LLANDYSUL was one of the stop-off points in the new BBC Wales series Sam and Shauna’s Big Cook-Out as Wales’ best-known barbecue chefs hit the road to celebrate the achievements of community champions across Wales.

Using food to bring together the whole community, each cook-out sees Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn host huge parties to reward the work of a variety of organisations and individuals. They start by showing how to prepare the feasts on a small scale before upscaling to feed hundreds at large cook-outs.

Llandysul Paddlers Canoe Club had the chance to try some tasty barbecue food.

“It was amazing to have the gang at Llandysul. We had great weather and great fun helping with the filming,” said the club’s Gareth Bryant.

“Over the time Sam and Shauna were with us, they got to meet lots of the local people and witnessed a slalom competition on the River Teifi and even had a go at running the famous rapids in a kayak.

“Sam and Shauna followed some of the local paddlers into race day and provided the best meal for lots of the people from the village on Saturday evening, all cooked outdoors on a lovely charcoal barbecue helped by some of our local paddlers and friends.

“The paddlers centre has been a focal point for the village for many years attracting thousands of much-needed visitors. This additional publicity and coverage will hopefully promote the centre and village and draw even more people to this amazing part of West Wales.”

The broadcast of the Big Cook-Out series comes after a successful few years for both Sam and Shauna.

Quitting their jobs in the ‘Big Smoke’, the duo embarked on a mission across the US to uncover the secrets of Southern-style cooking. Now with a bricks and mortar barbecue restaurant in Barry, they’re using their own spin on backyard barbecue to bring communities together to recognise and reward their efforts.

From picanha steak with chimichurri to spatchcock chicken in Alabama white barbecue sauce, all their recipes can be replicated at home.

“Making this show is a dream come true for Shauna and me,”said Sam. “It embodies what we truly love about food and is essentially why we started our own catering business five years ago; food as the focus of a communal gathering.

“We witnessed many community barbecues in the States and fell in love with this way of showing community spirit.”

They kick off their cook-outs by barbecuing a whole pig with Barry Town United FC, then it’s the turn of Llandysul Paddlers, followed by The Cefn Hengoed Majestics Marching Band and the Brecon Mountain Rescue Team.

In addition to visiting these community organisations, they pay trips to local producers and free-range farms to source the ingredients for each cook-out, as knowing where their food comes from is key to their cooking.

Sam and Shauna’s Big Cook-Out will air on BBC One Wales on every Monday between April 9 and 30 at 7.30pm.