By Patrick Avenell

There’s no doubt that churrasco dining has captured the imagination of the Australian public. Ten years ago, it was virtually unknown; now dedicated churrascaria restaurants, serving unlimited portions of South American-style barbecued meat, dominate the trendy areas of the major cities.

Everdure is looking to capture this zeitgeist with the release of its self-styled world first consumer churrasco barbecue: the eChurrasco.

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This barbecue, which combines gas heat-up with charcoal cooking, has been four years in the making. Everdure’s executive chef Bart Beek said his own high standards and gaining regulatory approval has delayed the release until now.

It appears worth the wait, however, with Everdure sources confirming that it has already sold its first batch of barbecues into its key retail partners, namely Bunnings and Harvey Norman.

Cooking with the eChurrasco starts with gas. This provides a fast injection of heat to the charcoal beads placed inside the unit. After around 8 minutes, the beads will have turned to a distinctive white colouring, meaning the gas can be turned off and charcoal cooking can commence.

A whole array of food can be prepared over the coals, including red and white meats, fish and vegetables. Using the skewer accessory, users can replicate the kitchen churrasco experience of portioned meat cooked over coals.

Hale Ozmen, Everdure marketing manager, expects consumers to be won over to this unit by its simplicity.

“We all know that there is something distinctive and special about the flavour of food that is cooked on charcoal barbecues, however, no one like to take the time that it takes to set up a charcoal barbecue,” she told Current.com.au.

“Everdure has seen demand in the market to create a barbecue that is simple and easy to use. In response to this demand, our R&D team has worked rigorously for the past four years to design this barbecue.

“It’s a world first gas start charcoal barbecue which allows you to start cooking in no time.”

The eChurrasco will retail for RRP $349.

The skewer accessory is a good upsell product for retailers of the eChurrasco.

Bart Beek watches on as skewers are cooked on the front two eChurrasco and fish is cooked in its dedicated cage on the rear unit.

Comment

When it comes to dining out at a churrascaria, one can't go past Churrasco at Coogee beach. Located opposite the Coogee Bay Hotel, this restaurant has great service, unbelievable food, a great wine and beer selection and even those red/green buttons for indicating when you want more meat. I've been there several times (and, for the record, have always paid full price) and have always been impressed.