British BBQ Society Forums

Just interested in which grills the professional restaurants and caterers use?

Southern Pride, Ole Hickory, Fast Eddy, etc

Gas/pellet/wood logs/woodchips

Also what the bbq competition crews use?

Having been around the circuit as a spectator then latterly as a judge I've seen teams use everything from a Hibachi (for brekkie & snacks) all the way up to strange metal electrically powered boxes which would feed a small army! Most evident though are the Bullet Smokers the Pro Q Frontier (not many though) and the larger Excel and of course the Weber Smokey Mountain, large and small. I can attest that teams have won with basic equipment and good coaching, and also with the best they can afford and years of experience. I think that is the relevant word "experience". If you look at the US circuit, and to a lesser extent (due to availability NOT ability) the UK circuit you will see a vast range of "pits" being used. In the states Harry Soo, a good friend of this forum, wins using WSMs against teams with top end techno-pits priced in the tens of, if not hundreds of, thousands of dollars.
Having the best or same brand kit as champions won't make you a good bbq cook, if you start of small as Cuan (BBQ Fanatics) says in this post who knows you could be bringing a live band rather than a DJ

http://www.bbbqs.com/Forum/viewtopic.ph ... hts#p32575

FECs are probably the most common for restaurants over here at the moment because of availability.

Personally I'm amazed no-one is distributing ole hickory or southern pride. Propane fired seems the way to go if doing restaurant volumes.

Duke's Brew & Que and PittCue Co cook on Cookshack and Fast Eddy's (FEC) ovens, and UK BBQ Champions 2012 Bar-B-Q Shack use a Fast Eddy's FEC120 and a GMG Daniel Boone.

Pete