Organising a neighbourhood barbecue? Then your outdoor kitchen is perfect for a successful afternoon or evening. Make your garden not just a place to eat well, but also an opportunity for neighbours to get to know each other better. In this blog we share five fun ideas for making the most of your outdoor kitchen during a neighbourhood barbecue.
1. Host a live BBQ workshop
Do you have a kamado or a high-quality BBQ in your outdoor kitchen? Then turn it into a mini workshop! Show how to cook the perfect medium-rare steak, how to control the temperature of your kamado, or share your secret recipes for the best marinade.
This makes it fun because neighbours learn new techniques and share knowledge with each other in a relaxed way. It naturally gets conversations going and strengthens the bond between neighbours. You can show off your cooking skills without it feeling like bragging, and for children it's extra fascinating to follow the whole process up close.
2. Set up a drinks station with refrigeration
Nothing beats a cold drink on a hot day. If you have an outdoor kitchen with a fridge, make the most of it. Create a drinks station where neighbours can help themselves.
Ideas for your drinks station:
- Fill the fridge with soft drinks, beer and white wine
- Set out glasses, ice cubes and lemon wedges on your worktop
- Make a special 'mocktail menu' for children and non-drinkers
- Consider a wine cooler for the wine lovers in the neighbourhood
Outdoor kitchens with 70 litres of refrigeration offer enough space for drinks for a sizeable group. Nobody needs to go indoors for a drink any more, so the fun stays outside.
3. Set up a dessert station for a sweet finish
A neighbourhood barbecue often revolves around meat and salads, but don't forget the sweet finish! And no, we're not talking about cupcakes or cream cakes. A BBQ calls for a dessert that's just as bold as the rest of your menu. Use your outdoor kitchen to set up a dessert station where you simply keep using the BBQ or kamado.
Bold BBQ desserts that always work:
- Grilled pineapple with rum and brown sugar: Cut the pineapple into thick slices and brush with melted butter, brown sugar and a splash of rum. Grill until nicely caramelised. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Banana with chocolate in foil: Slit open a banana (skin on), fill with chocolate pieces and perhaps marshmallows. Wrap in foil and put on the BBQ for 10 minutes. Pure nostalgia from your scouting days.
- S'mores bar: Set out marshmallows, biscuits and chocolate. Let everyone toast their own marshmallow over the hot coals. Children love it, and so do adults.
- Grilled peaches with whiskey butter: Halve the peaches and brush with butter mixed with a splash of whiskey and honey. Grill them cut side down. Serve with a dollop of mascarpone.
The advantage of your outdoor kitchen: you have everything to hand. Your worktop is perfect for laying out ingredients, the ice cream stays cold in your fridge until it's time to serve, and you use your sink to rinse the fruit. And best of all: nobody has to go indoors for dessert, so the fun stays outside.
Tip: Prepare most of the desserts in advance so they just need a quick turn on the BBQ. That way you're not busy for an hour while everyone is already full. Think of pre-cut fruit in your fridge, pre-filled banana parcels or ready-made dough balls that just need grilling.
4. Make it a themed evening with matching decorations
Give your neighbourhood barbecue an extra dimension by choosing a theme and adapting your outdoor kitchen to suit. Think of a Mediterranean evening, an American-style BBQ or an Asian grill session. For example, you could choose a Mediterranean theme with grilled vegetables, fresh fish and tzatziki, decorated with olive branches and little bowls of olives. A Texas BBQ theme revolves around slow-cooked spare ribs, coleslaw and corn on the cob, served on wooden boards for a rugged look.
If you'd rather go Asian, satay skewers, stir-fried vegetables and nasi goreng fit the bill nicely, combined with bamboo decorations and lanterns. For a classic Dutch theme, think burgers, sausages and chips from the air fryer, with red, white and blue accents and cheerful Dutch flags. With a beautiful black-framed Douglas fir outdoor kitchen, you already have a stylish base that suits any theme.
5. Start a "neighbourhood signature dish" tradition
This might just be the best idea if you organise neighbourhood barbecues regularly: develop a unique dish together with your neighbours that belongs only to your neighbourhood. A recipe you all look forward to every year and keep refining.
How to go about it:
- Have everyone bring an ingredient: Ask each neighbour in advance to bring one special ingredient or spice mix. This could be an exotic sauce, a special cut of meat, a home-made marinade or fresh herbs from their own garden.
- Experiment together at the outdoor kitchen: Use your outdoor kitchen as an experimentation station. Mix ingredients, test flavours, adjust. This becomes the creative process everyone joins in with.
- Write the recipe down: Once you've found the perfect combination, write everything down. Who brought what? What quantities did you use? How long on the BBQ?
- Give it a name: "The Lindenlaan Burger", "Sparrenlaan Satay Sauce", "Berkenhof BBQ Rib". A name makes it official and makes sure everyone remembers it.
Examples that work well:
- Neighbourhood burger: Each neighbour brings a topping (home-made ketchup, fried onions, a special cheese, fresh lettuce from their own vegetable patch). Together you create the ultimate neighbourhood burger.
- Signature BBQ sauce: Everyone brings an ingredient for the sauce (honey, chipotle, garlic, whiskey). At your outdoor kitchen you make the sauce and reduce it on your hob or side burner.
- Neighbourhood marinade for spare ribs: Mix the different marinades that neighbours bring into one ultimate version. Test it straight away on a few spare ribs on your kamado.
Why this is so much fun:
- You have a real tradition that comes back year after year.
- Everyone feels involved and proud of "our dish".
- You instantly have a topic of conversation for the whole year ("How can we make the sauce even better next year?").
- New neighbours are welcomed by being invited to join in your tradition.
Your outdoor kitchen is essential here: you have the space to experiment, the equipment to test straight away how something tastes, and it becomes the symbolic centrepiece where your "neighbourhood dish" is made again every year.
Extra tip: Make it an annual competition. Everyone makes their own version of the neighbourhood dish and you vote for the best. The winner gets to adapt and improve the recipe this year for next year.