Barbecoa, Jamie Oliver's London Shrine to Barbecue

Jamie Oliver's Barbecoa opens in London November 5th, but they started taking reservations for the 200-seat shrine to all things smoked or grilled today. Oliver teamed up with New York chef Adam Perry Lang, and he described their relationship in this great video from Big Hospitality as "the nearest thing I've had to an affair in the last 15 years." Barbecoa features its own butcher shop and a ridiculously impressive kitchen which uses "hardly any gas or electricity." Instead, there are "seven or eight" styles of grills and pits from around the world, including Argentina, Texas, and Japan.

Although they may expand at some point to America or Berlin, the London location will remain the only one in the UK. Oliver cites expense as the reason: Barbecoa has a staff of "120, 130" and cost £3 million (US $4.8 million) to construct. Oliver calls it "a fancy, a dream come true," and plans to work the line there as much as possible. Which doesn't sound like a terrible plan, considering the impressive view of St. Paul's Cathedral.

So why open an upscale barbecue restaurant in London? Because the British need to be schooled on the art of the pit. Says Oliver, "English people, to be honest, don’t understand what barbecuing is, probably 99 percent of the whole population, and that sounds very patronizing and I don’t really care." We're thinking they'll probably learn pretty quickly.

Video: Jamie Oliver Presents New London BBQ Restaurant Barbecoa

· Jamie Oliver Presents New London BBQ Restaurant Barbecoa [Big Hospitality]
· Jamie Oliver Barbecues for Bankers in New City of London Venue: Interview [Bloomberg]
· All Jamie Oliver Coverage on Eater[-E-]