Meet the barbecue lover who has cooked 195 dishes from around the world on 10 grills at his Copnor home

Known in the BBQ world as The Smokin’ Elk, 40-year-old Dan set himself the task - hoping to delight friends, family and his wife Emily, 37, with exotic tastes including Afghan goat curry, Norwegian meatballs and Namibian venison potjie.

Familiar British staples of burnt sausages, overcooked burgers, and under-cooked chicken were a far cry from the dad-of-one’s meal plan he spent two to three months drawing together - although a full English was the ninth dish he made.

The IT salesman, who has built a shack with bar to house his collection of barbecues shared his efforts on his YouTube channel The Smokin’ Elk and Instagram page @thesmokinelk where he has a combined 7,000 followers.

‘There’s a common misconception with UK barbecues, it’s all burnt sausages, but there’s a significant growing scene,’ Dan said. ‘Over here we’re just catching up.

‘I’ve got 10 barbecues. Anything you can cook in the kitchen you can cook outside on those.’

He added: ‘It took a couple of months to go through the country and find dishes and narrow it down to one dish. There was a lot of planning into it.’

His first cook for friends was a beer can chicken - a total disaster when the meal was coated with black smoke.

But Dan’s creative juices get flowing in front of a hungry crowd, and he topped off his challenge by roasting a whole £100 lamb Argentinian style on New Year’s Eve for a crowd of family and friends.

‘It was good fun at the time,’ he said. ‘If I’m cooking for lots of people, that’s when I enjoy it.’

Dan, who has a fire pit, added: ‘Most of my cooking is for myself and my wife. I do enjoy having a few people round, and that means I have to be more creative.

‘I’ve gone down the rabbit hole. I’ve got smaller grills that cost £50 and I’ve got the £2,500 beast.’