How to turn a barbecue into a masterpiece: tips from Firecat chefs

From heat management to sauces, marinades and unexpected ingredients: discover the secrets of the international chefs brought together in Modena by Massimo Bottura

Fine Dining Lovers

12 Oct 2026

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Chef Massimo Bottura in a white t-shirt.

Fire was humanity’s first cooking tool, but mastering it remains one of a chef's most complex challenges. It’s not enough to simply place an ingredient on the grill: you need to gauge the temperature, choose the wood, interpret the smoke and know when to move the food closer to, further away from or remove entirely from the embers.

It was around this living ingredient that Firecat took shape – an event that brought together chefs and pizza makers from various countries at Casa Maria Luigia, in the Modena countryside. Organised by Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore’s Francescana Family, the event centred on Al Gatto Verde, the Jessica Rosval-run restaurant, where embers, smoke and wood-fired cooking form a true gastronomic language.

The reflections of the chefs involved confirm one thing: there is no single formula for elevating the art of barbecuing. Some focus on the purity of the ingredients; others regard the sauce as an artistic gesture. Others see smoke as an ingredient to be measured with precision. Rather than a set of rules, cooking over an open fire thus emerges as an exercise in listening, balance and sensitivity.

First and foremost… the raw ingredients

What transforms a grilled dish into a signature dish? The most widely accepted answer does not involve adding anything, but rather the ability to let the ingredient remain recognisable. For Alberto Gipponi of Dina in Gussago, Italy, the dish's focus must always be the ingredient itself. He cites grilled turbot as an example: when the fish is exceptional and cooked to perfection, every mouthful reveals different depths and nuances. In great charcoal kitchens, he observes, “the grill is at the centre of everything, yet it is almost imperceptible”: it does not impose its own flavour, but allows the ingredient to be expressed.

Norbert Niederkofler of Atelier Moessmer in the Dolomites advocates the same balance. Sauces, side dishes and plating work when they complement the flavour and tell the same story as the main ingredient. “True luxury often lies in simplicity done well,” he sums up. Albert Adrià of Barcelona’s Enigma takes this reasoning a step further and questions the very need to turn every grilling session into a signature dish. For his lobster, matured for 48 hours in beef rib fat and then grilled, there is no need to add anything else: all that is required is an excellent raw ingredient and a precise concept.

Simplicity, however, is not the same as ease. Daniel Hadida of Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Ontario, Canada, points out that anyone can put something on the grill and achieve a pleasing result; the difference lies in the ability to delicately harness the flavours and aromas produced by the fire. Barbecue becomes haute cuisine when smoke ceases to be a vague effect and becomes a conscious choice.

Learning to read the fire

Turn the food just once, or keep a constant eye on it as it cooks? On this point too, chefs reject any absolute rule. Xinge Liu, of Florence’s Il Gusto di Xinge, advocates “frequent flipping”, that is, turning the food frequently and regularly. This ensures the heat is distributed more evenly, the Maillard reaction creates a rich crust, and the risk of an overcooked outer layer and a dry centre is reduced. “The embers require constant attention, not passive waiting,” she says.

Adrià, on the other hand, suggests handling the food as little as possible, adjusting the heat intensity: more vigorous for meat, gentler for fish. The two approaches are closer than they appear. As Gipponi and Niederkofler explain, the technique must be adapted according to the shape, thickness and desired texture. Temperature, distance from the embers, cooking time and the number of cooking passes are not set procedures, but decisions made by observing what is happening. Johan Fritzell of Sweden’s Holy Smoke BBQ sums up the method in two words, to be repeated throughout the cooking process: “temperature and touch”. Hadida adds sight and hearing, as well as a light touch, to intervene only when it is truly necessary.

Understanding the fire also means knowing when to smother it. Nicolai Nørregaard’s dishes are created in the fireplace, but not directly over the flames. The chef from Denmark’s Kadeau waits for the wood to turn to embers, covers it with fresh wood packed very tightly, and douses any new flare-ups with water. By restricting the flow of air, he produces a great deal of smoke: not a side effect, but the very element around which the dish is built.

There’s more to it than the classics

Meat and fish are merely the starting point. When used with precision, the grill can transform more delicate or everyday ingredients. Niederkofler points to white cabbage, which, when cooked slowly, develops sweetness, depth and smoky notes. It proves that you don’t need an ingredient considered ‘noble’ to create a great dish. Nørregaard prefers wild maitake and cauliflower mushrooms; he drizzles them with a fat, such as browned butter, and cooks them directly over the flames. “It’s magic,” he says.

Liu chooses an even more unexpected ingredient: milk. Drawing on ancient Cantonese techniques for cooked and curdled milk, she places small blocks of textured milk cream on the grill. The heat forms a golden, caramelised, smoke-infused crust on the outside, whilst the inside remains milky and velvety. There is a stark contrast between the delicacy of the product and the intensity of the flame.

Hadida focuses on the delicate ingredients of the first weeks of spring: tender vegetables, freshwater white fish, celeriac, lettuce, asparagus and even caviar. A brief exposure to heat can bring out unexpected flavours, provided the cooking is not overdone. Adrià applies the same principle to shellfish, such as mussels and clams: he cooks them in a micro-perforated pan and removes them from the heat immediately as soon as they open. Gipponi, on the other hand, recalls the grilled pineapple that Jessica Rosval used to add to the pizza she made for the staff at Osteria Francescana: a familiar ingredient that, when grilled, becomes suddenly surprising.

Sauces, spices and marinades

Whilst the heat should allow the ingredients to speak for themselves, seasonings and sauces create balance. For Liu, “the sauce is the soulmate of the grill”: not merely an accompaniment, but an element capable of enhancing the ingredient and becoming a dish in its own right. Acidity, umami, colour and texture can temper the intensity of the smoke and add a visual and emotional dimension to the dish. Fritzell, too, identifies acidity as a key element and suggests apple cider vinegar, lemon juice or powdered malic acid.

The possibilities vary depending on the chef’s background and sensibilities. Liu draws on a trio of northern Chinese street food – toasted cumin, Sichuan pepper and aromatic chilli – to add warmth, depth and a citrusy note. Niederkofler favours ingredients native to the Alpine landscape: juniper, mountain pine, mountain herbs, seeds, vinegars, fermented products and flavoured oils. Hadida completes his dishes with floral infusions such as rose vinegar, calendula oil, pickled onion flowers or a wild sansho glaze, allowing the heat retained by the ingredient to awaken its aromas. Adrià, by contrast, remains faithful to high-quality salt and excellent freshly ground black pepper.

Even the marinade must be tailored to the ingredient. Gipponi crafts his by balancing fatty, acidic, savoury, sweet and aromatic components. Before cooking, he also brushes the dish with meat or fish stock, wine and oil: a technique that makes the aroma of the smoke more distinct and alluring. Niederkofler reduces the formula to three elements – apple cider vinegar, juniper and a good-quality oil – whilst Liu focuses on fermentation using shio kōji, black garlic and osmanthus honey.

Finally, Nørregaard introduces an important distinction: in his view, fish should not be marinated before grilling. It is better to apply a glaze during cooking or, often, afterwards: toasted yeast, pickled roses, a reduction of mirabelle plum juice and hazelnut butter flavoured with the aroma of the grill.

In short, techniques and ingredients may vary, but the aim remains the same: to complement the fire without allowing it to overpower everything else.