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Gypsy barbecue - La Grande Fête Tsigane

Sometimes one needs to be reminded of the basic joys of the original barbecue - a community gathering around a fire, cooking and having fun. I had such an evening with the Romanian Cirque Romanès - a gypsy circus visiting Paris. Accompanied by the fiery tsigane (French for gypsy) music and no pretensions, La Grande Fête Tsigane was a great evening with good food and fantastic people.

At the fantastic gypsy barbecue La Grande Fête Tsigane

Between the caravans, directly on the asphalt, with a canvas stretched over the fire against potential rain and a spotlight glaring on the fire, the Grande Fête Tsigane did not have the elements of a fussy barbecue, but it had the spectacular atmosphere unique to the open fire, smoky cooking and gypsy music. No fancy machinery - just fire, food and fun.

Unrestrained use of fire-starter (3 bottles) gets the fire going

The first element (and the only one involving a male) was the unceremonious emptying of a big bag of charcoal directly on the ground. Next the charcoal was liberally doused in some liquid fire-starter that would probably not bear any close scrutiny. A match was thrown into the mix and boom! the fire was on the go.

Some more fire-starter and the crowd gathers

Whenever the flames got below serious James Bond pyrotechnic size, more combustible liquids were thrown upon the fire. Nobody here had heard about the grave warning of not squirting inflammable liquid onto a burning fire - they were all doing it (and with obvious pleasure). But then, after all, they are circus people... Soon the crowd started gathering around the impressive fire.

An old gate goes on the embers as the main grid

One upside of the enthusiastic use of the inflammable liquid was a huge, solid bed of coals at the ready within 15 minutes. A gate was propped on four logs over this bed of coals - whenever the logs caught fire, they were simply doused in water.

A tray serves as the fan to accelerate the embers

A final spurt was added to the shimmering embers by waving a plastic tray at it with tremendous exuberance. I was sure the added heat would either melt the tar below or the gate-grid above, but I was mistaken. Nothing melted.

The lamb chops go onto the embers

Next the meat went onto this blistering bed and the gypsy barbecue commenced. Lamb chops were thrown onto the grid with great speed and dexterity. The inevitable fat flare-ups were nonchalantly doused with water liberally squirted from a plastic bottle with a hole in the top. The squirting was aimed in the general direction of the flames and no heed whatsoever was paid to the meat being squirted as well. For those frowning, finicky aficionados - a little news flash - it did not affect the final taste one bit.

Tsigane music ever present at the gypsy barbecue

Meanwhile, and all the time, the merry gypsy music from the Balkans held everyone in a joyous and nostalgic atmosphere. The gypsy barbecue is an extension of the gypsy culture - generous, fascinating, musical, communalist.

Two gypsy ladies have a busy time cooking for 200 using very basic tools - two forks, a stick and a bottle of water

Apart from the gate-grid, these gypsy barbecue chefs had two forks, a stick and a plastic bottle of water to complete the task of cooking for two hundred guests. I know several gentleman who need more than ten times that amount of tools to barbecue for twenty times less people!

The kids get fed straight off the fire

These were, however, skilled and experience gypsy barbecue chefs. They could recognise a perfectly grilled chop seemingly by sheer instinct though the smoke and in the scalding heat.

The crowd gathers around the generous gypsy dishes

Heaps of great food was then set out on tables with ample drink to accompany the festive air and the hosts were encouraging everyone to have more. And more. And...

Tsigane music and dancing with the barbecue beats any sauce

So the happy crowd sat down in the big tent with heaped plates of food. Joyous music, copious amount of drink, dancing and several trips to the buffet table had everyone having a brilliant time.

Second meat course - the merguez sausages goes onto the embers unceremoniously

And as a snack for any guest that still had the slightest bit of space in their tiny French bellies (it was in Paris, after all), merguez sausages went on the fire and was served with fresh bread.

I congratulate the tired, happy ladies after a memorable gypsy barbecue feast

Needless to say, I can cope with more food than several elegant French people combined and even a small gathering of gypsies, but after numerous chops, many salads (of new taste and combination), several bottles of wine and a topping desert of fresh peach salad I was quite satisfied. I went outside to congratulate the two impressive gypsy barbecue ladies and had to capitulate when they offered more sausage off the grid. Which means that I am out of training...

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