Essence BBQ Lab

Based in the west of Melbourne, essencebbqLAB offers the complete barbecue experience, where you are immersed in the very science of barbecuing.

This essencebbqLAB masterclass shows you the scientifically proven methods of barbecue cookery and takes you on a delicious culinary journey. You will travel from intensely hot direct grilling, to all things low & slow. You will learn the science and multi-layered factors that go into creating these delicious foods.
The 5-hour event is a 10 course demonstration style masterclass, limited to 7 participants who are expertly guided by the passionate creator of essencebbqLAB chef Bart Beek. Bart has been involved in the hospitality industry since 1972, was trained at the famous Cordon Bleu school in Paris and has taught commercial cookery. Since 2016, Bart as Executive Chef for Everdure by Heston Blumenthal, has travelled the world with Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck group chefs, presenting delicious culinary delights.

Our early descendants discovered that raw meats became easier to eat when exposed to the fire, it set us apart and started our journey as humans. Then we stumbled across a byproduct of fire called charcoal, we harnessed its power and we became a civilization. Over time these cooking skills developed and were passed on to the generations that followed. These cooking methods worked fine for a range of reasons, but early wisdom was not accurate and many beliefs were wrong. Modern scientific research on all the principals of cooking has changed the way we now approach the cooking process.