AT WORK WITH HANG FIRE SMOKEHOUSE

   

Lately, I have noticed a few barbecue joints popping up all over the city. I had been invited to one,

    a pretty fancy one, a few months ago. Since then, I've really craved something a bit more

authentic. Enter Hang Fire Smokehouse.

    After some strategic coordination to get some of my friends together to celebrate a birthday,

    we headed down to The Canadian on a sunny Saturday afternoon to sample the BBQ delights.

    I also spoke with the brains behind the operation, Sam and Shauna, to find out what gave them

    the idea to set-up shop here in Cardiff, and why they love BBQ food so much.

 On why they wanted to get into the food business:

   "We were both a little disillusioned by the London rat race and wanted to work for ourselves.We

    both loved American BBQ and decided to pack up our London lives and head to America for

    6 months and learn as much as we could about barbecue with a view to starting something

    at home." 

    What made them decide on Cardiff as a location:

    "We chose Cardiff as we both lived here for over 10 years before we went traveling and moved

     to London. We have a lot of friends and family here, so we figured we'd need

     their support in starting our own business. But mainly, we have a lot of great produce

     in Wales and knew we'd want to showcase that via our traditional cooking style."

    On what drives them to be successful and sets them apart:

    "We eat, sleep and breathe BBQ, couple that with 6 months in America eating BBQ coast to coast,

    attending master classes and getting tips and tricks from the passionate folks 

    on the pro BBQ circuit. We know hardly anyone in Europe, let alone Wales has had that 

    level of education. This doesn't make us experts, we don't claim to be, we haven't even been

    smoking for 3 months yet. 

    However, we know what good barbeque is and that's the most important thing."

    Looking towards the future:

   "We're keen to spread the BBQ word and to grow it to be as much of a dinner choice as perhaps  

    going for an Indian or a fine dining restaurant. Right now we're working on our 

    nights at The Canadian, plus a few other projects are in the pipeline. 

    We're open to obvious expansion plans like pop up nights, catering for events, festivals etc 

    and even to open our own BBQ joint, but we're not necessary a conventional food business, 

    watch this space!"

    "We love collaborating and sharing success, so Hang Fire is the perfect vehicle for this."

   The Hang Fire Smokehouse runs on a Friday evening and Saturday day time at The Canadian.

    More information is available here. Meat hangovers guaranteed!