Top tips for the perfect summer barbeque

Sarah Whitmore has been passionate about food since she was a child. Whilst living in Australia, her family was adopted by an Aboriginal family and memorable cooking experiences include spear fishing stingray & making them into fishcakes.

With 14 years in catering, Sarah gained much of her corporate experience catering for clients such as The British Consulate, FedEx, and JP Morgan before setting up her own business, Flametree Catering. Sarah's top tips for the perfect summer barbeque are:

1. Add some sweet treats to your barbeque! When the barbeque is starting to cool down throw on some bananas in their skins for a great simple dessert. Or how about grilling some juicy pineapple slices and then dusting with some cinnamon sugar and desiccated coconut for a truly tropical taste sensation.

2. Fish often gets over looked at barbeques. Try cooking whole fishes such as bass, mackerel, sardines or snapper. Great for sharing and much healthier than red meat. Turn the fish only once. Flipping the fish back and forth is likely to cause it to break. Easiest way to cook fish can be in foil with fresh herbs and lemon slices. Once it is cooked to perfection the fish will be opaque throughout. Then, depending on the fish, season with lemon, dill or garlic to really bring out those yummy flavours.

3. Be adventurous! Delicious seafood can be cooked on the barbeque including lobster tails, whole king prawns, scallops. How about lightly marinated chilli prawn skewers?

4. A great way of catering for vegetarians in to make little aluminium foil parcels packed with ingredients like cherry tomatoes, feta, rosemary, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The cherry tomatoes will burst in the heat and feta will soften creating a wonderful little packet of flavours. Grilled halloumi cheese is also a winner.

5. Marinade your meats. If you can try to do it the night before. Never add salt to your marinade it will toughen the meat, instead season just before placing on the barbeque.
6. They say that up to 90% of taste is smell. Barbeques are the perfect time to make to most of it. Cook something that with have your guests' mouths watering from the moment that they arrive. A great tip is to add some rosemary to the coal and let that delicious flavour waft into your barbequing food.

7. Rest your meat once it is cooked. It's tempting to tuck in the second it comes off the barbeque but steak eaten straight off won't have that melt in your mouth texture. Let it rest for just a few minutes to allow the meat to relax and reabsorb the juices.

8. Why not bring some exotic flavours to your barbeque? Have a go at Jerk chicken, tikka kebabs and satay sauce. Barbeques feature strongly in Asian street food. Try incorporating some of the fabulous favours- lemongrass, ginger, fresh chillies etc. So delicious!

For more information, visit: flametreecatering.co.uk