Click on the picture or this link to watch on the STV Player, and see the barbeque review towards the end of part 2.

The clips were taken at the Wyevale Garden Centre in Brighton outside with the barbecue alight and cooking both kebabs and burgers. My father-in-law turned up that day, and you can see him in the clip – he is Greek Cypriot and introduced me to this type of barbecue. If you go to Cyprus, every barbecue is a rotisserie bbq and so he is a big fan and also a proud owner of a BarbeSkew II (the smaller charcoal barbecue model).

So you can tell that BarbeSkew had surged forward from the publicity through Dragons’ Den – and we are now listed in Wikipedia as a Dragons’ Den successful failure – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragons’_Den_(UK)#Successful_failures

In actual fact, BarbeSkew is now a recognised brand name around the barbecue industry, and garden centres up and down the country are starting to stock all the models with them flying off the shelves.

I still carry out bbq demonstrations up and down the country and these are all advertised on the home page – so you can see whether I will be demonstrating in a garden centre near you.

We’ve also been featured in the book “Dragons’ Den: Start Your Own Business: From Idea to Income”, and I met up with the Dragons’ Den team in July 2010, and they are keen to do a further update on “Dragons’ Den – Where Are They Now?” in 2011.

For those thinking of going on Dragons’ Den – only ask for £50k. Most Dragons’ will just say yes to £50k as it’s neither here nor there to them. So why I asked for £180k for this fantastic rotisserie barbecue when we didn’t even really need any money I will never know! £50k for the publicity …. and/or the money and/or the help of a Dragon is great value for money!

James Caan asked how much the BarbeSkew cost and thought £299 was rather expensive. I understand James’ point of view where he can see the value in the personnel arena where large sums of money are exchanged for hiring candidates whereas perhaps he does not understand the leisure and outdoor sector where barbecues can sell for as much as £2300. The £299 BarbeSkew is our best selling model and has sold over 3000 units worldwide.

The BBC’s rather odd editing made it look like Peter Jones summed up for the Dragons’, but after one and a half hours in front of the Dragons’, the main contender and the person who summed up was Theo.

The editing made it look like Theo made his decision based on the lack of a patent whereas he made his decision based on the price – we proactively took his advice and introduced the £149 BarbeSkew II. Overall his pricing advice was flawed because the larger £299 BarbeSkew sells almost 4 four times as many as the smaller BarbeSkew II. It seems that when people are looking to invest in a barbecue for their back garden, the majority of them are looking for a large party machine that will impress their guests!

In terms of the lack of a patent, I worked diligently with the British Library Business and Intellectual Property experts and I made a very definite decision to be first to market rather than rely on an obscure patent.

Two years on and BarbeSkew is the market leader for rotisserie barbecues. BarbeSkew is the number one rotisserie barbecue manufacturer in the world – similar to Coca Cola – we are the original and the best. Why would anyone want to compromise and buy a plain old ordinary barbecue when you can buy a BarbeSkew?

Poor old Theo, especially from the fact he originated from Cyprus where every single barbecue is a rotisserie barbecue. Theo must have taken a leave from his senses that day. Oh well, his loss. With a quarter of a million pounds turnover in 2009, it’s looking like BarbeSkew is another one of those runaway successes that the Dragons’ missed.

The following year the BarbeSkew and Ed appeared on ‘Dragon’s Den On Tour‘

This Morning – ITV1 – 15 June 2010

Ed’s comments:

It was great to be voted the best charcoal on test. And Gino said it would cook the food the best because of the rotisserie.

One customer contacted me straight after the show to state:

“I’m surprised they marked it down a sausage because of the assembly ….….. I really enjoyed putting it together” Dr Kuldeep Cheent, London

Phillip Scholfield already had a rotisserie bbq given to him by Jamie Oliver – so he already knew the best barbecue food comes from a rotisserie bbq.

We’re going to promote the fact that BarbeSkew is a Great British company next year by having a promotional BarbeSkew with a Union Jack on the lid. Landmann is German, Cadac is South African, Outback is Chinese and ProBBQ is American.

So our call to everyone is to Buy British – Support Great British Companies – Buy a BarbeSkew!

See the whole clip at: Five Fwd