WINNER, BEST BARBECUE BOOK, UK, GOURMAND AWARDS 2017

If anyone knows how to braai, or barbecue, it is Jan Braai, and he knows what people need to know about how to braai: how to make a good fire – with wood – and how to confidently cook a great meal over the coals. He has braaied with thousands of South Africans almost every day since the launch of South Africa’s National Braai Day (held each year on 24 September), which he founded to bring all South Africans together through their shared love of cooking over an open fire. The day’s patron is Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town Desmond Tutu, who ‘likes a T-bone steak because it is in the shape of Africa’.

This is much more than simply a recipe book – it is an indispensable instruction manual for braaing, or barbecuing the South African way – from perfect steaks, to lip-smacking braaied chicken and lamb chops, or rack of lamb . . . or even a lamb on a spit!

In his inimitable way, Jan sets out clear rules for the basic art of braaing steak and shows how, once that’s been mastered, you can move on to perfecting your braai skills on lamb, chicken, pork, fish, bread, vegetables and even a pudding or two.