Hi there, I'm Martin, the founder of Dad What Cooks.
Dad What Cooks is my collection of BBQ, Bread and Pizza recipes.
I'm a dad to my daughter and husband to my wife. We live in the north of England in the beautiful countryside, not far from both the Lake District and the North Yorkshire Moors. By day I work in IT and security, but in my spare time (over six years of it now) I run this site.
How Dad What cooks started
Dad What Cooks began in 2019 as a small corner of the internet to hold a handful of bread and BBQ recipes, along with a few slow cooker ideas. Back then it was really just a place to keep my own notes and share the odd recipe with friends. Since then it has grown into something I'm genuinely proud of: a place where I can experiment with food, document what works (and what doesn't), and keep my tech skills sharp by tinkering with new blog technologies on the side.
If you're curious about how it all developed, I've written more about the journey in my post on my food blog journey so far.
My Cooking Background
I've been an avid home cook for years, but I only caught the bread baking bug in 2020, along with what felt like the rest of the country. I took to it quickly and have been developing my skills ever since. I recently found out my great-grandmother was a baker by trade, so perhaps there's something in the blood after all.
When it comes to bread, I have a particular soft spot for sourdough. My starter, Prue, has been with me for several years now and has seen me through everything from confident bakes to the occasional disaster. She lives on a rotation of strong white and a little rye, gets fed whenever she needs it, and makes regular appearances on my Instagram. If you fancy starting your own, I've written about keeping a sourdough starter warm and some wallet-friendly sourdough starter recipes to put discard to good use.
I also love a good yeast-based loaf and enjoy experimenting with different styles, hydrations, and techniques. There's always something new to learn, which is part of what keeps it interesting. I'm a proud supporter of the Real Bread Campaign, which works to promote better, more honest bread for people and communities.
Outdoor cooking is the other half of what I do. I cook on both gas and charcoal: a Weber Genesis II E-310 for quick weeknight grilling and a Weber Master Touch 57 using charcoal for low and slow weekends. More recently I added a Woody pizza oven to the mix and family pizza nights have become a firm favourite in our house. If you want to see what I get up to on the BBQ, my BBQ Basics guide is a good starting point.
Food safety and credentials
I hold a Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate, which means the recipes and guidance on this site follow current UK food safety standards. Whether I'm writing about freezing leftovers, smoking meat low and slow, or maintaining a sourdough starter, I take food safety seriously. Where relevant, I reference guidance from the Food Standards Agency so you can be confident the information is accurate and up to date.
Featured in and podcast appearances
Over the past few years, Dad What Cooks has been featured in a handful of podcasts, campaigns, and publications. A few of the highlights:
- Start-up Dad Podcast with Adam Fishman, talking about parenting, BBQ, and bread baking. Also available on YouTube , Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
- Eat Blog Talk Podcast with Megan Porta, a conversation about keeping going when blogging gets tough.
- Real Bread Campaign, where I wrote about balancing full-time work with real bread baking.
- Redfin featured in an article on designing the perfect kitchen for home cooks.
- Tasting Table offering advice on unexpected foods to cook in a pizza oven.
- Top Ten Reviews sharing guidance on how to store a pizza oven properly over winter.
You can see the full list on my Media page.
How I develop and test recipes
Every recipe on Dad What Cooks has been made in my own kitchen or on my own BBQ, usually more than once. The photos are mine, taken on my phone as I cook. The tips are based on what actually worked (and what didn't). If a recipe has a tricky step or a common pitfall, I'll say so rather than gloss over it.
I don't use AI to write my recipes or guides. Everything here is written by me, from scratch, based on real experience in a real kitchen. I think that matters, especially if you're about to trust a recipe with your dinner.
What you'll find on the site
Dad What Cooks covers a few core areas that reflect what I actually cook at home:
- BBQ and smoking recipes on gas, charcoal, and the pizza oven
- Bread baking from everyday yeast based loaves to long-fermented sourdough breads
- Pizza & Burger recipes including pizza dough recipes and "fakeaway" UK copycat favourites
- My Kitchen Blog containing practical guides on freezing, storing, and getting the most out of your ingredients
The focus is UK home cooking: metric measurements, British brands, real supermarket ingredients and recipes that fit around family life. No padding out with my life story for 2,000 words before the recipe, just food that works.
Beyond the blog
I write a regular newsletter covering what I'm cooking, seasonal ideas, and the occasional behind-the-scenes story. You can also find me on Instagram and Facebook where I share reels and carousels of what's happening in the kitchen and at the BBQ.
Come and Say hello
Thanks for stopping by. If you're not sure where to start, my BBQ recipes, bread recipes and bread dough calculator are good places to dive in.
If you just want to say hello, ask a question, or share how a recipe turned out, feel free to comment on any post, reach me through my social accounts, or drop me a message via the contact form. I reply to everything, usually within a day or two.
See you around!
Martin
