By some stroke of luck I FINALLYwon tickets to something! Wonderful Street Feast gave me two tickets to The British Street Food Awards final, which is running over two days 21st& 22ndSeptember 2018 at Hawker House in Canada Water. Myself and my friend ate a whole lot of food and rolled out at the end of our evening happy and full, I pretty much had a full-term food baby. It is rather unfortunate that I am not equipped with the ability to eat as much as I think I should, so sadly I was not able to try every dish from all 17 finalists, but I gave it a good try and managed to scoff down dishes from 5 of the stalls.
The British Street Food awards have chosen the best of traders for the finals, the winners from all over the country really represented last night serving their best treats, and we (the public) had the hard job of voting (along with a celebrity judging panel) for the champion. Those in attendance were:
THE PERUVIAN (Edinburgh)
PATTY FREAKS (Birmingham)
WALLACE AND SON (Manchester)
ROK KITCHEN (Essex)
BUDDHA BELLY (Birmingham)
TAMBAPANNI (Devon)
LOVE IS CHURROS (Lancashire)
RUBY’S STREET KITCHEN (Leeds)
BUFFALO TRUCK (Edinburgh)
GINGER & CHILLI (Glasgow)
CREMA CARAVAN (Edinburgh)
ASSEMBELLY (Pembrokeshire)
JAH JYOT (Sussex)
DOH’HUT (Leeds)
PATERNOSTER FARM (Pembrokeshire)
MANGIAMO (Leicester)
PARM STAR (Manchester)
I of course took my job of voting very seriously; the hardest part was actually choosing which stall to eat from first. After much deliberation it was decided that our first stop was to be Paternoster Farm from Pembrokeshire, their entries were Cod Cheeks and Chicharrones. After a very lengthy search for their stall, we bounded up almost on the verge of starvation filled with the joys of being fed. We were greeted by a wonderful lady who took our order, and patiently we waited while perusing their lovely photos pinned on their stall of cows and pigs. With food in hand we scuttled off to try our first dishes.
Our cod cheeks were perfectly cooked, so soft and melted in the mouth. The samphire added a beautifully flavoured crunch, all bursting with garlic which was totally moreish. As we digged further into our food cup you suddenly hit a goldmine if Mangalitza ham & haddock chowder, which was delicate and had just the right amount of sweetness from the ham. This whole little dish was an absolute revelation and a huge burst of flavours. I could certainly imagine this as a big main dish and I would most certainly order it and happily munch through the whole plate.
Paternoster Farm Cod Cheeks in garlic butter, marsh samphire, Mangalitza ham & haddock chowder, crispy pig cheek and sea beet.
Next up was the Chicharrones, this was confit of Mangalitza pork belly, cumin salt and lemon. MIND BLOWN!! This cone of belly was gorgeous and after a squeeze of lemon the acid cut through it and completely lifted the flavour of the pork. This was the perfect sized snack and I felt like I wanted a pint of ale and a giant cone of this by its side. Paternoster Farm was certainly the right choice for our first stall, the food was amazing and the ladies who run it were absolutely lovely, I have a longing to follow this stall wherever it goes and just live off cod cheeks for the rest of my days.
Chicharrones, confit Mangalitza pork belly, cumin salt and lemon
Our next choice was Ruby’s Street Kitchen from Leeds, and we tried their Indian Fried Chicken. These were Indian-spiced fried chicken wings with green chilli, masala and lemongrass and homemade Indian sauces.
These chicken wings are marinated for 24 hours, deep fried to perfection and served with full of flavour sauces on top of each wing. Firstly, Ruby’s deserve a huge round of applause for how perfectly fried their chicken wings were – unlike some popular chicken shops where they can be a bit oily – Ruby’s wings are crispy, crunchy and not greasy. The meat inside is tender and moist and tastes gorgeous. The coating is delicately spiced and even without the sauces are full of flavour. The only thing I wish was that we had little dippy pots of sauces as the mango one was banging, and I really wanted more of it! Ruby’s chicken wings can certainly stand on their own in this competition, if I am ever in Leeds I will be hunting them down and having a double order of them.
Ruby’s Indian Fried Chicken, Indian spiced wings with green chilli, masala and lemongrass and homemade Indian sauces
I am going to say something a little controversial here…. Burgers, I can take them or leave them. I like them, but I would not necessarily order one unless it is the only thing on the menu. Patty Freaks from Birmingham have changed my opinion as I have never had a burger quite as good before, I am just sad that these guys are based in Birmingham and I can’t visit on a regular basis to try every one of their burgers.
We tried their entry the Freaky Mac, double steak patties, pickles, American cheese, freaky mac sauce, lettuce, red onion in a seeded brioche cream bun. At first bite the meat was perfectly cooked, I love that it had loads of pickles and my initial reaction to the Freaky Mac was that it tasted like a big mac and a whopper spent a naughty night together, and this is their secret love child. This burger was so good that I didn’t care about the burger juice falling down my hands, if anything this was it telling me that it loved me and that it was my special burger. It was at this point that I wished that I was an eating machine that had several stomachs, with one of those just being my burger stomach so I could have tried all the burgers on Patty Freaks menu. People of Birmingham you are lucky little things as you get to have these on tap! Patty Freaks please adopt me…
Patty Freaks The Freaky Mac, Double steak patties, pickles, American cheese, freaky Mac sauce, lettuce, red onion in a seeded brioche cream bun
Next stop on our culinary tour of Street Food Britain was Parm Star from Manchester with their entry the New Yorker. As a southerner I have never had a parmo, a northern delicacy of breaded cutlet topped with white béchamel sauce and cheddar cheese. I have always heard my northern uni friends talk about a parmo with such nostalgia in their eyes, so I had to give it a go.
We ordered the slider size of the New Yorker which was a panko-crumbed fried chicken fillet, marinara sauce, mozzarella and pesto in a brioche bun. We also ordered the King of The North slider a panko-crumbed fried chicken fillet, béchamel sauce, cheese, slaw & garlic mayo. While eating these sliders I suddenly had the epiphany of understanding why the parmo is drunk/hangover food. Its stodgy, but the creamy béchamel sauce adds a much needed moistness and I actually really enjoyed my King of the North slider. The New Yorker was a completely different take on the parmo (I’m an expert now) I liked the addition of the mozzarella and pesto as it made it feel like a more sophisticated dish, almost like the southern version of a parmo. I enjoyed the Parm Star and felt that it finally gave me a taste of the legendary parmo.
Parm Star New Yorker, Panko crumbed fried chicken fillet, marinara sauce, mozzarella and pesto in a fresh brioche bun.
It was at this point I realised I am actually quite full, but I can’t finish a meal without a sweet treat I feel it just rounds the meal off nicely. We swiftly made our way to Love Is Churros from Lancashire and tried one of their entries the Lemonade ‘n’ Meringue Churro. Hollow churro filled with lemon crème patisserie, topped with glaze meringue and candied lemon peel. This was eye wateringly good, the lemon crème pat was delicately stuffed into the churro and it was filled with the perfect amount.
Love Is Churro Lemonade ‘N’ Meringue Churro, hollow churro filled with lemon creme patisserie, topped with glazed meringue and candied lemon peel
The meringue that topped the churro was soft and gooey and just the perfect sweetness, and the addition of the candied lemon peel added a change in texture and an extra lemon smack in the mouth. I instantly fell in love with this dessert it was beautifully executed, such a simple idea, I can’t believe someone hasn’t thought of it sooner. Love Is Churros has certainly changed the churros game. I just wish I had enough room in my tum to try their other entry the Bakewell Churro which again is a hollow churro, filled with almond crème patisserie, cheery compote, almond and cherry bombs. The couple behind this little churro truck are geniuses! I want to be able to have the Lemonade ‘n’ Meringue churro every day of the week and the fact I am still dreaming about it means that it made a small impact on my little food heart.
The British Street Food Awards final is still on today, so if you are thinking what shall I do with me day? Head on down to Canada water, its £5 entry and worth every penny. The winner will be announced this evening at 8pm, I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed for all the traders as each and every one of them are fantastic. If you do happen to go this evening just make sure you leave there with two Lemonade ‘n’ Meringue churro one for each hand and maybe a secret third in your pocket 🙂
Happy Dining xx
Stilettos, Tiaras and Beer 