Monolith rocks the UK BBQ scene
Born in Germany and produced in China, Monolith is now lighting up its ceramic grills in Britain. RUPERT BATES watches, admires, learns – and eats
I was unsure what was going to be on the menu, but for me the amuse-bouche was a mouthful of nostalgia as I headed for an 18th-century country house hotel.
Newbury was where I cut my teeth in journalism on the Newbury Weekly News; Hungerford where my father had lived and traded houses for a living. This was familiar territory, full of fond memories, with a new one about to be forged – over fire.
The Retreat at Elcot Park sits neatly between the two towns, as German cooking technology and design innovation came to the West Berkshire countryside for the day.
Monolith Kamado Grill, based in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony in north- west Germany, is grilling up a powerful reputation across Europe, fusing style with precision engineering.
The Retreat saw the UK launch of its new Avantgarde Series, with its silicate ceramics, stainless steel fittings, glass fibre seals and LED lights.
The grill grate system provides four grill height settings and the satin matt mineral glaze is extremely weather resistant. There is a redesigned cart with heavy bamboo side tables and handles.
“This is where art meets design. Since founding Monolith Grill my mission has been to develop further the Kamado in terms of quality, design and variety. The Monolith is not just a Kamado. With our innovative accessories it is also a Teppanyaki grill, a wok, a rotisserie and a fire pot,” said founder and CEO Matthias Otto.
Matthias Otto, who launched the company in 2007, was originally in the textile business, with suits, not steaks, his profession, but with a lifelong passion for BBQ cooking.
“I wanted to make a versatile barbecue that could be used in different ways, every day, but also a stylish accessory to be displayed with pride.”
His original product combined the tradition of a Japanese Kamado with German design and durability.
“The Monolith Kamado grill was born – universal devices that allow you to grill, barbecue and smoke, a charcoal oven and a bread and pizza oven. The complete outdoor kitchen not only for the enthusiast, but also for the catering professional.”
That ingenuity was brought by his son Vincent Otto, marketing director of Monolith, to The Retreat this summer; and while a brigade of Monolith ambassadors effortlessly produced epic dishes off a range of grills, it was clear that Vincent saw infinite opportunities to tap into the UK’s burgeoning BBQ market and outdoor culinary scene.
The sun dappling the walls of the pretty courtyard helped, as hotel guests, casually walking by, were drawn to the smoke and the aromas.
It was meant to be a private Monolith event and not for the public, but typically with open air cooking and its shared, open house community, uninvited guests quickly became welcome invited ones; strangers became friends, learning from grill masters and with a free lunch thrown in. Some free lunch.
“As a family we’ve always been passionate about cooking and food and I grew up with barbecues in the garden. BBQ is very popular in Germany, but also a natural move to grow our brand across Europe,” said Vincent Otto.
He talked not only of novices and enthusiasts embracing outdoor cooking, but Monolith’s pool of specialist hunters, butchers and fishermen – from forest, field and fly to the fire and the fork.
Paul Yates of Que Fresco, a Lancashire-based company, represents Monolith in the UK and his business was also triggered by a love of barbecue, evolving from grilling sausages at farmers’ markets to the business it is today, working with leading barbecue and smoker brands.
“I am also passionate about working in balance with the environment for a sustainable future,” said Paul.
Time to eat. Richard Wagstaff runs Knights of the Round Grill, which immediately resonated with me, given my nickname of Sir Lunchalot.
Based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, such is Richard and his wife Dana’s passion for cooking, winning their first ever BBQ competition on a Monolith, their honeymoon took in a Smoke & Fire festival in Essex. They now run pop-ups as well as event catering, including weddings.
Richard grilled buttermilk chicken shawarma, which was smoked in lemon wood, with coriander sour cream dip, star anise salsa and Vimto pickled red onions. Yes, the fruit drink Vimto – try it. Serve that chicken at a wedding and the bride will run off with the chef.
Our ‘fisherman’ for the day was Bristol’s Ben Bartlett – BBQ Ben. This was a feast fit for Poseidon, with North Atlantic king crab legs, Scottish salmon on cedar wood, wild scallops with beetroot sea salt, red mullet in banana leaves, sea bream on a Himalayan salt block and wild baby octopus with his own award-winning BBQ sauce.
The bread winner in the courtyard was Martin Sviba, originally from Slovakia, but now living in Calne, Wiltshire, and he baked sourdough three ways – bread, parcels and pizza, proving the perfect accompaniment to the meat and fish, as the ambassadors spun their alchemy across a variety of Monolith grills, trading laughter and tips – and yes, maybe a little competitive too.
Butchers Simon Taylor and Ben Tindale are well known to readers of this magazine, combining the craft of their profession with BBQ cooking skills – a potent blend and an instructive one too, for this pair can talk you through every step and sinew of the meat’s journey, their respect for the animal tangible.
Simon Taylor of Surrey Hills Butchers at the Hogs Back Brewery near Farnham showcased beef for the ages – including bavette, ribeye and cote de boeuf, not to mention a sensational Pasture for Life wagyu rump from Charrington Farms, Reigate.
Ben Tindale, of G. Shearer & Sons in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, served beef truffles with a coffee and chipotle rub – Tubby Tom’s Wake the Dead rub – and beer-braised onion chutney. His showstopper, the butcher as artist, was Beef Wellington with 28-day aged Lincoln red fillet, seared and then coated with a miso and mushroom glaze, mushroom duxelles, bresaola and puff pastry, with the glaze from Raps UK.
That’s a wrap – a German-Anglo production. Even Sir Lunchalot was sated.