The BBQ of the future?

Last year in another guise , I commissioned a barbecue test asking Tom Adams, founder and head chef of London BBQ joint Pitt Cue Co, to help us judge which griller was killer. Back then we concluded that, if you want to be a purist, the Big Green Egg was the winner as it was well insulated, versatile and one load of charcoal would cook for an impressive 24 hours.

At the time, however, I was disappointed at the lack of technology available to those of us who love producing backyard burnt offerings for the family on summer days in rain or shine. Now though, the Lynx SmartGrill, from the land of quality barbecue - the US of A, has arrived bristling with gadgetry and promising to banish scorched sausages once and for all. It is the first internet connected BBQ – which means it can cook your food by voice command.

The $9,499 SMART42F SmartGrill, Lynx’s flagship model, can wirelessly access an online database of grilling information so that a voice-activated interface asks the boss (that’s you) a couple of questions about what will be cooked, then downloads comprehensive instructions from this database, even down to the which is the optimal part of the grill to place the food.

For example, ask it to cook some scallops and it counters with asking how many burners you’d like to use. It will then go on to tell you when to flip them and when they are done. The on-board 1.5Ghz Intel processor with 64GB of storage handles all the calculations, while the patented ProSear2 Trident burner (a variable, infrared burner that produces efficient, direct heat) does the cooking. The whole thing is fashioned from high-grade stainless steel and even its cover is carbon fiber vinyl.

It goes without saying that the device cannot do absolutely everything for you - those oh-so-arduous tasks such as applying your own seasoning and serving the awaiting masses will be your domain - but with timing prompts via audio, visual or SMS text message cues, you can go about getting other things perfect, such as the Pimms. And should you feel completely left out of the cooking process, the SmartGrill includes a "learning module" that lets you update its database with your bespoke preferences – so you can tweak recipes and cooking times and therefore justifiably take credit for your al fresco culinary efforts.

Sensibly, just in case you were a little worried about letting the web control your outdoor oven, the SmartGrill will shut itself off if it does not hear instructions for 30 minutes – or you can turn all the gadgetry off completely and operate it on manual. 

To make your BBQ session even more teched up, may we suggest adding the superb $1,100 Kube cooler to the party, which not only keeps the beer chilled in stylish fashion but also thanks to back-lit controls and Bluetooth connectivity is a wireless speaker with a supposed 20 hours of battery life and can be heard from up to 500 feet away. So with the food, drinks and music taken care of by digital companions, all you need to do is concentrate on your guests, making sure the weather holds, and the Pimms.