Ben's Built-in Braai - Chapter 1

This little project is from one of those bizarre connections that can only be put down to fate. A good friend who is also the local vicar (and well aware of my fire and food obsession) had put me in touch with a South African guy who was wanting to create a traditional South African outdoor kitchen, in the middle of Witney in West Oxfordshire and only a few streets from where I live. For the first time, my passion for cooking outdoors met completely with my professional life as an architect.

Most architects would see a project like this as either too small or uneconomic to take on. Not me, I embraced it as a necessary part of continuing professional development.

I'm fascinated by the way that South African's bring South Africa with them wherever they go. Ben cooks outdoors all year round and has been relying solely on his trusty Weber. His requirements were very specific as one would expect.

Local planning laws require permission to build anything in your garden that is made of masonry and connected to the house, so I was commissioned to prepare documents to support the planning application and to help get it built.

This built-in braai is to be made from reconstituted cotswold stone bricks, rendered concrete blocks, cast concrete for the work tops, and timber trellis for the screen. We have started the process of looking for tradesmen to do the work, so, hopefully, it should be fully operational some time this summer. I'm planning to document the construction process in subsequent chapters so watch this space.