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“The flat-top griddle is a huge growth area in our industry,” says Johnson.
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A good choice is the 36-inch Blackstone griddle, with its generous carbon-rolled cooking surface. It comes with a cover, a magnetic strip that utensils can hang from, and dual-side shelves to rest plates and a pivoting paper towel holder to wipe grease blobs. It has four independent zones and 38,000 BTUs, which means high heat and fast cooking.
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Another option is to create your own hybrid model by replacing one or two cooking grills of a standard barbecue with a flat top, says Johnson. Napoleon is one of three quality barbecues he recommends that can accommodate this set-up, along with Weber and Broil King.
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In terms of aesthetics and performance, the current standout is a matte-black barbecue with glowing knobs that change from blue to red when they’re turned on. It’s a safety feature and snazzy, too. “The Prestige Phantom lineup from Napoleon is a gorgeous barbecue,” says Johnson, evocative of “motorcycles or cars with matte black finish and metallic accents.”
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The colour is a best-seller. “Matte black resonates among multiple brands,” says Johnson, listing Shadow from Broil King and Stealth from Weber as other dark matte favourites.
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Still, the hits-of-colour trend is holding its own, especially in modular island set-ups. “Certain brands of barbecues are coming out with islands that you can put colour panels on,” says Johnson. This includes both the barbecue itself and the cabinetry.
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Crown Verity, a premium barbecue brand, has a good range. “We offer eight core colours to choose from for our grills and components, but the fun really starts with customization,” says Amanda Dickson, Crown Verity’s brand manager. “There are infinite possibilities. Some of the most popular picks have been Alaskan Midnight, Napa Valley Olive and Muskoka Mist [a greyish hue]” she says.
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Eden Grinshpan, the Top Chef Canada host, chef and author — she released her newest cookbook, Tahini, Baby, in April — is a big fan of her Crown Verity barbecue.
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“It’s incredibly powerful, and it’s stainless steel, so it’s easy to clean,” she says. “It gets hot really quickly and I can grill a lot in one go.”
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The Matty Matheson-branded orange pizza oven adds a pop of colour on the patio. Photo by SuppliedArticle content
She also owns an old-school charcoal grill that she pops underneath her patio when not in use. She’s drawn to charcoal grills, she says, because “they’re fun, they don’t take too much room and they add a different vibe, flavour-wise.” “You can throw kebabs on and they get nice and smoky and delicious.”
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And if pizza is your thing, portable, colourful models are an easy addition to an outdoor entertaining setup.
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Matt DeMille, of the soon-to-be-open Matt’s Good Food in Belleville, a food retail spot with prepared items and catering, says his pizza oven is a friend magnet. “It really is the focal point,” says DeMille. “No one loves being in the kitchen when guests are over. But in the backyard, people gather around the (pizza) oven, have a drink or two.” He owns an Ooni Koda 2 Pro that runs on propane. “I’ve used charcoal and wood (pizza ovens), but for me, propane is perfect. It’s plug and play,” he says.