Greg Piner likes to barbecue; even credits himself as being pretty good at it.
But the Dunedin chef had his eyes opened to just what can be done on a barbecue as a guest judge on Television One’s new reality television show Cooks on Fire.
"I was just blown away, it was incredible to see what was being done."
The show has seven teams of two put through their paces on the barbecue — with their dishes judged by food writer Nici Wickes, Eat Well for Less’ Ganesh Raj and Hamilton BBQ Pitmaster Jared Macdonald — in a bid to win the Cooks On Fire trophy and $30,000 in prize money.
Piner, who works with the show’s sponsor Silver Fern Farms, was invited along as guest judge on one of the episodes, which was filmed in a paddock in Coatsville, an experience he says was "pretty cool". Other guest judges on the show include celebrity chef Peter Gordon and Masterchef winner Karena Bird.
"I’ve never done anything like that before."
While he thought it would be "a piece a cake", he had his eyes opened to what goes into filming a television show — from the make-up to the nipple pads he had to wear.
"It was bizarre, a bit of a giggle. It was totally different to what I thought it would be — it was pretty full-on."
He was also impressed by the creations the teams came up,especially in the dessert section. Most barbecuers are all about the meat, but the contestants "busted out" some great desserts.
"I learnt a lot. These are really good barbecuers. Some of the stuff they produced I was like ‘how the hell did you do that on a barbecue?’."
It was a fun experience for Piner who has made some big changes in his life in recent times, including giving up the high-pressure job as head chef at Balmac No 7 for a day job at Wall St cafe Marbecks.
"It was time to move on and do something different. It gives me the freedom and flexibility to carry on my work with Silver Fern Farms events and more time with my daughter."
With Covid heaping on more pressure for hospitality, it made him even more aware that having time to enjoy life is important.
"There’s no extra pressure and I have creative freedom."
Despite what people might think about head chefs, he is not too proud to be making cheese rolls.
The move is not too unusual when you discover Piner started out helping setting up the Mediterranean Market in
Queenstown many years ago; a similar concept to Marbecks, combining a delicatessen and homewares with a cafe.
"Marbecks reminds me of that."
He likes to be able to talk to customers about the food and products, and hopes people feel they can ask him questions and seek advice about how to cook things.
When not at Marbecks, he is often creating dinners for Dunedin-based Silver Fern Farms using the company’s produce, highlighting it to its producers and buyers.
That can be anything from a five-course degustation out of the company’s shipping container in a middle of a paddock to making 5000 meals in one day which saw him walk the equivalent of 35km around the kitchen that day.
"It’s cool. I love that stuff, it’s the perfect blend for me."
To see:
Cooks On Fire, TVNZ 1, features Greg Piner November 17.
Greg Piner’s barbecued banoffee pizza
My late mother loved barbecuing and it was something we would have done nearly every night during summer on the West Coast. We would have fresh fish, lamb, beef or the classic burger patties and the neighbours would get extremely jealous of the wonderful smells wafting over the hedge.
Not only are barbecues fun, they bring people together and everyone has tips on being the tong master, which happens at any group barbecue.
Some people think a barbecue is just for meat and other delicious vegetables, but no, there is far more to a barbecue than meets the eye.
When the embers have cooled down you can use the barbecue to make delicious desserts and one of the most simplest and tasty ones is a desert pizza.
With the longer days and the warmer months coming, I highly recommend giving this a go.
Ingredients
1 pkt thin crust pizza base, can be GF
1 tin condensed milk caramel
2 bananas
1 flake bar or two if you are a chocoholic
100ml whipped cream
good-quality hokey pokey ice-cream
mint leaves
Method
Ensure your barbecue isn’t too hot and the embers have died down, pushed to the sides to create a space in the middle.
This way the heat transfers up the sides and once you put a lid on it will circulate around the lid creating an oven.
Make sure the barbecue is clean as you probably won’t enjoy a bit of a lamb, or any other products that have been cooking beforehand, sticking to your pizza.
Place some of the condensed milk caramel on to the pizza base and spread out to the sides — not too thick but well coated.
Then slice the banana and place around the pizza ensuring the banana isn’t too thick as you want it to cook and not burn your pizza.
Crumble half the flake bar over top of the pizza.
Carefully lift the pizza on to your barbecue and place in the centre. Close the lid and cook for about 8-10 minutes depending on the residual heat of your barbecue.
While this is happening, lightly whip your cream — personally, I wouldn’t add any sugar as the pizza itself is sweet.
Open the lid to your barbecue and check, the caramel should be slightly bubbling and the banana soft.
Remove the pizza from the barbecue and place on a chopping board — be very careful as the caramel can be extremely hot.
Dollop the lightly whipped cream around the sides of the pizza and add a generous scoop of the hokey pokey ice cream in the centre.
Place the mint leaves around as a garnish — this is not necessary but adds a lovely flavour to the overall taste.
Use the leftover flake and crumble over the top, cut into portions and serve immediately.
The banoffee pizza is a classic and is just a baseline of what pizzas can be made on your barbecue.
You can also use marshmallows, white chocolate, berries and other delicious sweet treats. I’m sure these will be a great hit and will make you a barbecue superstar during summer.
They are a great finish to a barbecue meal.
