The key to a great tailgate grilling experience is the right combination of patience and speed. No product can furnish a parking lot chef with patience, but there is one on the market that can deliver speed. FiAir brings lit charcoal to cooking temperature in about half the time of the traditional light-and-wait method. The handheld, battery-powered point-and-shoot blower is designed specifically to nurture wood and charcoal fires with precision and control.
“Surveys show that most grillers prefer the flavor of food cooked over charcoal, but are frustrated by the time it takes for the coals to turn white-hot,” says FiAir Inventor and President Alan Harris. “Even with accelerants and/or a chimney starter, it still can take 20-30 minutes until charcoal is hot enough to cook.”
FiAir is operated with the push of a button, so there is no squeezing or cranking involved. It is powerful enough to stoke a fire from a safe distance, but rugged enough to kindle close to the flames. It is compact, portable and automatically shuts off if it slips from a chef’s hand. In most cases, coals are ready to go within 10 minutes or so.
“Being a charcoal guy, I am happy to stumble upon something that can facilitate speed and get that charcoal to the point where I can expedite my culinary creations,” says award-winning BBQ Chef Jeff “Doc” Dockeray, aka the Parking Lot Pro. “That’s true whether I have to squeeze four courses into three hours before game time, or the wife is hollering that dinner needs to be on the table by 6 p.m. because the kids have to be off to soccer.”