THE WILD TABLE
 A Woodland Restaurant by The Laundry x Browning Bros.

Fire, flavour and slowing things down beneath the trees

There are meals and experiences you forget before you’ve even returned home. And then there are the ones where the smell of woodsmoke lingers in your hair for days afterwards. The ones where nobody quite wants to leave the fire, conversations drift long into the evening beneath the trees and magically the wine glass never empties.

The Wild Table was very much the latter.

We were lucky enough and very proud to help fuel the fire at Mel Brown’s stunning The Wild Table for a series of beautiful woodland dining experiences set deep within Tey Brook in Essex. Long communal tables beneath the canopy. Glasses clinked as the light began to fade. Aroma’s of food smoke rolling softly through the woodland with the menu all  cooked over OFYR, or our British charcoal fuelled BSTRD. It was one of those evenings that reminded us why fire cooking matters in the first place. Not for show. Not for trends.

But for the atmosphere it creates, the pace it encourages, and the way good food somehow tastes even better when cooked properly outdoors over real fire.

 

The evening began with Melanie and the Wild Table team gently leading guests through the forest and beautiful sculpture trail for some tasty fire cooked scallops and a signature house cocktail – perfectly paired and a great start! Then with appetites truly whetted, we ventured on  into the woodland beyond, where long tables sat waiting in a quiet clearing beneath the trees. Candles flickered against worn timber, glitterballs fixed high in the canopy reflecting the light from the roaring fires. Smoke drifted lazily through the air while the fire quietly crackled away in the background.

 

 

 

It felt less like arriving at an event and more like stumbling across something you weren’t really supposed to find. The kind of setting that instantly slows people down. Conversations softened, phones disappeared into pockets, and before the first plate had even landed on the table, everyone already understood they were in for a special evening around fire.

Guests gathered around glowing embers as dishes arrived straight from the fire. Vegetables blistered and blackened at the edges, beautifully roasted meats carrying just the right amount of smoke from the flames below. The sort of cooking that reminds you how little you actually need when the ingredients are good, the fire is steady, and somebody knows exactly when to leave things alone. 

There’s something quietly reassuring about watching people reconnect with slower outdoor cooking too. Standing closer to the fire. Eating a little later than planned. Letting conversations wander while another log is added to the flames. In a world obsessed with speed and convenience, evenings like this feel increasingly important. 

Great ingredients cooked over poor fuel will only ever get you so far. But when you build a proper fire with quality charcoal and wood, everything changes. The heat becomes cleaner. More stable. More predictable. You cook with confidence rather than fighting against the flames.

At The Wild Table, fire wasn’t simply there for heat. It became part of the atmosphere and an enabler not only for great food, but new friendships and forming relationships amongst like-minded foodies.

 

The last hurrah was the fire cooked Alaska Bon Bon. Genius, and everyone loved charring their ice ream filled French meringue over the fire and the popping in the mouth in one hit.  Sublime. A huge thank you to Melanie and the entire Wild Table team for having us along to be part of something truly special. It’s not hard to see why The Wild Table has already been recognised by Condé Nast as one of the finest Wild Kitchen experiences in the UK and we love to be part of it with House of Charcoal, BSTRD. and OFYR.