The Baron of Beef booth always begins a month ahead of the annual Oak Bay Tea Party.
“I order the meat 28 days ahead of schedule … aged 28 days that makes a difference more than anything I think,” says pit boss Rob Westfall.
Last year Tea Party goers ate 100 roasts roughly the size of a rugby ball.
Between the aging, seasoning, and being barbecued for roughly 2.5 hours right on Willows Beach, they taste nothing like a rugby ball.
Westfall uses the same recipe he was issued when charged with the task five years ago.
“Why change a good thing?” he says.
The recipe includes salt, black pepper, sage, garlic salt, onion salt and the not-so-secret main ingredient – beer.
It’s not just any beer, Westfall heads to Oak Bay’s own PennyFarthing for about five litres of dark beer.
“That’s it, it’s mainly beer and it’s always good,” Westfall says.
The Oak Bay Tea Party starts Friday, June 2 with midway rides at Willows Beach. It continues Saturday and Sunday with a midway, parade and plethora of beach activities.
Visit oakbayteaparty.com or the Wednesday, May 31 edition of the Oak Bay News for a full schedule of events.