Abstract: A barbecue apparatus for roasting food such as meat, vegetables or the like over a bed of coals, is disclosed. The apparatus is adapted to automatically turn the food from time to time, by converting heat energy transferred from the bed of coals to an expansion member or from the expansion member to the atmosphere, to potential energy which is temporarily stored in a spring and released therefrom upon operation of a trigger mechanism, to alternately turn the food from a first position to a second position and vice versa.

Abstract: Spit roasting apparatus for the spit roasting of roastable foodstuffs, the apparatus comprising a rotatably supported water wheel for rotatably driving a spit member for supporting roastable foodstuffs to be roasted, the water wheel having a plurality of water-receiving trough formations at spaced intervals along its periphery for receiving water to drive the water wheel. The apparatus includes water feed means for feeding water to the wheel during use, control means for controlling the rate of supply of water to the wheel, and compensating means for compensating for eccentricity in the mass distribution of roastable foodstuff supported on a spit member coupled to water wheel, the compensating means comprising a plurality of compensating buckets which are associated with at least some of the trough formations to receive and store overflow from these trough formations.