Poole pub to host Sunday roast pop-up where dinner is cooked over open fire

Hosted by locally trained chef Matt Cross, 29, everything will be cooked over an open fire, including slow-roasted meats, vegetables and desserts.

"With food costs going up, I think people want more than just a meal," Matt, who lives in Poole, explains. "I want dining to me a memorable experience, and there is a kind of theatre to seeing your food cooked over an open fire. The style of cooking is based on traditional Argentinian Asado, but we use local produce and offer a traditionally British menu."

For Matt, the idea grew out of a desire to get people trying new foods and eating more socially, as well as to introduce the idea of winter barbecues to UK.

"I like the idea of sharing platters and social dining," he says. "There isn't really much of a pop-up scene in Poole, so I'm hoping to get people immersed within the cooking and create a dining atmosphere to match the food."

Matt trained as a chef at Bournemouth College before becoming involved with Meatopia, the largest fire cooking event in the UK. He went on to teach chefs in London how to cook over an open fire, and held a successful pop-up event in the capital before bringing the idea back to his hometown.

The first pop-up at The Butchers Dog, which is located in Ashley Cross, attracted more than 90 customers, with dishes including roasted lamb and cauliflower cheese. All the meat used at the events is sourced locally and bought from P. Keatings Butchers in Wimborne.

Matt will also be holding a festive fire feast at Nuffield Industrial State on Sunday, December 15, from 12.30pm.

The Butchers Dog is an independent, family-owned craft beer bar selling a range of the latest and greatest craft beers on tap, cask and bottle. The pub is also dog and bicycle friendly.

Sittings for the pop-events will be at 1pm, 3pm, and 5pm. To book a place, email ashleycross@butchersdogdorset.com. To see Matt's cooking style in action, visit @crossfirecooking on Instagram.