Outdoor cooking probably began back in the prehistoric times of cave man and wandering tribes. We don't know when man discovered how to start a fire, but we are sure it opened the age of outdoor cooking. Nothing of more importance has happened to man since.
Cooking over an open flame was the only method of cooking known for thousands of years. The fact that it has persisted across centuries of mankind's development proves its appeal. Caesar's armies and other conquering hordes of history subsisted on grain and meat cooked by open fire. Hunters, explorers, pioneers, and cowboys satisfied their hunger with game barbecued over campfires.
As our early ancestors deserted caves for the shelters they had learned to construct themselves, they also learned how to build hearths and fireplaces to bring fire indoors for heating and cooking. Later came the first crude stoves which, strangely enough, were little improved through centuries of history. Technology of comparatively recent origin is responsible for the invention and development of modern gas and electric cooking ranges. When cooking moved indoors, the women took over and have remained supreme in the kitchen ever since.
Now we come full circle. The new age of outdoor cooking is here, and it may last as long as the first one. Man seeks escape from the confinement of urban congestion, the pressures of business, and the stresses of city and suburban life, and turns to outdoor living for release from his tensions. He has found new joy and relaxation in outdoor cooking.