Australian Men Dealing With 'barbecue Envy'

[mrmoshe]

Australian men dealing with 'barbecue envy'

AUSTRALIAN men are using the humble barbecue to boost their masculinity.

The barbecue has officially joined flashy convertibles as the new status symbol for men, a new study has found.

The bigger the barbie the more envious the neighbours, while those with less grill-power suffer severe barbecue envy.

Almost half of Australians say they have been jealous of a neighbour or mate's barbecue, the study from barbecue maker BeefEater has found.

Of those surveyed, 35 per cent said they invited others around to show off their barbie, while impressing friends was a factor for 15 per cent when buying a new one.

Cooking on the barbecue was strictly a man's job, with 97 per cent taking on the task.

Most men believed they were instinctively superior to women at sizzling a steak.

Others claimed they had developed their expertise from watching their fathers.

Retiree Mark Atkin paid almost $8000 for a six burner, top-of-the-range barbecue last month.

"I thought if we're going to have a new BBQ, we're going to have the best," Mr Atkin said.

After moving from the UK to Australia three weeks ago, he plans to use his new toy every night.

[fishguts]

you know what they say if you drive a big BBQ....