettes, sliced very thinly lengthways
• 6–8 skewers or sticks of fresh rosemary, lower leaves removed, tips kept on

For the marinade
• 1 handful of fresh coriander
• 1 handful of fresh mint
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 6 spring onions
• 1 red chilli
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil

Method
Cut the chicken into 2.5cm/1 inch cubes and place in a bowl.

Blanch the courgette strips in salted boiling water for 30 seconds then drain and allow to cool.

Blitz all the marinade ingredients (except the olive oil) in a food processor, then loosen to a paste with a little olive oil. Add the marinade to the chicken pieces and mix well. Allow to sit for up to an hour.

Then weave the courgette strips in between the chicken pieces on the rosemary sticks or skewers. Grill for around 5 minutes, turning regularly, until cooked. Feel free to cut a piece open to check if they’re done.

*Recipe and image courtesy www.jamieoliver.com

Australian Char Pty Ltd, makers of the best barbecue briquette in the world – Heat Beads^® Barbecue Briquettes – are pleased to be working in collaboration with HEAT as a sponsor to the organisation’s practical youth program. We are especially moved by HEAT’s inspiring work with displaced youth, the strong emphasis on education and the belief that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to learn.

Among other things, the Heat Beads^® sponsorship will give one young person the opportunity to complete the full HEAT program – giving them a pathway to a job and career in the hospitality industry. The success rate of this education is impressive with 31.9% of graduates moving into apprenticeships or employment, and an additional 39.1% pursuing further education or training.

To find out more about the excellent work that HEAT does with the youth of tomorrow, including how you can make a difference, visit www.heat.org.au

Neurum Creek Bush Retreat, the hosts of this event describe it as “the weekend for ‘Real Campers’”. The entire weekend is $45 per adult and $25 per school aged child, including camping.

There will be plenty of entertainment for the kids – a kids disco on Friday July 23 from 5.30pm till 7.30pm and on Saturday night “Bob the Builder” will be making an appearance under the “Big Top Marquee” at 6pm!

And Mum’s and Dad’s will have their fair share of entertainment with ‘Man in Black’ performing from 7.30pm on Friday night and then ‘The Man from Murgon’, Arthur Nettlefield, under the “Big Top Marquee” until 10pm on Saturday night with music and Christmas presents for a lucky 25!

This year’s event has a ‘Christmas in July’ theme and Luke from Weber will demonstrate its “Q” and Baby “Q” barbecues by cooking Christmas dinner, including plum pudding! The famous Kettle BBQ will also make an appearance with Luke roasting a turkey.

From 11 am on Saturday there will be camp oven cooking demonstrations and a recipe swap shop. The Best Damn Damper contest is on again and of course there will be a camp oven section for those that love the challenge. Some great prizes are up for grabs including Heat Beads^® prize packs!

There will be food on sale continually from 5pm on Friday until lunch time on Sunday, ensuring no one will go hungry.

So what are you waiting for? Throw your camping gear and the kids in the car and get out amongst it in the great outdoors!

Iain “Huey” Hewitson has been a fixture on the national television scene for close to 20 years now. His most significant achievement to date would be earning the title of Australia’s highest rated daytime television show during his 11 year run of Huey’s Cooking Adventures.

Hewitson’s latest project – Huey’s Kitchen – launched in March this year and seeing the Heat Beads^® brand used in a show featuring one of Australia’s most watched television cooks, is very exciting for us all.

Throughout the season, expect to see Huey cook some mouth-watering BBQ recipes using Heat Beads^® BBQ Briquettes and on our very own Heat Beads^® Entertainer BBQ.

Huey’s Kitchen airs daily at 4pm AEST on Channel 10.

Until next time, happy barbecuing!

“Cooking over coals, and having fragrant wood smoke swirly around your rubbed, seasoned meat, is, when it comes to barbecue, the best way to do things. But it is not the only way.

A gas barbecue does a fine job of steaks and chops and butterflied chickens, but that is only a small part of the barbecue story. The advantage of flanking it with a charcoal device – a Weber kettle, say, or a Smokey Mountain Cooker – is that you will be able, at the same time, to deliver racks of tender, gently smoked pork ribs, and other superb cuisine with qualities that will astonish your guests.

Having the best of both worlds means you can also take advantage of the speed and simplicity of a gas device to whip up some grilled corn, asparagus, or little things on sticks, just to kick things off – while the shoulder of pork or brisket of beef is approaching perfection in the Weber right alongside.

While gas barbecues offer convenience, when you want the real thing, such as a mouth watering rack of smoky, meltingly tender, exquisitely smoked baby back ribs, you know nothing can beat cooking over live coals. My personal recipe is here!”

Thanks Bob!

In September, over three days, you will have a chance to discover the thrill and skill of real barbecue cooking at Bob Hart’s Australian Barbecue Academy, at the gorgeous Balgownie Estate in the Yarra Valley. Click here to download the brochure (PDF).

When people talk barbecue, they mostly always picture hearty, chargrilled, meat – crisp on the outside and succulent and juicy on the inside. But, did you know that barbecued desserts are fast becoming the norm?

In Planet Barbecue, Steven tells the story of chef and TV presenter Mehman Huseynov who once barbecued ice cream (yes, ice cream!). He dipped scoops of vanilla ice cream into egg and shredded coconut, before searing them over the fire. Just under a minute later and you have ice cream covered in a beautiful coconut crust!

Why not try something different this weekend? Don’t forget, The Heat Beads^® Team have provided you with a wide range of free recipes – including scrumptious desserts – on our BBQ Recipes page. Let us know how you go by dropping us a line in our comments box below. We’d love to hear from you.