Homemade BBQ

One thing I really couldn't stand at uni were formal (especially black tie) college dinners. You're stuck on a long table in a hall with pictures of dead people surrounding you. You also have a chaotic sorting system where you try to find a seat with the goal of sitting opposite someone you know. Or worse you are allocated a random seat like someone has decided to play roulette with your evening.

BBQs are much better. Firstly they're outside which is good for circulation on a cold evening. Secondly you can wear anything because the next day it's going to end up smelling like smoke. Thirdly you can mingle around easily with a beer and if you don't want to talk to people you can just watch the fire or pretend to help with the food.

Many BBQs however, suffer from serious design flaws. The first problem being their height. Kettle BBQs for instance are usually too low to stand around without bending over to pick stuff off the grill. Another issue is that there's a limited 'field of heat' meaning that people huddle around one corner or side of it when cold. BBQs can also be awkward to clean or lack places to keep cooked food hot.

When I was doing my PhD I had a lot of free time to think about these things and was also very fortunate to have a technician friend called Robin Vincent in the materials department. After sketching a few ideas and getting some stainless steel components from my friend Mark Smith (at Newark Copper Cylinders), I went over to see Robin and we fabricated 'Sputnik', the BBQ designed to solve all BBQ problems. Sputnik has had a lot of use over the last 6 years though is beginning to show signs of wear and tear now.