The Ember Lounge Experience
Smoke and Fire Festival
Maldon 2026
This year’s Ember Lounge returns bigger, bolder and more immersive than ever.
Set within the heart of the Smoke and Fire Festival, the Ember Lounge is your chance to experience a true Chef’s Table — up close and personal with some of the most exciting live-fire chefs in the country, alongside a few Smoke and Fire favourites who have helped shape the festival’s reputation over the years.
Why visit the Ember Lounge
Because this is where the fire truly comes alive.
A premium fire-led experience
The Ember Lounge offers a more intimate and immersive way to enjoy Smoke and Fire Maldon, bringing together world-class live-fire cooking, relaxed hospitality and standout atmosphere.
Hosted by James Peck
Award-winning chef James Peck leads the experience across the weekend, joined by a line-up of guests bringing creativity, skill and serious flavour to the fire. James and his crew will be offering mini master classes all weekend as well as a full street food venue. EMBER James Award-winning Live Fire Restaurant.
Powered by Leviathan Pits
Expect an unforgettable visual centrepiece as Leviathan Pits bring their iconic live-fire equipment and signature style to this year’s anniversary celebration.
The experience
Why book the Ember Lounge?
The Ember Lounge is more than a stage – it’s a meeting point for chefs, pitmasters and food lovers who share a passion for live-fire cooking.
• See award-winning chefs cook just metres away
• Learn techniques and tips from the masters of flame
• Experience the theatre of open-fire cooking up close
• Be part of one of the most exciting atmospheres at Smoke and Fire Maldon
Whether you’re a serious BBQ enthusiast or simply love incredible food, The Ember Lounge is one experience you don’t want to miss.
The Menus
Saturday
15th August 2026
Pitmasters Shane and Maise McBagley
LIVE FIRE BRUNCH THEMED TASTING MENU 12:30pm
£95/ticket inc VIP Festival Entry
Back to Smoke and Fire festival by popular demand are McBagley BBQ, husband-and-wife duo Shane and Maisie McBagley, who are renowned for their expertise in live-fire cooking and community-driven culinary innovation.
Shane, a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, combines fine dining experience with BBQ mastery, hosting BBQ cooking courses for over 10 years, pop-ups, and festivals annually in collaboration with brands like Weber Grills.
Maisie, a former head chef and co-founder of The Great Plate CIC, has redefined school meals while showcasing her live fire skills at major festivals such as Long Road and C2C.
The Menu
Smoked Bath Chap & Parmesan French Toast
Cured and hot smoked heritage pork jowl, ember leeks, parmesan and truffle sourdough french toast
Grilled asparagus
Artichoke, spinach & savoury granola
Smoked buttermilk chicken & cornbread Waffle
Brined in Buttermilk & smoked, served with jalapeños cheddar cornbread waffle, chicken skin cracking, smoked apple syrup
Wood-Fired Shrimp & Grits with Red Eye Gravy
King prawn, wrapped in smoked streaky then grilled over fire and finished with red eye gravy over smoked garlic stone-ground grits
Steak & eggs
Reverse seared beef Featherblade
Smoked egg
Bone marrow & spring onion laced Hashbrown
Roasted tomato
Chilli crisp
Our take on Fresh donut with coffee & ice cream
Live-fire Chef James Peck & Brigade
EMBER LOUNGE TASTING MENU 3:30pm
£100 /ticket inc VIP Festival Entry
Chef James Peck is a celebrated British chef and live-fire cooking specialist, best known as the creative force behind Ember, the multi-award-winning live-fire restaurant in Wellingborough, and The Four Pears in Little Houghton. Originally finding his way into cooking during his time in the British Army, James honed his culinary skills in high-end London kitchens before returning to Northamptonshire to launch his own ventures and specialist catering business, Burnt Lemon Catering.
His passion for fire-based cooking and refined flavours has seen him featured on the BBC Two series The Brigade and earned him recognition as a Master Chef of Great Britain.
Join James at Smoke & Fire Festival, where he will be sharing his expertise in live fire techniques and showcasing his bold, smoke-infused dishes that celebrate simplicity, seasonality and superb taste.
The Menu
CAULIFLOWER, MISO &
CARAMALISED YEAST CROUSTADE
Cauliflower with rich miso and caramelised yeast, served in a crisp croustade for a deep, savoury umami bite.
DRY AGED CHEESEBURGER
MADELINES BURGER SAUCE
Dry-aged beef cheeseburger with Madeleine’s signature burger sauce—rich, juicy, and full of bold flavour
LAMB TARTARE/EMBER BAKED BEETS
PICKLED BEETS/MINT/ANCOVY
Lamb tartare with ember-baked and pickled beets, mint, and anchovy—fresh, earthy, and delicately balanced.
SCALLOPS COOKED ON THE PLANCHA
GEM FRICASSE & CAVIAR
Plancha-seared scallops with a gem lettuce fricassée and caviar—delicate, buttery, and refined
RIB OF BEEF/BEEF FAT LA RATTE
POTATOES/SPENWOOD/
BLACK GARLIC KETCHUP/
SMOKED MARROW BONE BEEF SAUCE
Fire-roasted rib of beef with beef-fat La Ratte potatoes, Spenwood cheese, black garlic ketchup, and smoked marrow bone sauce—rich, bold, and deeply indulgent.
MISO & BLACK GARLIC STICK TOFFEE PUDDING
Sticky toffee pudding infused with miso and black garlic—rich, indulgent, and deeply caramelised with a savoury twist.
CHEESE & PICKLED WALNUT MADELINE
Buttery cheese madeleine with pickled walnut—light, savoury, and perfectly balanced with a tangy bite.
Sunday
16th August 2026
Chef Davey-Smith and the Reclaimed Fire Team
Five-course tasting menu 12:30pm
£100 /ticket inc VIP Festival Entry or £70 per head if you have already purchased a Festival Ticket
New to Smoke and Fire, David Davey-Smith is a live-fire specialist and former Royal Air Force Sergeant Chef with over 15 years of elite culinary experience. Representing the UK on the world stage with the English National Culinary Team, he has earned more than 25 gold medals and 30 Best in Class awards, placing fourth in the culinary Olympics.
Now the founder of Reclaimed Fire, Davey brings together world-class technique, bold flavour and the theatre of cooking over flame — delivering unforgettable live-fire experiences.
The Menu
The elegance of Fire
An elegant interpretation of live-fire cookery – a journey through flame, smoke and technique, crafted to deliver an unforgettable culinary experience.
From the Waters
Plank Cooked Chalk Stream Trout – Native Seaweed – Timur Berry
From the Estate
Wormsley Estate Venison Tartare – Smoked Blackberry – Hung Yoghurt – Juniper
From the Woodlands
Tari Glazed Hen Of The Wood Mushroom – Toasted Pine Nuts
From the Fire
Dry Aged Beef Pichana – Pickled Walnut – Green Onion
From the Sun
Smoked Brown Sugar Pineapple – Spiced Rum – Passionfruit Gel – Coconut & Lime
Māori Chef Matt Blak
EMBER LOUNGE X KAIWHENUA menu 3:00pm
£100 /ticket inc VIP Festival Entry or £65 per head if you have already purchased a Festival Ticket
Matt Blak is a New Zealand Māori chef based in London, known for flavour-led cooking rooted in culture, connection and place. With more than 30 years in professional kitchens, he has worked across some of the UK’s most recognized restaurants including Soho House, Gordon Ramsay’s Maze Grill, Bluebird and Jamie Oliver’s Threadneedle Street, and played a key role in growing the Caravan group from two sites to seven
]A teacher and storyteller as much as a chef, Matt uses food as a way to share culture, spark conversation and create lasting connection.
At Smoke & Fire Festival Maldon, expect bold flavour, generous plates and a South Pacific perspective on cooking over fire, where hospitality leads and everything else follows.
The Menu
Kaiwhenua
A bold, fire-led dining experience, Ember Lounge x Kaiwhenua celebrates land, sea, and heritage through flavour. From vibrant seafood and seared scallops to rich, slow-cooked meats and warming spice, each dish is rooted in tradition and cooked over flame. It’s a punchy, immersive journey that finishes with a beautifully balanced, earth-inspired dessert
Koha – (Gift)
Taro crisps – chicken salt
PKaimoana
“Ika mata”
Seared scallops, salted Yuzu rice vinegar, coconut
He moana pukepuke e ekengia e te waka.
A choppy sea can still be crossed.
Kaiwhenua (Food from the land)
Spiced soy-braised Lamb Neck, Serrano ham, salted coconut cream, pumpkin-bushi.
He kōrero mō te hononga – te kiko me te rau, te umu me te hau, te mea tawhito e kōrero tonu ana i te ngākau.
A story of connection, flesh and leaf, fire and air, the old ways speaking through flavour.
Tangata whenua (People of the land)
Aged Pork, sour orange curry, kumara, watercress and rewena.
He kai nā te whenua, nā te ahi, nā te manawa. Ka hono te reka o te poaka me te mātao o te kāri kite ngākau o te tangata.
Food born of earth, fire, and heart. The sweetness of the pork and the sharpness of the curry meet where comfort lives.
Papatūānuku (The earth mother)
Kumara and corn cake, Islands chocolate mousse, pistachio sponge
THe mihi ki a Papatūānuku, te whaea o te whenua, e whāngai tonu ana i a tātou. He reka te maumahara,he taonga te kai.
A tribute to Papatūānuku, the earth mother who feeds us still. Sweetness as memory, food as gift.
– MORE CHEFS AND MENUS TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON –
Seats in The Ember Lounge are extremely limited, and experiences sell out early every year.
Each sitting is intentionally kept intimate, with just 35–40 guests, giving you a rare opportunity to be up close to the chefs, the fire and the action.
If you want a front-row seat to one of the most exciting live-fire experiences at Smoke and Fire Maldon, we strongly recommend securing your place now before it’s gone.
Leviathan Pits
Leviathan Pits is a British design and fabrication company specialising in ultra-premium offset smokers and live-fire cooking equipment.
Built in North Wales using cutting-edge manufacturing and traditional heavy engineering, their rigs are renowned for uncompromising quality and bold design.
Trusted by leading live-fire chefs and cookery schools, including Burnt’s Tiberius Tudor and James Peck, Leviathan Pits creates heirloom-quality equipment built to last a lifetime.