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Roasted by Dragons but BBQ King is red-hot


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by Catherine Woods - Wednesday, 6th August 2008

Roasted by Dragons but BBQ King is red-hot

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Wray may not have impressed the Dragons on Monday night but he’s selling his brand of rotating skewer BBQs internationally, including to the most BBQ-mad countries in the world.

The idea for BarbeSkew came about two years ago when he went to a friend’s house where they were using a small Greek-Cypriot BBQ with rotating skewers. “I tasted some of the food and it was phenomenal," Wray says. "I asked where I could get my hands on one and they said they were as rare as gold dust.”

Wray spotted a niche in the market so quit his job and came up with a design. “I had tried to get some from Cyprus but they nearly had a heart attack when I asked for 2,000 of them! They told me they were made by old men in the hills,” he recalls.

Instead, Wray found a manufacturer in China with the help of a friend who had experience sourcing goods in the country. Today, BarbeSkew has sold £250,000 worth of stock. “We’re actually going to make a smaller BBQ,” Wray says. “It’ll come out next year.

“The Dragons suggested it. They thought a half price one would virtually dominate the BBQ market so I took their advice!”

Picture source

Tags: china, ed wray, dragons den, barbeskew, cyprus, bbq, australia, entrepreneur,

2 Comments

August 20, 2008 6:58pm
Jon Says:

This is not so new I can remember my Dad had a rotisorie Barbecue that had the same cages as this guy has. Plus I found ths site with a quick search on the internet http://www.rotigrill.com/ I am sure with a little work I could find more..

August 07, 2008 3:39pm
Deni Says:

You can buy the original cypriot version in Green Lanes, North London, or on ebay for about £70!!

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