People don’t ‘master’ the art of barbecuing until they’re 38, poll suggests

Londoners claim to be most talented, but those in South West start cooking younger

Stoking the coals of the argument that barbecuing is a fine art, a new poll has suggested most people don’t truly master the grill until they are 38 years old.

The survey of 1,000 adults found this is the age at which one is able to successfully cook a burger without turning it into charcoal, grill a sausage without it being pink in the middle and perfectly toast a veggie kebab.

In order to achieve such status, respondents felt it was essential to own all the correct utensils, be unflappable under pressure and never let food fall onto the coals.

The poll was commissioned in the lead up to “Super Sunday”, which will see the Cricket World Cup final, Wimbledon men’s final and the F1 British Grand Prix fall on the same day.

According to four in 10 of those surveyed, sporting events and barbecuing go “hand in hand”.

“This weekend is set to be one of the biggest of the year for barbecue action and we can see from the research that there will be a mix of confidence levels out there,” B&Q’s category manager for outdoor, Christopher Ray, said.

“Some people already feel like experts and others recognise they need to fine tune their skills and get their hands on some more tools for the best results.

“With the right equipment, you can shave off a significant period of time in developing your barbecue mastery.’’

The poll suggested adults typically host their first barbecue when they are 32 years old, with many seeing this as a logical next step once they have their own home and the space to do so.

While Londoners claim to be the most talented barbecuers, with two in 10 classing themselves as “masters”, those in the South West and Wales are generally sooner in hosting their first barbecue, aged 29.

Three quarters said they can confidently serve up the basics of sausages and burgers, while four in 10 said they also cook steak.

The foods respondents reported feeling least confident cooking on the barbecue were a roast joint, fruit and duck meat.

SWNS