Outdoor Kitchen with Stone Barbecue, Made in Italy

A lit barbecue goes from the temperature of the air to that of glowing embers in a few minutes, the night cools it again, and in winter it meets the frost. Refractory stone was made for exactly this: it is the material of bread ovens and of the fireboxes of fireplaces, it expands very little, it stores heat and releases it slowly, so the food cooks more evenly. Cement and masonry, by contrast, open at the joints with every cycle of heat, and after a few seasons the cracks appear. Our kitchen is assembled on site from blocks of refractory stone; refractory bricks hold the heat behind the grill, and over everything comes the worktop cut in our workshop in Aprilia.

Refractory stone takes all three.

• Wood-fired barbecue: the embers are prepared in the open bay, with a back of refractory bricks and a grill that adjusts in height. It is the slowest and most fragrant way to cook, and the one found in the models of the Economy range.
• Charcoal barbecue: the same refractory stone structure, quicker to light and steadier in heat; the choice of those who cook often but have no firewood to hand.
• Built-in gas barbecue: we work with BeefEater and Bull, with the Cabinex series and with Fogher modules. The stainless steel unit drops into the stone worktop, in an opening cut by CNC, with the air gap the manufacturer prescribes; the gas bottle or supply line sits in a ventilated compartment, never a sealed one.

The same block also houses the griddle, the side burners, the sink with outdoor taps, the fridge and the wine cooler, and the drawers and doors in steel or treated timber.

Beside the barbecue, the oven is the other heart of the outdoor kitchen. The refractory stone dome reaches the temperature a pizza needs and holds it for bread and slow roasts after the fire has died down, on the heat it has stored. The arched mouth, with its steel or cast-iron door, closes the chamber when required and keeps the flame where it belongs. Beneath the worktop, sheltered from the rain, sits the log store.

Outdoors, smoke has no ceiling to cross, but it has the wind. The steel hood above the grill gathers the smoke and guides it upwards through a short flue: without a hood, embers under a pergola or a porch blacken the beams and spoil the meal. In the design we look at the aspect of the garden and the prevailing winds, place the fire downwind of the tables and of the windows of the house, and keep the mouth of the flue above the height of the cook. Under a closed roof, such as a veranda, we treat it as we would a fireplace: a flue that leaves through the roof, and non-combustible materials around the opening. The precise rules depend on your local authority and on the manufacturer of the gas appliance: we check them during the site survey.

Only refractory stone works in direct contact with the flame; the worktop around it is chosen from the stones that fear neither the nearby embers nor the lemon on the chopping board. Granite and quartzite, in 2 or 3 cm slabs, are compact and low in absorption, and take a hot pan without a mark. Sintered stone, Dekton or Laminam, is ultra-compact and is worked in thinner gauges, useful on a terrace where weight matters. Marble remains possible, honed or brushed and sealed: we recommend it for the serving surfaces, the sides and the table, preferably under a pergola, while next to the grill we prefer granite.

The Economy range in refractory stone is the most direct way to have barbecue, oven, sink and worktops in a single block: the models, from 70 to 113, are complete and are adapted in size to the space you have. When the garden asks for more, the design starts from scratch: an island or a U-shape with a built-in gas barbecue, the oven alongside, the fridge and the wine cooler, and a granite or quartzite worktop chosen slab by slab. In both cases the structure is the same refractory stone, and the 3D drawing places the block, the barbecue and the oven in your garden before installation.

An outdoor kitchen is a hearth, and it is designed with the same care. The fire keeps its distance from timber doors, hedges, awnings and the beams of the pergola; the area around the grill is stone or steel, never anything that burns. The floor in front of the barbecue is stone or porcelain tile, so a fallen ember leaves no mark. The gas barbecue respects the air gaps stated by its manufacturer, the bottle compartment is open at the bottom so that any leak can escape, and the connection is made by a qualified gas fitter. Cables and sockets are rated for outdoor use.

In Aprilia, between Rome and Latina, we have worked marble and stone since 1976. For a kitchen with a barbecue, the site survey, free in Rome, Latina and throughout Lazio, looks at three things more than it would for an indoor kitchen: where the wind comes from, where the firewood can stay dry, and where gas, water and power can run. You choose the slabs for the worktop with us in the workshop; our own team assembles the refractory stone, fits the appliances and connects the sink and the fridge. We also deliver and install abroad on a project basis, as we did for the Dubai project.

The full picture of stones, layouts and lead times is on the page for marble and stone outdoor kitchens; the ready-made models are on the page for refractory stone barbecues and kitchens. For choosing the worktop, read the guide Outdoor kitchen: which stone to choose and the pages on Dekton, Laminam and travertine. The quote is free.