In recent years, I have seen many cook their Christmas turkeys on the BBQ. I thought it was a crazy idea in the cold, however after having a little snippet into Hoggy’s Grill BBQ experience I understand why.
Owned by ex-cricketer Mathew Hoggard and his wife Sarah, Hoggy’s Grill is based in Rutland at the Rutland Water Garden Centre. It is a Cookery School and Grill Shop.
With a niche market, this is the place for everyone who loves grilled food – including Vegans. The perfect spot for team building or just brushing up those BBQ skills. They also have a fully licensed bar.
After retiring, Matthew had a go at various things but one that took his passion was cooking on grills. Matthew and Sarah have kitted out the site with some of the best BBQ’s – from ceramic to gas to Wi-Fi controlled ones to give you a full experience. It’s a very casual environment and set up for you to enjoy the experience. Due to the nature of the cooking, it is covered but not heated so can get chilly, however, once you get cooking and with all the heat from the BBQ’s it soon warms up.






Produce is locally sourced where possible so expect the finest ingredients.
On the evening, we started off with some mulled wine. The perfect way to get in the spirit. Before getting practical we learnt about the different barbecues and had a health & safety briefing.
We had a go at making pigs in blankets in the different grills. We worked with some of the rubs too to get a feel of flavours. I have to say they were some of the finest ones I have tried. The slight crisp on the bacon from the barbecue made them taste so much better than being oven cooked.



Matthew and Sarah were around to guide us if we needed help but otherwise, the grills and rubs were free for us to experiment. Kev and I went for the ceramic ones – played it safe.
A thermometer is used to check the temperature of the meat. With all the amazing smells around it is so tempting to eat the food as soon as possible.
After we scoffed our pigs in blankets, we all got to tuck into some epic two meat sandwiches. Matthew had prepared a 5 hours juicy cooked ham and a succulent turkey breast. The meats were juicy & perfectly cooked. Cooking on the grill is something I need to do more often.








There were no vegetarians at the press night, however, I spoke to some of the ladies who had been to the burger school earlier and they said the vegetarian and vegan options were really good and creative.




Hoggy’s Grill has just released dates for Hoggy’s Posh Christmas Nosh – a course to learn how to make those amazing Christmas canapés on the barbecue. Yes, Matthew makes the full Christmas dinner on the grills!
For more information about the BBQ Cookery school, corporate & private parties and more visit their website. Hoggy’s Grill has links with local hotels, wine merchants and spirit distilleries and offers packages depending on your needs.
Now I just need to invest in one of those egg ceramic barbecues before I start entertaining with more grilled food.
Here are some of my easy BBQ recipes you can try too.
Neha
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Disclaimer [AD]: This was an invite/gift. All views, opinions and photos are my own unless otherwise stated.