Supplying quality meat is not the only thing that occupies independent butchers as people ready their grills for warmer days. Award-winning Alf Turner butchers in Aldershot, Hampshire, has collaborated with the nearby Hogs Back Brewery to commemorate VE Day with a limited-edition beer.

Kirkby Lonsdale institution Dales Traditional Butchers, and its owner Mark Duckworth both have a history of winning awards. Yet this accolade certainly lifts spirits at a difficult time, as Mark tragically lost a friend in the fire. 

Botanicals, barbecues & bees

With a growing passion for live-fire cooking, alongside her gardening and beekeeping, it was time for AMY NEWSOME to head to The Salt Box in Surrey.

Competitors will battle it out at the Ludlow Food & Drink Festival, using only their live fire knowledge and the Kadai range, to create exceptional dishes that showcase their ability to harness heat, smoke, and embers.

British BBQ blew fire into the BBC’s Dragons’ Den last night, as the story of LumberjAxe, the sauce and seasoning business founded by Birmingham brothers Brendon and Jaydon Manders, captivated the Dragons – and one in particular, as fashion tycoon Emma Grede invested in the food company, with plans already hotting up to take the brand global.

Aussie icon in the English backyard

BeefEater, distributed in over 35 countries, is an icon of Australian BBQ, but with worldwide appeal, offering free-standing and built-in grills, as well as entire outdoor kitchens, incorporating all the elements to cook and entertain outdoors.

Outdoor living in a material world

Choosing the right materials for the outdoor space – where we increasingly live, work and entertain – is vitally important, especially when it comes to external worktops and surfaces, says Jonathan Stanley, vice-president of marketing at Caesarstone UK.

The Great Outdoors

Time to relax in the garden, fire up the grills and treat friends and family to a feast, and, for today’s housebuilders, designing outside space is now as important as indoors, reports GINETTA VEDRICKAS

Light and shade. Outdoor Living is revolutionising the garden space, but entertaining and relaxing need to come with all-weather solutions. Caribbean Blinds has the answer, says RUPERT BATES