It usually starts with a smell.
Walk around Broomhill Farm on a warm summer evening and you'll notice three things before you see them.
Fresh herbs drying gently in the greenhouses.
Apple cider vinegar quietly maturing nearby.
And somewhere in the distance, the unmistakable smell of food cooking over charcoal.
It's our favourite time of year. The days are longer, meals drift outdoors and somehow everyone seems a little less in a hurry. Barbecues have a way of bringing people together, not because they're complicated, but because they encourage us to slow down, share good food and enjoy the process of cooking.
Over the years we've learnt that memorable barbecue has very little to do with expensive equipment or complicated recipes. More often, it's the result of a few simple habits: seasoning with confidence, cooking patiently and knowing how to bring balance to rich, smoky food.
Meet Your Herb Salts
"Seasoning is about more than adding flavour. It's about deciding what you want each ingredient to become."
One of the questions we're asked most often is, "Which salt should I use with this?"
It's a perfectly reasonable question, but it's not always the most helpful one.
There isn't a right answer.
Cooking is rarely that precise.
Instead of thinking about each blend as something that belongs with a particular ingredient, it helps to think about the character it brings to the food. Every herb has its own personality. Some add warmth and depth, others bring freshness or a gentle savoury note, while a little chilli can quietly lift a dish without overwhelming it.
Once you begin thinking in those terms, choosing a seasoning becomes much more intuitive.
Rosemary Salt
Warm, savoury and deeply comforting.
If there is one blend that captures the feeling of cooking over fire, it's rosemary.
As it warms, the aroma becomes wonderfully fragrant, mingling with smoke and charcoal in a way that feels unmistakably outdoors. It has an earthy, almost woody character that naturally complements foods with rich, savoury flavours, making it the blend we reach for most often when cooking beef or lamb.
It's equally at home scattered over potatoes before they roast, stirred through olive oil for a simple marinade or sprinkled over large mushrooms as they begin to soften on the grill.
Rosemary doesn't demand attention for itself. Instead, it seems to draw out the richness of the ingredients around it, giving food a little more depth without ever feeling heavy.
If you're unsure which jar to reach for, Rosemary Salt is often the safest place to start.
Particularly good with:
- Beef
- Lamb
- Chicken
- Potatoes
- Mushrooms
- Focaccia
- Root vegetables
Have a closer look at our large Rosemary Salt jars
Thyme Salt
Fresh, aromatic and wonderfully versatile.
Where rosemary adds warmth, thyme brings brightness.
Its gentle herbal character works beautifully with lighter foods, adding freshness without masking their natural flavour. Fish, chicken and grilled vegetables all seem to benefit from thyme's delicate balance, especially when they're finished with a little olive oil or a splash of apple cider vinegar.
It's also one of our favourite seasonings for vegetables. Courgettes, peppers, asparagus and onions all develop a sweeter, fuller flavour over the barbecue, and thyme seems to bring those qualities into sharper focus.
A simple salad dressing made with olive oil, apple cider vinegar and Thyme Salt is often all that's needed to bring together a plate of grilled vegetables.
It's a quietly confident blend that earns its place on the table time and time again.
Particularly good with:
- Fish
- Chicken
- Courgettes
- Peppers
- Asparagus
- Tomatoes
- Salads
Look a little closer at our Thyme Salt jars
Chilli Salt
Warm, lively and full of character.
People sometimes expect Chilli Salt to be fiercely hot.
In reality, that's not what it's designed to do.
We've always preferred a gentle warmth that builds gradually rather than overpowering everything else on the plate. The chilli adds energy and depth without hiding the flavour of the food itself, making it just as useful on a burger as it is sprinkled over grilled sweetcorn or stirred into a simple marinade.
It's particularly good with foods that have a little natural richness. Burgers, sausages, pork and prawns all seem to welcome that gentle warmth, while roasted vegetables gain an extra layer of flavour without becoming noticeably spicy.
If you enjoy a little heat but still want to taste the ingredients you've cooked, this is the blend to reach for.
Particularly good with:
- Burgers
- Sausages
- Pork
- Prawns
- Sweetcorn
- Chicken wings
- Grilled peppers