How Tournant’s Chefs Mastered the Art of Open Fire Cooking — Smoke Point

For professional chefs looking to break free from the traditional kitchen, Tournant’s Jaret Foster and Mona Johnson offer a masterclass in the logistics and execution of outdoor live-fire catering. Moving beyond standard grilling, the Pacific Northwest-based duo operates a fully mobile, open-fire kitchen, adapting to diverse and unpredictable outdoor landscapes. The core takeaway for the culinary professional is the sheer adaptability required: rather than relying on static kitchen lines, chefs must master heat management across various apparatuses—from portable grill beds to heavy-duty cast iron cookware—whilst contending with wind, ambient temperature, and fuel variability.

Techniques in Live-Fire Execution

Live-fire cooking demands a sensory-driven approach to heat management. Tournant demonstrates several distinct methodologies that leverage wood and charcoal. For instance, their cedar-planked salmon uses indirect, gentle heat to infuse the fish with essential oils and woodsmoke without drying out the delicate flesh. They also utilise ancestral European techniques, such as the Croatian peka (a domed iron bell covered in hot embers) to slowly braise lamb shoulder and seasonal vegetables in their own juices. Another highlight is the éclade de moules (mussels roasted under a bed of pine needles), demonstrating how intense, brief heat can cook shellfish rapidly while imparting a distinctive, resinous smoke profile. Understanding these variations in heat—direct, indirect, radiative, and conductive—is critical for any chef aiming to control consistency in the wild.

Logistical Rigour and Environmental Adaptability

Taking a kitchen into nature requires rigorous preparation. Chefs must design menus around resilient, seasonal ingredients that can withstand the transport and holding times associated with outdoor cooking. When preparing large-scale pork roasts or whole fish, success depends on staging the fire hours in advance to build a stable bed of coals. Pitfalls like flare-ups, inconsistent wood quality, and sudden wind shifts require constant vigilance and manual micro-adjustments. Ultimately, Tournant proves that mastering the outdoor kitchen is as much about logistical foresight and fire-building organisation as it is about the final culinary technique.