Fire food and fairways
The Beef is back – on the menu and the golf course. RUPERT BATES talks to Andrew Johnston about his love of BBQ
For Beef read ‘Beeeef!’ Naturally it works better audibly than on the page. So, shout it out loud and to really seal the deal – and the meat – do it while at the barbecue.
Meet Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston. Most sports stars’ nicknames are as dull as they are predictable, but if a golfer and his nickname were a dream Ryder Cup pairing, it would be Johnston and beef.
When we spoke, Johnston had just come off a fine top 20 finish at Wentworth in the BMW PGA Championship, flagship of the European Tour, if sadly devoid of crowds.
Johnston on the charge would usually be accompanied by the roar of ‘beeeef!’with a ready smile and a wave in response.
As it was, as Tyrrell Hatton strode to victory, all we could hear above the birdsong was the odd curse as a putt was pushed or a chip fluffed – commentators forced by TV rules to apologise for the language.
“Yes, it was a strange atmosphere, although I’m not sure they can expect us to mutter ‘oh what a shame, that wasn’t very good’ when we slice our tee shot!” laughs Johnston.
He does a lot of laughing. Sometimes when a person you haven’t met is built up as a ‘character’ you can be disappointed – the reality often contrived.
Not Beef. I have met many sports people and Andrew Johnston is as natural as they come – a man of the people who just happens to be bloody good at golf.
He is not bad on the barbecue either and for TGI Fridays, the restaurant, food and drink business, its sponsorship of Johnston is the perfect match.
“I am a golf fanatic and want to put beef back on the menu at Fridays in a big way, investing in Scottish beef and improving the quality all the time,” says Robert Cook, CEO of Fridays.
“The beef is back is the message and when I mentioned it to Andrew’s agent (Ian Bird at World in Motion) we both laughed as we realised it was the ideal fit, especially as Beef was well-known among his golfing peers and fans as a great lover of BBQ.”
A Fridays promotion earlier this year showed Johnston hurtling across the fairway in a golf buggy to join Fridays head development chef Terry McDowell cooking on the grill, highlighting the range of The Butcher’s Box, with steaks, burgers, sausages and slow-cooked marinated pork ribs sizzling on the barbecue.
Johnston didn’t need to pretend he was hungry for the camera; this was his food heaven. You suspect if McDowell fired up a barbecue beside the 18th at Augusta as Johnston was lining up a putt to win the US Masters, Beef would be conflicted.
It’s not just the eating for Johnston, but the cooking. “The cooking is inspired by my eating. I love to try different foods, different recipes and am always learning,” says Johnson.
“I did a few briskets and short ribs over lockdown which I was particularly pleased with and am now trying more fish. I always look to pick up tips, but I’m not a pit master – yet!”
As a golfer his work is outdoors and so is his relaxation. “There is something about being outside man and cooking over live fire – good food and a good beer. If you are smoking low and slow you can take all day and relax, especially if I’ve come home after a run of tournaments and just want to chill over the grill.”
Haskell relishes the challenge of getting the balance right cooking over coals, or using his Traeger grill. “I get a real buzz from the different flavours and textures you can create. My favourite BBQ food is buffalo chicken wings.”
Haskell uses the Traeger Timberline 850 for slow cooking; the Thuros T1 for cooking over charcoal and the Traeger Ranger for travel.
Haskell says there has been a big rise in the popularity of outdoor cooking and entertaining in the UK, fuelled by social media and “the ease of sharing ideas and recipes”.
“When it comes to barbecue cooking at home, Chloe and I don’t fight for the tongs. She’s happy to let me do it and we’re planning to create an outdoor cooking and decking area.”
Haskell accepts there will always be arguments and conflicting opinions around meat – be it consumption, production and provenance, or its effect on climate change – and that education is key.
“Most importantly, meat needs to be responsibly sourced, organic and ideally British.”
Haskell’s Health & Fitness business includes a Cooking for Fitness book.
The easy stereotype is that big rugby types gorge on industrial quantities of meat – carnivores with not a V sign to be seen.
“A lot of my recipes are vegan and vegetarian friendly. Balance is key and the meat I cook I serve with vegetables and all locally sourced.”
A formidably fit and committed sportsman, Haskell now has a wide range of interests to keep him busy since hanging up his rugby boots last year.
As well as books, blogs and videos on health, fitness and nutrition, he has his own clothing range and likes to DJ in his limited spare time. On top of all that he is training for his first professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight.
The bushfires that ravaged Australia meant that in the celebrity jungle no live fires were allowed and on Australia Day Haskell took part in a music event at the Omeara in London Bridge to raise funds for Red Cross Australia.
Haskell has a huge and healthy appetite for life as well as food and if you watched I’m a Celebrity... you’ll know that if you are ever a guest at a Haskell barbecue and he asks what you’d like to eat and drink – just be decisive.
“I think he outweighs all the top golfers in terms of his personality and refreshing approach to the sport, playing with a smile on his face – super guy and super-accessible. Beef’s freshness and character chimes perfectly with our brand and what we are looking to achieve,”
says Cook.
“Fridays staff, even if they have very little interest in the game, come up to me and say: ‘I see our golfer did well this weekend boss?’ That shows the great relationship.”
We briefly switch sports to football and Johnston, from north London, is a big Arsenal fan, as he dwells on the frustrations of supporting the men from the Emirates, even if Mikel Arteta looks to have them on the right track.
Johnston’s local golf club is North Middlesex, where he has played since the age of nine.
“I’m always threatening to cook a BBQ there, but it’s about finding the time. It’s a fun course with great people and a great bar. A proper club and one of those places if you get stuck there, it is hard to leave!”
Johnston heads off to check out some of the social media posts from Marcus Bawdon of BBQ magazine. “I need to get down to see Marcus in Devon for some cooking tips”.
He also tells Cook they need to sort a weekend of “golf, barbecue and beer”.
That seems typically Johnston, oblivious of his hectic professional golf schedule and ‘keen to chill man’ – family, fire, food and friends is his fourball of choice.
The beef is back.
