Just like any ingredient, different types of wood have their own unique characteristics that lend themselves to certain types of food. For example, the mildly smoky Applewood pairs brilliantly with poultry and shellfish, while Hazel complements bold flavours like meats and vegetables.

When you burn wood, hundreds of small chemical reactions occur simultaneously; sugar molecules in the wood caramelise in the intense heat and exude a sweet fruity perfume, while other natural components produce the distinctive aromatic taste and enticing smokiness you will be familiar with if you have ever eaten anything cooked over a wood fire.

In short cooking with wood brings a unique flavour to your food that nothing else can match. But then you probably already know that otherwise you wouldn’t be on our website!

The only difference is size. Throw a handful of soaked woods chips over hot charcoal for a quick hit of smoke. If you are cooking something for longer, say a large piece of meat (1kg+), with charcoal as your main heat source, then chunks are your best option. They will burn for longer, producing a beautifully rich, slower release of smoke. For the ultimate hit of flavour, use our logs alone and cook purely over wood. Check out our guide on how to build a fire with wood here.

Most supermarket charcoal is sold as briquettes. These are normally a combination of charcoal bound by other ingredients such as starch and sawdust. They may also contain sodium nitrate or petroleum, which will taint your food with a chemical flavour. Another supermarket offering is lumpwood charcoal, which is typically imported from all around the world, often without stating the source of the wood.

Our wood is proudly unrefined. It is derived from the responsible management of orchards and woodlands in Somerset and is handmade locally using a traditional kiln method. This ancient production process means you will still be able to see the shape of the logs, sometimes even the texture of the bark. It is not treated nor is it cut and shaped into uniformed sizes. Our Applewood comes from trees that were planted over 40 years ago!

All the timber for our charcoal comes from the same orchards as our cooking woods and other local woodlands. By investing locally we enhance the commercial value of the woodlands, ensuring that they are properly managed and preserved so that wildlife flourishes for future generations to enjoy.

You do not need any specialist equipment to cook with wood. As long as what you are cooking on or in is safe to contain fire and has an element of airflow that you can control, the possibilities are endless. For example, we recently cooked mackerel in a metal bucket with holes over a bed of Woodsmith’s chunks and charcoal. Delicious!

Ultimately it’s not about having a fancy piece of kit. It’s about following your instincts and using what you have to hand. Find our how to guides here.

When cooking over wood alone, there are a number of ways to light the wood depending on the conditions and what you have to hand. We use the “log cabin” method, which works in almost all conditions. Check out our how-to guide here.

Using the recommended “log cabin” method, you would build your fire with a mixture of smaller logs, kindling and firelighters. As our wood comes from the responsible management of orchards and woodlands, you will find there will be some smaller and some larger pieces of wood. We’d recommend starting with the smaller pieces and then adding the larger ones once the fire has built up a good heat. It’s always better to start with a smaller fire and to grow from there.

Our wood has been seasoned and dried to ensure it's in the optimum condition to cook with. Smoke is a necessary process as the wood breaks down and produces flames and eventually embers to cook over. Properly seasoned and dried wood combusts quicker and so will reach the optimum cooking conditions faster . Whenever you are cooking with wood, make sure you are in a well-ventilated area.

In a dry place, away from the elements. The wood is already dry, so there’s no need for specialist storage.

In short, yes. All our wood and charcoal is sourced from the responsible management of orchards and woodlands. All our wood is then sustainably dried using the offcuts from processing.

For any orders over £50 to mainland UK all delivery charges are included, for orders below that the delivery charge is £6.50. We use a range of national courier companies to ensure we can always achieve the fastest delivery times.

All our products are shipped in one of our fully recyclable Woodsmith shipping boxes. All log products are carefully loose loaded into the box (to give you more logs!). All other products are individually packaged and placed inside the Woodsmith shipping box.

We aim to have your order with you within 72 hours of ordering. There is an additional charge if you would like delivery made over the weekend.

We take this very seriously. Our products are carefully selected, so it is important we know as soon as possible if anything is not satisfactory. Please get in touch and we'll investigate this for you.