Chef Ben Chamberlain: Mastering the Art of Live Fire Cooking at WILD

In the culinary world, few chefs possess the ability to harness fire as both a tool and an art form quite like Chef Ben Chamberlain. Renowned for his mastery of live fire cooking, Chamberlain has carved out a unique niche, combining bold live-fire cooking techniques with an immersive dining experience that places the elemental beauty of coal at their centre.

After 8 years on the Isle of Wight, Ben has returned to the mainland to take-up residency at WILD Restaurant. The menu concept, ‘Welcome to the Wild’, he fondly describes as his ‘dream job’, is an open-fire restaurant located within the award-winning luxury boutique hotel, Bull Burford, Oxfordshire. Situated in a sunken courtyard, it offers a communal dining experience centred around the elemental allure of fire. Guests can observe as locally-sourced meat, game, seafood, and a ‘zero food miles’ array of seasonal vegetables and microgreens from the Priory garden and polytunnels, owned by Bull Burford and are prepared on an open grill.

WILD’s ambiance is designed to transport diners from the modern world’s frenzy into a warm, inviting atmosphere reminiscent of the wild, complete with a curtained copper table that keeps guests’ toes cosy from the heat of the grill in its centre. The communal table setup is housed in a very luxurious canvas outbuilding to the rear of the hotel. It encourages interaction among guests, who may not already know each other, enhancing the dining experience.

WILD has received positive reviews for its unique dining concept. Giles Coren of The Times described it as “brilliant and beautiful,” highlighting the unconventional and exciting atmosphere.

Chef Ben Chamberlain’s journey into the world of live fire cooking began with a fascination for the primal nature of cooking over flames. “Fire is unpredictable & captivating, which is addictive when designing new dishes. I always ask guests for their food favourites in advance of their booking and craft a surprise menu around those” Chamberlain says. “Live-fire cooking demands respect, precision, and creativity, and in return, it gives flavours that no other cooking method can replicate and adds an element of theatre to each dish made fresh in front of my guests.”

Chamberlain has transformed this passion into a culinary philosophy, utilising wood, coal, and open flames to craft dishes that resonate with depth and authenticity. Each crackle and ember in his fire-filled kitchen serves as both an ingredient and an inspiration, elevating the dining experience into something truly extraordinary.

“I cannot believe my luck in being invited to curate, create and run the WILD concept, Ben explained, I get to cook the food I love and talk to guests about every stage from farm to fork, sea, river, plot or gate to plate, this is my happy place and it really is a privilege.”

Ben has mastered the art of cooking with coal and is proud to use Big K restaurant grade charcoal in every element of his menu as both an ingredient and his fuel source. Big K kindly sent a bag of restaurant grade charcoal and some hickory chips for Ben to play with prior to the shoot with The Chefs’ Forum media crew and he came up with a stunning selection of recipes and dishes for us to film:

Venison Tartare, Sake-Pickled Golden Enoki, Rhubarb Hot Sauce, Shiso, Fire Pit Onions, Cacklebean Egg Yolk – View recipe HERE.

Ben paired this beautiful dish with a delicious Julien Mus Côte de Rhone 202, with its pure 100% ganache and distinctive dried fruit and rich pruneux notes.

At the heart of Chef Ben Chamberlain’s live fire expertise is his exceptional use of coal, charcoal and wood chips. Unlike gas or induction hobs, coal provides a nuanced and dynamic heat source that allows for the perfect blend of char, smoke, and sear. Whether it’s a perfectly blistered cut of meat or a delicate vegetable kissed by smoky embers, Chamberlain has mastered the balance required to bring out the best in each ingredient.

“Coal cooking is about patience and intuition,” explains Chamberlain. “The heat from coal is steady but alive, and it creates flavours that are impossible to replicate in a conventional kitchen.”

His menus are often tailored around coal-centric dishes, such as fire-roasted root vegetables infused with a smoky aroma or tender proteins grilled to perfection over an open flame. Chamberlain’s meticulous attention to detail and dedication to the process make each bite an unforgettable sensory experience.

Guests dining with Chef Ben Chamberlain at WILD can expect a journey into the heart of live fire cooking. His immersive dining experiences are designed to engage all the senses, allowing diners to witness the artistry of flames at work. The crackling of wood, the aroma of coal, and the sight of ingredients transforming before their eyes create a visceral connection to the food, its provenance and the craft behind it.

“Dining should be more than just eating; it should be an experience that brings people together and closer to the primal origins of food and we are so fortunate to have an abundance of fabulous local producers and suppliers around us here in The Cotswolds,” Chamberlain says. “By incorporating fire and coal, we’re able to connect diners to the raw elements that have shaped cooking for centuries.”

Ben’s dining experiences often include live demonstrations, where he showcases his techniques, from building the perfect fire to achieving the ideal char on a dish. Guests leave not only with satisfied palates but also with a newfound appreciation for the power of fire in culinary art.
The innovative use of coal and fire at Ben’s Chef’s Table has set a new standard for the current trend of immersive dining, offering guests the opportunity to see their food being prepared in a communal charcoal-fuelled grill in the middle of the table.

As live fire cooking continues to captivate chefs and guest alike, Ben Chamberlain’s name shines brightly, much like the embers he so skilfully commands. With each dish, he redefines the art of cooking with coal as an ingredient as well as his fuel, proving that sometimes, the oldest cooking methods are still the most powerful.