Whistler Grills
The boss
Steve Rowley, managing director, Whistler Grills
With the company based in the English Cotswolds, the Whistler grills draw their names from the beautiful area’s towns and villages, such as Bibury, Burford and Cirencester. When I took over at Whistler, the products were known merely as code numbers. Before moving into the barbecue business, I spent most of my career in the newspaper and magazine industry, including as buyer for WH Smith and responsible for £189m worth of sales a year.
The business
I’ve developed the Whistler Grills business from essentially being a one-man band to a thriving team of eight, specialising in sales, marketing, warehouse/operations, finance, and customer support. I believe Whistler now has the team and the structure to take the business to the next level, and 2024 will be a very exciting year for the company.
We pride ourselves on high-end, high-quality products, which I consider the Rolls-Royce of BBQs. Our factory has invested heavily in the machinery to create robust, long-lasting barbecues, which gives us the confidence to offer limited lifetime warranties on many of our products. Most of our range is made of 304 stainless steel and sits in the premium category, which is the market we continue to target.
Historically, Whistler Grills has been a cart BBQ and built-in bespoke kitchen supplier, but the inception of the Cirencester Modular Kitchen range in 2020 has seen Whistler evolve into an outdoor modular kitchen specialist and this is where I see the future.
The influence
From a young age I have always been a proper outdoor person. From Cub and Scout camps to my lifelong passion for angling, I have always loved cooking outdoors, albeit at a fairly basic level.
Years of cooking over fires or on gas stoves meant the opportunity to progress to the luxury and quality of a Whistler was taken with both hands, and my passion for outdoor cooking continues to grow.
The equipment
When I took over the company I was given a Whistler Bibury 5, which was and still is the flagship barbecue in our range. I am not a foodie and most certaintly not a chef, so cooking something amazing either indoors or outdoors is not my bag.
I’m also not the best at looking after my barbecue, but after four years of cooking on it, my Bibury 5 still works like a dream – testament to its quality and durability – and cleans up brilliantly when I eventually get round to it.
The meal
Despite not being a chef, I do enjoy cooking, and eating, a lovely full English breakfast on my grill. There is something very different and special about the taste of a breakfast cooked outside. Many Saturday or Sunday mornings throughout the year
will see my two plancha plates loaded with mushrooms, bacon, sausage, black pudding and eggs, while the beans simmer on the side burner.
I also love every single meal that the Whistler chef, Andy Kennedy, cooks on his grill.
The next big thing
I am very excited about the arrival of the new Whistler 304 modular kitchen. This modular kitchen will be similar in concept to the Cirencester kitchen but completely constructed out of 304 stainless steel, making it even more robust.
This range will undoubtedly be the future of Whistler Grills and we will develop a broader range of modular units, offering the customers an extensive kitchen range along with different colours.