Heidi’s BBQ Club Chronicles: where every bite tells a story – course three: ChalkStream Smoked Trout

‘ChalkStream Smoked Trout’ Maple plank ChalkStream trout, cultured cream, pickled Pink Lady, pickled cucumber, dill oil

Wine pairing: Quinta do Ameal Vinho Verde – vibrant, mineral and slightly saline, it brings out the brightness of the lime and cucumber against the smoky trout.

This summer marks our eighth year of serving up bold, smoky, and unforgettable flavours at this iconic riverside location. Curated by Head Chef Heidi Stiller and Founder Jimmy, this year’s tasting menu is a journey of taste, creativity, and the joy of cooking over flames.

Together with Founder Jimmy, Heidi has spent months experimenting, tasting and fine-tuning each dish to ensure the flavours shine. Sustainability and seasonality are at the heart of the menu, and this trout dish showcases both.

The ChalkStream® rainbow trout is slow-grown by our friend Hugo and his team at ChalkStream Foods in Romsey, Hampshire, using the pure, fast-flowing waters of the River Test. ChalkStream® is supplied by the only farms on the Test and Itchen rivers, two of the most iconic and environmentally important chalk streams in the world.

“Hugo is obsessed with quality,” Heidi explains. “He raises these trout over two years and the result is lean, clean and beautifully flavoured fish.”

These globally rare rivers, with 85 percent of the world’s chalk streams found in England, are fed almost exclusively by springs rising from chalk downland. Rainfall filters slowly through the chalk bedrock and emerges months later as gin-clear water, rich in minerals and nutrients. This natural process creates a stable, mineral-rich habitat ideal for rearing trout. As river conservationist and author Simon Cooper writes in Life of a Chalkstream, it is “the closest thing to heaven on earth for rearing trout.”

The trout is barbecued on maple wood, adding a delicate sweetness. It is served with cultured cream, brightened with lime zest and juice, and paired with pickled Pink Lady apple, cucumber and a drizzle of dill oil. “It’s light, clean and perfectly balanced,” says Heidi. “We’re really proud to have it on the menu and to work with people like Hugo who care as much about their produce as we do.”

Join us at The BBQ Club for a riverside dinner with heart and flavour.

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