Fire is the fashionable technique of the decade and the one most likely to be forbidden where you are cooking. California hillsides declare red flag days at short notice, Mediterranean regions ban open flame outside built structures during the dry months, and a rented villa’s insurance may exclude it entirely regardless of local law.
What to establish before the menu
Three questions, in writing, at booking: is open flame permitted at this property, is it permitted in the current season, and what does the rental contract say about it. A caterer cannot answer any of them for you, and a fire ban discovered at four in the afternoon is a menu rewritten in the worst possible hour.
The workaround that actually works
A written gas or charcoal alternative for the centrepiece, agreed with the chef when the menu is set. Charcoal in a closed vessel is permitted in many places where open flame is not, and a plancha will cook a whole fish or a shoulder perfectly well. Our fire and grill profile lists the questions to put to a chef before booking.
