The Fire and Grill Chef

Fire is the most fashionable and most misunderstood technique in private dining. Done well, it is the best value luxury available: a whole turbot, a lamb shoulder that has had five hours, leeks and onions sweet from the ash, flatbread baked in front of the guests. Done badly, it is a barbecue with tweezers, where three proteins arrive late and everything tastes of the same smoke.

The craft is in the ember bed and the timetable. A fire is lit two to three hours before service, the cooking happens over coals rather than flame, and the chef works backwards from when the table will actually sit, which outdoors is always later than planned. Somebody must own the fire all evening, which is why above sixteen guests this is a two person job.

Rates are 550 to 1,200 euros for a dinner, and the produce budget is forgiving because fire flatters vegetables, bread and cheaper cuts. The practical condition is permission: fire bans in California, dry Mediterranean summers and villa rules all apply, and a serious chef brings a written gas alternative rather than an argument.