By the time most readers will receive this current Hotwire, we will already be in National BBQ Week, which this year runs for two weeks: 5th – 18th July.
This is the 25th such celebration, supporting a market worth £1.7 billion.
The BBQ season generally runs from April to August and, according to Kantar, increased in frequency in 2020 during lockdown, to over 100 million occasions. This was up 44% on a year-on-year basis, and is expected to be even bigger in 2021.
Sales of BBQ equipment is up 60%. I wonder how many people use separate equipment throughout for meat/non-vegetarian and vegetarian/vegan foods?
20 years ago it is claimed the UK held 8 million BBQ occasions, so the massive increase is evident.
In the UK historically, BBQs consisted of sausages, burgers and possibly also chicken portions.
How much different today, with a wider range of products on offer, but no sign of appetites declining.
The average adult is reckoned to consume over 3,000 calories at a BBQ. Vegetarians are no less controlled, with the vast amounts of halloumi being consumed.
A much wider choice of meats and fish are now considered normal, and meat-free alternatives are also increasingly found.
Sales of burger buns are up by 40%, cheese slices by 39%, coleslaw and potato salad by 29%.
Produce on offer at US BBQs is much the same as the UK.
A recent survey reported burgers featuring at 67% of US BBQs, hotdogs at 42%, as well as 24% baked beans and 18% meat substitutes.
But, they steal a trick on us, and this is the point of this article, at 17% of their gatherings, devilled eggs are eagerly consumed.
This is something we could usefully adopt, both as a delicious extra item, but also as a way of increasing egg sales.
Although we are unlikely to emulate their 17%, if 1% of the reported 100 million occasions served devilled eggs, it would take up a valuable 12,000,000 eggs from production.
I append a basic devilled egg recipe, but members and their customers can give free rein to any other ingredients they may wish to include in the filling.
12 hard-boiled, peeled, Laid in Britain eggs
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
Pinch cayenne pepper
2-3 Spring Onions, thinly sliced.
Slice the eggs lengthwise and remove the yolks and put in a bowl with the other ingredients.
Mix these thoroughly and then spoon, or pipe, back into the empty whites.
Arrange on a serving platter, and chill before serving.
Note: Sriracha sauce, a chilli-based sauce from Thailand, is widely available in supermarkets.
Get out there and encourage your customers!
