Hardwood Charcoal. Real Fire.
Every dish is cooked over hardwood lump charcoal and live flame. Your understanding of heat, smoke and structure develops naturally through study, repetition and progression — not isolated lectures.
A Global Culinary Progression
Cook through a carefully sequenced series of live-fire dishes drawn from multiple cultures. Each cook introduces new techniques, flavour systems and fire applications that complement what came before.
Structured Self-Discovery
This is a guided, but self-directed program. You follow the curriculum, recipes and notes — and develop sharper judgment, broader skill and deeper understanding by doing the work yourself.
About the Program
The Northern Barbecue™ Method: Foundations in Fire course is built for outdoor cooks who already know how to grill or smoke but who are no longer satisfied repeating the same rotation. It's for those who want challenge, expansion and structure to become better outdoor cooks. Everything is learned through self-guided reading, research and doing. You cook through a carefully sequenced progression of globally inspired live-fire dishes using hardwood charcoal and real flame. Each module builds on the last, or introduces a new skill or core knowledge component. Skills are not separated into lessons; they are absorbed learning and doing (practical application). Heat awareness deepens. Flavour literacy expands. Fire becomes something you shape, not something you react to. The curriculum is structured. The work is self-guided. The growth is earned. By the end, you will not simply have cooked new dishes. You will think differently about charcoal, global barbecue culture and live fire — and carry that understanding into every cook that follows.
Course Curriculum
The Foundations in Fire Course is Structured as Follows 10 Modules - 57 Lessons Introduction Module 1: The Foundations of Global Fire Module 2: South American Live-Fire Traditions Module 3: Brazilian Churrasco and Heat Zones Module 4: Precision and High-Heat Mastery Module 5: Balkan Live-Fire Street Food Module 6: Clay and Spice Cooking Module 7: Vertical Fire Architecture Module 8: Primal Fire and Patience Summary and Completion
Required Grills, Tools & Accessories
In order to complete the Foundations in Fire course curriculum, a number of specialty grills, tools and accessories will be required. While the first lesson or two can be completed with a basic charcoal set-up, later lessons will require specialty items as noted below. Grills (Mandatory): ● Charcoal grill (kamado, kettle, etc.)* ● Konro* ● Vertical Charcoal Rotisserie* Grills (Recommended): ● Gaucho grill (or large rectangular charcoal grill) ● Sut with mesh grill top Other Cooker/Vessels: ● Tagine (mandatory)* ● Kanoun (for tagine, optional) Charcoal, Fuel and Accessories: ● Hardwood lump charcoal (high quality)* ● Binchotan (or manufactured high-density binchotan alternate)* ● Shirozumi (optional, can use binchotan) ● Hardwood split logs (for asador) ● Pimento wood chips (optional) ● Kiawe wood chips or chunks (optional) ● Churrasco swords (2 large, 2 medium, 1 small)* ● Wooden or metal skewers, flat style (6" to 9") for Yakitori* ● Small sword skewers (for ražnjići)* ● Asado iron cross or basket version NOTE: *Items marked with an asterisk are mandatory items. Items marked as optional or that do not have an asterisk are items for which something else in the course can be substituted. However, please note that for the full benefit of the learning experience, it is ideal if all items are used as noted. More detail on all of these items is covered in the corresponding module of the course. Students are expected to be equipped with a standard set of hardwood charcoal barbecue tools and accessories (long tongs, high-heat gloves, instant read thermometer and probes, etc.)
Mike Belobradic
I have been cooking over hardwood heat for over 35 years. I am a culinary school graduate and KCBS Certified Barbecue Judge, but a decade of exploring beyond everyday grilling and Southern-style barbecue — driven by curiosity for fire and global traditions — transformed the way I cook. Foundations in Fire grew from that journey: a structured method that expanded my skills, knowledge, and love of live-fire cooking. It’s a path to broaden your skills, explore new techniques, and deepen your understanding of cooking over hardwood heat. Visit my site at SmokeFireGrill.ca
Take Your Live-Fire Cooking to the Next Level with Foundations in Fire.
Explore new dishes, techniques, and global flavours over hardwood charcoal and flame.
$297.00