The Smokin Elk
Hi, I’m Elky aka The Smokin’ Elk and I’m a fire cooking fanatic! I’ve been a keen cook since leaving home at 16, making cheap food taste good early on before moving on to curries and now fire cooked food.
Watching programmes like Man vs Food really got me in to BBQ. Seeing these huge chunks of smoked meat – the briskets, ribs, pulled pork etc and at the time, there were no BBQ restaurants in the UK so I decided to learn how to make these myself.
Years of trial and error and soon my hobby turned in to something a bit more serious, with my love for outdoor cooking really taking hold.
For me, cooking with a fire is a hobby that got out of control and I’m loving every minute of the ride!
Dan "Elky" Whittaker
In 2019, I set myself a challenge of cooking a dish from every country in the world, all cooked outdoors over fire and all within a year. It’s a challenge I completed on NYE 2019 and one that really opened my eyes to different cuisines, flavours and techniques. I don’t cook BBQ food all year round, I cook food on a BBQ all year round. There is big difference and for me, anything you can cook inside, you can cook outside with the added benefit of flavour from the fire.
In 2022 I quit my job as an IT Account Director to follow my passion full time. I now run a popular BBQ School, teaching people with all levels of experience and showing them the benefits of cooking outdoors. I’m also lucky to represent several brands that I love including St Pierre, working with them to create engaging content and most importantly, food that you just want to eat!
My Instagram Posts
Why are you excited to be a St Pierre ambassador?
I’m very lucky to work with several brands that I love and St Pierre falls in to that category. We’ve worked together for a couple of years now and its so much easier promoting a product that you love in the first place. It really is a perfect match!
What's your favourite St Pierre product?
My favourite St Pierre product has to be the Seeded Brioche Burger Buns. They are soft yet hold their form well when topped with a juicy burger and the little bit of sweetness goes really well with a good double cheeseburger with all the trimmings!
