Go for the meat, stay for the salad and dessert at Smoke ’n’ Barrel’s new home base

Wednesday, 24 May 2023

Cory, left, and Renee Blackburn, and Chris Geary are the owners of Smoke ’n’ Barrel, which opened in March on Ferry Rd.

A new restaurant in Christchurch understands that after a plate of smoked meat and salad, the cherry on top is a good dessert.

And what better sweet treat than a traditional American pie, in a different flavour each week, made from genuine US family recipes.

The menu is inspired by Texas barbecue, with a Kiwi slant and salads influenced by popular chef Yotam Ottolenghi.

Smoke ’n’ Barrel has been feeding the masses for several years, starting out as a food truck, before co-owners Renee and Cory Blackburn joined founder Chris Geary and expanded to catering.

But as things “grew and grew, year after year with word of mouth”, the next logical step was finding a place that Smoke ’n’ Barrel could call home, Renee Blackburn said.

Smoke ’n’ Barrel began as a food truck before expanding into catering and later opening a permanent restaurant in Woolston.

That place became the former Twisted Hop premises on Woolston’s Ferry Rd, where Smoke ’n’ Barrel opened its doors in March.

The two chefs behind the menu of smoked meat, Ottolenghi-inspired salads and dessert pies have spent years creating dishes in cafes, restaurants and five-star hotels around the world.

Customers rave about the meat, Renee says, but they are “blown away” by the salads.

Along with 25 years’ experience, Cory Blackburn has brought his American heritage with him, which comes with four generations of family pie recipes.

“We’ve got regulars already that come in to try the pie which changes flavour every week,” Renee Blackburn said.

Kiwi fruit pies might be limited to just a few flavours, but in America the list of flavours is as big as your imagination. Menus can include cashew and pecan pie, blueberry pie and lemon chocolate pie along with traditional favourites like Dutch apple and pumpkin.

Smoke ’n’ Barrel bucks tradition, especially when it comes to the Texas barbecue style the food is inspired by, “bringing in what New Zealand has to offer as well”.

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The meat that gets the most comments is the lamb oyster blade, which is “super moist and just falls apart”, paired with homemade spicy harissa sauce.

Barbecue meat used to be something Blackburn had to explain to people before the scene started to kick off about five years ago, she said.

“You don’t have to do that any more, everyone understands it.”

There are no snags or minute steak on Smoke ’n’ Barrel barbie – it’s about low and slow, with the meat smoked in a barrel for hours.

The salads should come second place, but feedback had shown otherwise, she said.

The premises that once housed the Twisted Hop now holds movie nights, quiz nights and a $25 Sunday roast special.

“People often comment they expected the meat to be good, and the meat was good, but they’re blown away by the salad – they don’t expect that to be a showpiece, and they really are.”

The restaurant space is a community hub in the neighbourhood the Blackburns call home, with movie nights and quiz nights held weekly, and a $25 Sunday roast on offer.

“It really is about people spending time together,” Renee Blackburn said.

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