What’s Your Available Space
Your space is going to be a limiting factor when determining what you can reasonably fit in your garden kitchen. You may not have room for much beyond the basics–that is, a grill and counter space.
Also, consider your location and the weather. Will you be able to use your outdoor space year-round given the UK climate? Whilst we are less at risk of very cold weather tha will require you to winterize complex outdoor setups, without cover it may be more feasible to keep itt simple.
Even if the UK weather is more damp vs snow you will need to think about windchill, the entertaining space and how you could heat the area.
Personal Style and Cooking Preferences
The fanciest gas grills, fridges, or multi-bay sinks aren’t going to do much for you if you’re just throwing a few burgers on and cracking beers.
Consider what you like to eat and how you want to entertain guests. If you love impressing with your culinary skills, going for a built-in smoker, custom Asador or a bespoke pizza oven will be worth spending the extra money.
But maybe you’re just looking for an easy way to cook up some food while watching the match with a few beers. Then a simple backyard grill, an icemaker, and an outdoor television will be more your price bracket.
Outdoor Kitchen Equipment Must-Have List
This is certainly not a definitive list but is a good starting point when thinking about what to include!
Asador & Charcoal Rotisserie’s
Almost everyone wants a big gas grill there’s something special about cooking with wood, charcoal and live fire. We either source or build custom charcoal grills and asadors to fit the designs of the kitchen and the cooking you enjoy!
Kamado
At Clifton Outdoor Kitchens HQ we have two Big Green Eggs a MiniMax for small cooks and throwing in the car and an XL that took 4 of us to wrestle into place.
Kamado smokers or grills are often end up being the centrepiece of our kitchens allowing you much more control over a longer cook than the asador or charcoal rotisseries.
The Green Eggs aren’t the only one in the space and as great as they are some of the younger upstarts are giving them a run for their money so do contact us to take through before you take the plunge.
Grill
A big gas grill and separate burner is typical of most outdoor kitchen set-ups and while in the UK we often think of BBQ as charcoal and wood in the US its gas that is in most outdoor kitchens.
We have a fantastic range of suppliers so we can source and install any size or make-up of grill you can imagine. Take your time with this decision. Gas has its advantages in speed and control and whatever cooking preference you have it’s likely going to get the most action out of all your outdoor kitchen equipment.
Outdoor Fridge & Icemaker
A fridge (or at least bottle fridge) is essential if you don’t want to be running back and forth to the indoor kitchen. There’s a lot to decide on with an outdoor fridge though and even small things like location, sunlight and whether to go with a stainless steel or glass front door make a big impact.
Multibay Sink
Another nice to have is an outdoor sink especially when it comes to food prep and the clean up. This article that breaks down what to consider in an outdoor sink in a lot more detail but for the UK market we tend ti find stainless steel is the go to. Remember, though the outdoor sink and plumbing really increases complexity in terms of build and location to water.
Pizza Oven
A great addition to any outdoor kitchen is a gas or wood pizza oven and with companies like Ooni and Gozney vying for your attention there are some great options on the market.
You can go with something pre-built like this Ooni Karu. We love that we can cook with wood or charcoal or gas for when we have a hungry crowd. Or we can use Gozney products to build a custom oven for your space that truly wows and will do a lot more than Pizza’s!
Outdoor Television
Barbeque, beers, and a big outdoor television to watch the match with your friends. Does it get any better than that? We can talk you through some of the options to decide when sourcing an outdoor TV and, no, the Amazon frames that you can buy to wrap an indoor TV for use outside really don’t work for the UK weather!
There’s a lot to plan, but you don’t have to do it alone. Book an appointment with one of our designers to get a custom plan for your space.
Whether you’re looking for outdoor kitchen equipment that’s entirely bespoke from design to build, or a pre-built modular kitchen you can set up yourself, we can help you find what’s right for you.
