Cementing the bricks in place, a softer mortar allows bricks to expand and contract with changing levels of heat. “That’s the way we finish a lot of our proteins, so they get that final touch of smoke before they go out to the guest,” notes Hodgkinson.įor safety and efficiency, firebricks line the entire hearth. Over the top of the grill sits a custom-built smoke box. The center grill is fed from below its interior is lined with firebricks, which creates an immense amount of directed heat. The culinary team can use cast aluminum crank wheels to adjust the height of the cooking surface. On the two side grills, the firebed is at waist level with grills suspended above. Photo by Andrew Thomas LeeKing + Duke features a 6-foot center grill sandwiched by a pair of 4-foot grills. An efficient air return system keeps the restaurant comfortable despite the “24 feet of inferno happening.” “It’s the warmest place in the restaurant, but not oppressively hot,” says Hodgkinson. “The hearth is the focal point and the heart of the restaurant,” says Hodgkinson.Īt the restaurant’s Chef’s Counter, where four coveted seats reside almost directly in front of the fire, guests can watch the action and eat dishes hot off the grill. From their seats, guests can watch the cooks working the grills. The smell of wood smoke lures guests from the parking lot, and when they walk in the front door they have a clear line of sight to the open hearth blazing in the middle of the dining room. Much of the restaurant’s menu of locally sourced ingredients is cooked on a battery of three wood-fueled grills set in a 24-foot hearth. Named after characters in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, King + Duke is one of chef Ford Fry’s seven Atlanta-area restaurant concepts. “It speaks to something nostalgic in its flavor profile and harkens back to your first barbecue with the family when you smell all the charcoal-y smoke in the air.” Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee“The flavor you get from cooking over live fire is unparalleled,” says EJ Hodgkinson, executive chef at King + Duke in Atlanta, Ga.
On either side is a smaller wood-burning grill with cooking surfaces that can be raised or lowered. The focal point of King + Duke’s interior is the hearth where a large center grill sits below a smoker box.
And they’re not only central to the menu but are the focus of these operations’ brand essence and design aesthetic. These are not backyard hibachis but rather top-quality commercial equipment designed for the rigors of hard restaurant use. And a growing cadre of chef-driven restaurants takes the hot concept a step further, using wood-fired grills and hearths to prepare nearly their entire menus. The demand for authentic Neapolitan-style pizza has fueled installation of wood-fired brick ovens in trattorias and other casual concepts around the U.S.
Today, the scent and savor of wood-grilled foods continue to exert a primeval appeal, and a growing number of restaurants now make live-fire hearths the heart of their concepts. Ancient architects laid the hearthstone first, then built the home or inn around the fireplace, the central nexus for heating and cooking.
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