It was a gorgeous sunny bank holiday weekend and everyone was out celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in their own way. I had planned a visit to the British Street Food Awards to sample some of the best street food the south of England has to offer, when I got a late call to step in and join the judging panel. What could be better than sampling some of the best street food in the UK right now? Sampling all of the food! 24 dishes to be precise. It's a good job eating is my favourite pastime, so armed with a very big smile and an empty stomach I headed down to Portsmouth's Gunwharf Quays.
The event was hosted by Food Mutiny who had brought together 12 of the most talented street food chefs ready to cook us some epic dishes. Along with event organiser and award winning journalist Richard Johnson, fellow influencer @nova_madethis and former Head Chef of Michelin starred The Black Rat, Jonathan Marsden-Jones, we prepared ourselves to be wowed.
Each street food stall cooked up 2 of their signature dishes. They didn't just have to taste amazing, we were rating appearance, aroma, originality and memorableness just to name a few. And we were not disappointed, everything from brightly coloured dessert bao buns to waffles wrapped around fried chicken and smothered in cheese, everyone had brought their A-game.
The prize? A place in the London finals with the chance to go on to the European Finals in Germany. The public got the chance to vote for their favourite and the second to go through was the judges choice.
There was no doubt the crowds were drawn to the enigmatic boys from L J Hugs who took the People's Choice. We were served a taster box of chili beef and chicken, seasoned with their signature LJ Hugs rub and served with rice, salad and sweet potato. We also tried a chicken wrap but the star of the show for me were the Nubbins, left over cuts of chicken seasoned with some mysteriously tasty flavour. So incredibly moreish!
Picking our top 3 was so tough but the overall favourite was Humble Kusina. There is no doubt their colourful bao buns are some of the prettiest street food out there but they were packed with so many tasty fillings there was no doubt about the judges choice winner. We were served up both sweet and savoury choices. The sweet choice Siopao, created especially for the Jubilee, contained an original mix of chocolate soil, strawberries, mint and clotted cream. On the savoury side pork Adobo with sriracha mayo and crispy onion. My mouth is watering just recalling the gorgeous fillings.
Close runners up for the top spot were Potjie Man serving up Cape Malay Street Food and Oh Babu with their Indian Street Kitchen.
For a full list of entries see the list and photos below or to find out more head directly to British Street Food awards.
Copyright © 2023 Nicola's World of Food - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy