BBQ Champ, ITV: Episode 3 review - ‘the challenge we’ve wanted to see all along’

The contestants cook huge meat cuts ‘low and slow’ as the competition heats up
Succulent: Adam Richman challenges the contestants to a 'low and slow' task
ITV
Ben Travis14 August 2015

Let’s be honest – most viewers were gutted when Solomon was booted from BBQ Champ last week.

OK, so the Brixton Soup Kitchen founder didn’t really know how to barbecue anything other than jerk chicken, but he brought much-needed heart and soul to the series.

The show must go on, though, and this time around it all went even more Bake Off than usual with a pudding-based challenge. The contestants were tasked with creating desserts on the BBQ with a drink to match, forcing them to think inventively about how to use their grills.

That meant we got everything from grilled peaches with salted caramel from Simon, which was certainly popular with buoyant American judge Adam Richman, to ‘deconstructed’ (aka falling apart) bacon candied brownies from Emma, and rhubarb and raspberry éclairs from Tony, which failed to impress with plenty of raw pastry.

More exciting was the location challenge, titled ‘Low and Slow’ – this is what we’ve wanted to see from BBQ Champ all along, the sort of succulent slow-cooked meats that make our mouths water incessantly when watching Richman’s most famous show, Man v Food.

A trip to Red’s True BBQ in Leeds showed that the UK can serve up brisket as delicious as across the pond (Richman’s face when they gave him a chunk said more than words ever could), and London viewers will be happy to know that a Shoreditch branch recently opened.

The five-hour cook-off saw the contestants given huge 25lb hunks of meat to slowly barbecue for hungry London city workers. Things got off to a rough start when Richman watched on horrified as the contestants began trimming the fat – essentially the majority of the flavour – from their cuts. In his words, you can’t fake good barbecue, because: “like Shakira’s hips, the meat don’t lie.” Ultimately, the majority of the contestants fared well, but it was a shame not to see Solomon joining them.

The Great British Bake Off 2015 - meet the contestants

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Unlike Bake Off, whose formula BBQ Champ wisely cleaves to, we’re not too attached to the competiting BBQ-ers so far, which made it difficult to care too much when the grill-off loser was sent packing, despite a close call between the two contestants. Hopefully the remaining episodes can show off their personalities a bit more.

Still, BBQ Champ remains entirely watchable thanks to Richman’s charm – but be sure to have a big plate of meat handy or you’ll be left with serious food envy.

ITV, 9pm

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