"We're fucked," sighs Steve Kimonides, co-owner of Burn City Smokers. "We've had to ice 1.2 tonnes of meat due to the cancellation of Meatstock Sydney, Meatstock Melbourne, Whisky Wine Fire, Flavour Fest, Fromage a Trois and a whole bunch of weddings, but we have already cooked a stack of meat."
So what are the team going to do?
After the introduction of Barbecue to Your Door to help alleviate the stress of cooking for your family over Christmas, Raphael Guthrie and Kimonides are reintroducing it for those staying at home. You choose your meat, they cook it, they deliver it, you heat it (or freeze it) and eat it. Simple as that, only this time, the meat is already cooked so you can enjoy brisket, short ribs, pulled pork or a smoked chicken a heck of a lot sooner.
Vegetarians, you don't miss out. Burn City also do a whole head of smoked cauliflower (we've had it, and yes, it is awesome) and mushroom burgers. On top of that, all the sides, including the whole tray of mac and cheese, do not contain flesh. Winning.
The minimum order has been lowered from $250 to $100 with no delivery charge, so if you're not a big meat eater, knock on your neighbour's door and see if they want to split one. You don't have to talk face-to-face if you don't want to - learn Morse code, slip a note under the door, or chat on socials (or even on the phone).
Kimonides assures us that the team voluntarily send swabs of every surface in the kitchen to be tested every fortnight because they feed so many mouths. The kitchen is as clean as a whistle.
Those of you in the west may also know that the Burn City team are behind the Slice Shop business and have started delivery this week. Order online.