At the end of our verandah now stands a wood oven and an open fireplace.  The natural stone looks as if it has stood proudly in place forever and smoky smell has already seeped into our surrounds.

Earlier this year we deliberated over a family holiday to King Island or an outdoor wood oven and the wood oven was the eventual winner.

On the night the job was finished we lit a small fire in the oven and cooked a simple meal of grilled homemade sausages and beef ribs served with salad and sourdough.  In amongst the concrete dust and rubble Annabelle spontaneously picked a bunch of roses for the table.  We had a few drinks with Ossie and reflected on bricklaying, beautiful stone, life and the tenderness of the beef ribs.

We have copper pipes within the roof of the oven to heat water.  We also have plans for a smoke box within the chimney to smoke food with.  Already our new infrastructure is proving to be very versatile.

There is something special about cooking with fire isn’t there?

It is really about getting back to basics with cooking.