Pellow Creek Vineyard
64 guests, a harvest dinner between the rows, September
- Flatbread off the plancha, whipped lardo, rosemary
- Beets roasted in the embers, smoked yogurt
- Two lambs from the crosses, salsa verde
- Peaches in cast iron, burnt honey
We tow the fire to your table.
A 14 foot steel fire rig, half a cord of oak and almond, and a crew of five. We park it on your ranch, in your vineyard or in your backyard, light it at four, and cook the whole dinner over it. Nothing comes out of a kitchen.
- From $185
- per guest, all the food and the crew
- 10 guests
- minimum, up to 140 at one table
- Rig and wood
- included, and hauled away after
- 90 miles
- from Alder Springs, no travel fee
The night, hour by hour
Seven hours on one fire, from the first match to the last ember
This is a real evening from last season, 24 guests at a ranch. Tap an hour to see what was on the fire, how hot it was running, and where your guests would be.
4:00pm
Fire lit, lambs up on the crosses
900°Fin the firebox
On the fire
- Split almond, laid log cabin style
- Two whole lambs on iron crosses, a yard back
- Beets and squash waiting for the first embers
Theo lights the firebox the moment the rig is level. Almond burns hot and fast, so it builds the bed of coals the whole night will run on. The lambs go up as soon as the heat is steady and stay there for four hours.
Everything arrives on one 14 foot trailer
Jonah welded the first rig in his father's shop in 2016 out of boiler plate and a boat winch. This is the third one. It needs a flat patch of ground and nothing else from you: no kitchen, no power, no water line.
- 01
A 6 foot steel firebox
Hand-crank grate that rides from 4 to 30 inches above the coals, so we move the food, not the fire.
- 02
Two iron crosses
Each holds a whole lamb or a pig side, planted a yard back from the flames for a four hour cook.
- 03
A 3 foot carbon steel plancha
For flatbread, fish and anything that would fall through a grate.
- 04
Eleven pieces of cast iron
Skillets, two dutch ovens and a 20 quart pot that hangs from a chain over the edge of the fire.
- 05
Half a cord of oak and almond
Split in March, dried under cover all summer. Almond for heat, oak for the long middle of the night.
- 06
Water, extinguishers, an ember pit
A 40 gallon water tank, two extinguishers and a steel pit we douse and haul the ash away in.
A vineyard, a ranch and a backyard, last season
We write every menu for the place and the month. These are three of the 41 dinners we cooked last year, as they were served.
Ninebark Ranch
22 guests, the night after the fall gather, October
- Grilled bread, chiles charred on the grate
- Trout in cast iron, spring onions
- Beef short ribs, eight hours over oak
- Skillet cornbread, sorghum butter
A backyard in Old Mill
12 guests, a 40th birthday, June
- Clams opened on the grate, garlic butter
- Whole cabbage buried in the coals
- Chicken halves from the hanging chain
- Ember-baked apples, cream
Nine years on a restaurant hearth, then a boat winch and some boiler plate
Jonah Brisco ran the wood grill at a city restaurant for nine years. Every summer, friends asked him to cook at their ranches and he turned up with a borrowed kettle grill and a bag of charcoal. In 2016 he built a proper rig instead.
Coalhouse is five people now. Nobody works a kitchen on the night because there is no kitchen: the same crew lights the fire, cooks on it, serves from it and puts it out.
- Jonah BriscoFounder. Runs the fire.
- Mara StrandSous chef. Desserts in the embers.
- Theo BanksDrives the rig, splits the wood, lights it.
- Inés MoreauRuns the table and the timing.
- Sam OtaSecond fire, on dinners over 30.
- 412
- dinners since 2016
- 9 cords
- of wood a season
- 140
- guests, our longest table
$185 a guest, and the fire comes with it
One price per head, ten guests at the least. The rig, the wood and the crew are in it. So is the drive, anywhere within 90 miles of Alder Springs.
- Every course, shopping and prep
- The rig, the wood and the ember pit
- A crew of three to five, by headcount
- Serving at the table, clearing plates
- Cleanup, ash hauled away, ground raked
Not in the price: tables, chairs and linen, drinks, and gratuity. We will point you to the rental and wine people we work with.
10 guests
The smallest table we cook for
$1,850
24 guests
A typical ranch or backyard dinner
$4,440
60 guests
A vineyard long table, full crew of five
$11,100
A 30 percent deposit holds your date. Weekends from May to October book about four months ahead. Past 90 miles, call us: we have cooked as far as the coast.
Hold a dateBurn bans, rain and the neighbours' washing
The five things every host asks before they let us light a fire on their land.
What happens if there is a burn ban on the night?
We check with the county fire district the week before and again that morning. On a red flag day we cook in a closed charcoal firebox with a spark screen, which most districts allow. If the county bans all open flame, we move your date at no cost or return your deposit in full.
What if it rains?
The fire does not mind. We cover the rig with a steel canopy and keep cooking. Your guests need a tent or a barn, and we can recommend two rental companies in the valley who have set up for us before.
How much space does the rig need?
About 20 by 30 feet of flat ground, 25 feet from buildings and low branches, with a truck able to get within 100 feet. A gravel yard, a field or a lawn all work. We walk the site with you or look at photos before we confirm.
Will the smoke reach the table, or the neighbours?
Seasoned hardwood smokes for the first 40 minutes and then burns clean. We light at four so the heavy smoke is gone before your guests arrive, and we set the rig downwind of the table.
Can you cook for vegetarians, allergies, gluten free?
Yes. Vegetables are half of every menu anyway. Tell us at booking and we cook those plates on a separate plancha with their own tools, so nothing crosses over from the grate.
What the hosts said the morning after
“They pulled onto the ranch at two, had the fire going by four, and by the time we sat down the lambs had been turning for three hours. My father still talks about it.”
“Sixty-four people and not one plate came out cold. Inés ran the table like a clock and Jonah walked every course out himself.”
“Twelve of us in the backyard. At eleven the crew had packed the rig and the only sign they had been there was a square of raked gravel.”
Sample reviews written for this concept site.
Hold a date
Tell us the date, the headcount and where the fire goes
Jonah replies himself within a day, with whether the date is open and a first menu for your month. Rather talk it through?
(555) 014-0451