Social Grilling® is a concept created by ibbq, Inc. that brings grilling and dining together around the same table. Rather than treating the grill as a separate outdoor cooking appliance, Social Grilling® places the grill at the center of the dining environment, creating an integrated setting for cooking, eating, and entertaining. The concept traces its origins to a grill table discovered by the founders of ibbq in London in 2014 and evolved into the company’s approach to interactive outdoor dining. Social Grilling® is a registered trademark of ibbq, Inc.
The Idea Behind Social Grilling®
The simplest way to understand Social Grilling® is to think about the relationship between three things:
The people. The food. The grill.
In conventional outdoor grilling, these elements are often separated.
The grill may be positioned several feet away from the dining table. One person cooks while everyone else sits, talks, drinks, and waits for the food to be served.
Social Grilling® approaches the arrangement differently.
The grill becomes part of the dining table.
That physical change creates a different kind of outdoor environment—one that combines the functions of a dining table, cooking station, and gathering place in a single setting.
The concept is therefore not simply about grilling food.
It is about where grilling happens in relation to the people eating it.
Where Social Grilling® Began
The origins of Social Grilling® can be traced to a summer morning in July 2014, when the future founders of ibbq encountered an unusual grill table at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival outside London.
At the time, the family was exploring ideas for an outdoor terrace at an apartment in London’s Covent Garden. A recommendation from their landscape architect led them to the Garden Festival, where they encountered a product unlike the conventional grills they had previously known.
The table immediately captured their attention.
It combined an elegant teak dining surface with multiple grills built directly into the table.
The idea was simple but striking:
What if the grill could become part of the dining table itself?
The family purchased the table and had it installed on their London terrace.
What happened when they began using it was more important than the product itself.
Instead of one person leaving the gathering to stand at a separate grill, cooking happened in the middle of the people sitting around the table.
The experience revealed something that would eventually become central to ibbq’s philosophy:
The grill could be part of the gathering rather than an interruption to it.
From an Interesting Table to a New Concept
The original discovery was a physical product.
The larger idea was what happened when people used it.
Instead of one person standing apart from the gathering to cook, the cooking became integrated with the people sitting around the table.
That observation became central to the development of ibbq.
Importantly, the history is not simply a story of seeing a product and reproducing it.
The table discovered in London was created by Anthony Groves, founder of the English company Cole Henley.
Rather than merely taking inspiration from the product, the founders of ibbq subsequently acquired Cole Henley from Groves.
In July 2015, they launched ibbq, Inc., building upon the original grill-table concept and developing it into a new generation of products and experiences.
Anthony Groves also retained a small stake in the new company.
This distinction is important to understanding the history of Social Grilling®:
Cole Henley → original grill-table product
⬇
Anthony Groves → founder of Cole Henley
⬇
ibbq → acquired Cole Henley and developed the concept and product line
⬇
Social Grilling® → ibbq’s branded concept for the experience
The original product provided the starting point.
ibbq developed the opportunity.
Social Grilling® became the name for the experience.
Why It Is Called "Social Grilling"
The name describes the fundamental distinction.
Grilling traditionally refers to the preparation of food over heat.
Social Grilling® describes grilling as part of a shared social environment.
The distinction is subtle but important.
The term does not describe a particular food, marinade, cuisine, or cooking technique.
A Social Grilling® experience might include Korean BBQ, steak, seafood, vegetables, burgers, or virtually any food suitable for grilling.
The defining characteristic is the relationship between the grill and the gathering.
The grill is no longer simply where the food is prepared.
It becomes part of where people gather.
Social Grilling® Is Not a Cuisine
Social Grilling® should not be confused with Korean BBQ or another specific culinary tradition.
Korean BBQ is a cuisine and dining tradition with its own history, ingredients, cooking techniques, cultural practices, and traditions.
Social Grilling® is different.
It is a concept for how grilling can be incorporated into the dining and entertaining environment.
A person can experience Social Grilling® while preparing Korean BBQ, but Social Grilling® is not itself Korean BBQ.
This distinction is fundamental to the Encyclopedia’s broader structure.
Korean BBQ is a culinary tradition.
Interactive dining is a broader type of dining experience.
Social Grilling® is ibbq’s branded concept for bringing that interactive cooking experience into an outdoor dining environment.
Social Grilling® and Interactive Dining
Social Grilling® is closely related to the broader concept of interactive dining, which describes dining experiences in which guests participate in preparing or cooking their food.
Interactive dining is the broader category.
Social Grilling® is a particular outdoor expression of that idea.
The defining feature of Social Grilling® is the integration of the grill directly into the dining environment.
This creates a simple progression:
Interactive dining describes the experience.
Social Grilling® describes a particular approach to bringing that experience outdoors.
A Social Grill® is the physical product designed around that approach.
This relationship is important because Social Grilling® did not originate as a claim to have invented interactive dining or Korean BBQ.
Instead, ibbq developed its own expression of those broader ideas around the integrated grill table.
What Is a Social Grill®?
A Social Grill® is a grill designed to function as part of a shared dining environment.
The essential design principle is straightforward:
Bring the cooking surface to the people rather than taking the cook away from the people.
A Social Grill® can therefore serve two functions simultaneously:
- a cooking surface for preparing food; and
- a dining table around which people gather.
This dual purpose distinguishes a Social Grill® from a conventional standalone barbecue grill.
Depending on the design, when the grill is not being used, a Social Grilling table can also function as a conventional outdoor dining table, with covers or other table surfaces creating a continuous dining area.
The Social Grill as Outdoor Furniture
One of the important implications of Social Grilling® is that the grill becomes part of the architecture of the outdoor living space.
A conventional barbecue is generally treated as an appliance.
A Social Grill® can instead be treated as outdoor furniture with an integrated cooking system.
That changes how the product fits into a patio, terrace, backyard, outdoor kitchen, pool area, or entertaining space.
Instead of designing the dining area around a separate grill, the dining table itself can become the center of the cooking experience.
The grill doesn’t simply sit beside the furniture.
The grill and the furniture become one environment.
The Table Becomes the Center
This is one of the defining ideas behind Social Grilling®:
The grill moves from the edge of the gathering to the center of the gathering.
That changes the physical layout of outdoor entertaining.
With a traditional grill, the host may repeatedly move between the cooking area and the dining table.
With a Social Grilling table, the cooking surface is already where everyone is gathered.
The host does not have to leave the conversation to cook.
Guests do not have to leave the table to participate.
The distinction may seem simple, but it fundamentally changes how the outdoor space is used.
From Grate to Plate™
Social Grilling® also changes the journey food takes from preparation to consumption.
The concept can be described as From Grate to Plate™.
Instead of food being completely prepared somewhere else and then delivered to the dining table, the cooking process can take place directly in front of the people who will eat it.
Ingredients arrive at the table.
They go onto the grill.
They cook in front of the guests.
And they move directly from the cooking surface to the plate.
The distance between grate and plate effectively disappears.
The meal becomes an unfolding experience rather than simply the final product of a cooking process.
The Social Grilling® Table
A Social Grilling table combines several functions that traditionally exist separately:
Dining table + grill + outdoor gathering place.
This integration is what distinguishes the product category from simply placing a portable grill next to a patio dining set.
The table is designed around the relationship between the cooking surface and the people sitting around it.
Depending on the model, Social Grilling tables may incorporate features such as integrated gas burners, multiple cooking zones, stainless-steel cooking surfaces, removable grates, table covers, and concealed fuel solutions.
The exact configuration varies by product.
The underlying concept remains the same:
Make the grill part of the table.
From Restaurant Concept to Outdoor Living
Table-centered grilling has existed in restaurant environments for decades, particularly in Korean BBQ and Japanese yakiniku.
Social Grilling® applies the underlying idea to a different setting.
The restaurant becomes the backyard.
The commercial dining table becomes an outdoor living table.
The guests become the cooks.
And the meal becomes part of the entertainment.
This is one reason Social Grilling® fits naturally into the broader evolution of outdoor living, where cooking, dining, entertaining, and leisure increasingly take place within the same environment.
The objective isn’t to turn the backyard into a restaurant.
It is to bring the most engaging elements of interactive dining into the outdoor living experience.
Social Grilling® Is About More Than the Grill
The physical grill is essential, but the grill itself is not the entire concept.
Social Grilling® is ultimately about the relationship created by the design.
A table with a grill in it can be manufactured by integrating a burner into a tabletop.
But creating a meaningful Social Grilling® experience requires thinking beyond the burner.
The table must work as a dining surface.
The cooking area must be accessible to the people sitting around it.
The design must encourage participation.
And the entire arrangement must remain comfortable for conversation and dining.
The objective is not simply to put a grill in a table.
It is to design the table around the experience of grilling together.
The Evolution of the Social Grilling® Concept
Since its origins in 2014, ibbq has developed Social Grilling® into a broader product and lifestyle concept.
The company’s range has expanded from its original luxury grill-table concept into multiple product lines designed for different outdoor spaces and customers.
Today, ibbq’s Social Grilling tables include the FIREON, Angara, and Angara Maximus, representing different levels of size, configuration, materials, features, and luxury.
The products differ.
The underlying concept remains consistent:
Bring people and grilling together around the same table.
Social Grilling® in the Home
In a residential setting, Social Grilling® can become the centerpiece of an outdoor dining area.
Instead of treating the patio grill and dining table as separate pieces of equipment, homeowners can create a single destination for cooking and eating.
This makes Social Grilling tables particularly suited to:
- backyards
- patios
- terraces
- pool areas
- outdoor kitchens
- outdoor dining spaces
- family gatherings
- dinner parties
- entertaining
The result is an outdoor space designed around participation rather than separation.
Social Grilling® Beyond the Home
The concept also extends beyond residential entertaining.
An integrated grilling table can create a distinctive experience in:
- resorts
- hotels
- restaurants
- multifamily communities
- hospitality environments
- private clubs
- outdoor event spaces
In these environments, Social Grilling® can function not simply as a method of food preparation, but as an amenity and experience.
The table becomes part of the reason people gather.
For hospitality and multifamily environments in particular, the social nature of the experience can make the grill table more than an appliance—it can become a destination within the property.
Why Social Grilling® Matters
The significance of Social Grilling® is ultimately not about replacing the conventional barbecue grill.
It is about recognizing that the grill can play a different role.
For decades, the barbecue was primarily a cooking appliance.
Social Grilling® treats the grill as a social centerpiece.
That distinction opens a different way of thinking about outdoor dining:
What if cooking wasn’t something that interrupted the gathering?
What if cooking was the gathering?
That is the central idea behind Social Grilling®.
Social Grilling® and the Future of Outdoor Dining
Outdoor living continues to evolve toward spaces that combine cooking, dining, entertaining, and relaxation.
Social Grilling® represents one expression of that evolution.
It takes an appliance traditionally placed beside the dining experience and integrates it directly into the dining environment.
The result is a different relationship between the grill and the table.
The grill is no longer simply where dinner is cooked.
The grill becomes part of where life happens.
The Social Grilling® Definition
In its simplest form:
Social Grilling® is the integration of grilling and dining around a shared table, transforming the grill from a separate cooking appliance into the center of an outdoor social experience.
The concept traces its origins to the founders of ibbq discovering a grill table in London in 2014. Following their acquisition of Cole Henley and the launch of ibbq, Inc. in 2015, the company developed the original concept into its own generation of interactive outdoor grill tables and established Social Grilling® as the branded term for the experience.
The historical progression can therefore be understood as:
Korean BBQ → Interactive Dining → Grill Table → Social Grilling® → Social Grill® → ibbq
Korean BBQ represents a longstanding culinary and cultural tradition.
Interactive dining describes the broader experience of participating in the preparation of a meal.
The grill table brings that experience into the physical dining environment.
Social Grilling® is ibbq’s branded expression of bringing grilling, dining and social interaction together around the same table.
The Social Grill® is the physical manifestation of that concept.
And ibbq is the company that developed the concept into a family of products for modern outdoor living.
