I had an intense and inspiring lunch at this vibrant Edinburgh street food destination
It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it
For the last five years, there’s been a date in my calendar that’s more important than my own birthday.
It’s the day that I help judge the Scottish Street Food Awards.
For the last two years, it’s taken place at The Pitt, all the way down at Edinburgh’s Granton Harbour.
This year, the panel included Tyler King from Michelin-starred restaurant Condita, journalist Suzy Pope, plus Navida Galbraith, who is head of operations at the venue, and the OG of Richard Johnson, the founder of the British Street Food Awards, which has been running since 2009 and is the world’s biggest street food competition.
The winner will go through to the British Street Food Awards in September, then, if they bag that too, the European Street Food Awards in Germany later that month.
On a grey looking Sunday, we settled into a portacabin, like workies on a lunch break, for three hours. Our mission? To try the wares of 10 creative new businesses. Clipboards at the ready.
These are a few memorable moments.
1 Having a serious discussion about pizza crunches. “Is that a Scottish term?” said an innocent fellow judge, who seemed to only know this foodstuff under the more prosaic classification of “deep-fried pizza”. Anyway, after deciding that yes, it was, we sampled the wares from East-Lothian-based Jamie’s Backyard Slice. Basically, a Neopolitan pizza slice fried in thick Tennent’s laced batter, with a blob of ricotta and nduja on top, chips on the side, and a side portion of zeppole doughnuts with Nutella dip. Phew. Total filth.
2 Trying the biggest piece of sushi ever. The Ukrainian team from the very enthusiastic D&A Sushi have obviously decided that bite-sized sushi is too portable, and have created the size-six-shoe-length sushi-dog. Thankfully, they had brought a knife, so that we could chop the two rice-based wieners into four (almost) manageable pieces. Of course, we all enjoyed the deep-fried one. Let’s call it a sushi crunch. Their dishes are responsible for my notes being sauce-plastered.
3 Pacing yourself. As a seasoned judge, I knew to go slow. So, one or two bites from the first three, then building up to four or five bites. Do not peak too soon. “I’m so full,” says King, rather early into proceedings. Rookie error.
4 Understanding immediately who the winner is. It’s always unanimous. We just know. In previous years, Scottish champions have included tamagoyaki purveyors Smoked Tamago, Scottish and Irish street food creators Bia, and Nepalese geniuses, Choola, who are known for their momo dumplings. This time round, the clear winner was Fife business Ember, who offer charcoal cooking and bold flavours. They presented us with a wood-fired picanha steak with wild garlic salsa verde and fries, as well as a panuozzo sandwich. The portacabin went strangely silent, as we chewed our way through these goodies. No notes needed.
5 Not only did I have my first pizza crunch and sushi crunch, I also sampled my inaugural Hungarian chimney cake from Tekerch. According to Johnson, it’s very rare for a food business that makes sweet stuff to go through and win the British Street Food Awards, though Scotland’s Crema Caravan did quite well a few years ago. There was only one sugary treat at this year’s judging, and it was rather comfortingly lovely, with caramelised cakey springs that were coated in pistachio or dehydrated raspberries. We gave them a second runner-up position. Boom!
6 Hanging out with the other judges is fab. No rows, no Craig Revel Horwoods and no food fights, as fun as that might be.
7 Having a scallop, sprinkled with garlicky gratin, served to us as a street food. This hasn’t happened before. So fancy. This was courtesy of Fife-based charcoal cooking experts Eat Ko:te. The same goes for the ceviche on plantain chips by The Peruvian, who is a real Edinburgh veteran and has incredibly been operating since 2017.
8 My brain was boggled by how imaginative folk are, when it comes to offering punchy food. We tried Hawaiian-inspired bao buns from Far Out Bao and, from Brocail, homemade paneer, using Jersey cow milk from The Wee Dairy in Perthshire.
9 There is also a People’s Choice winner, which is voted for over the weekend. It rarely tallies up with the judges’ numero uno. This time, it was nearly there. We voted for the brilliant Naughty Boi Smashburgers as our runner-up, but they were the punters’ ultimate favourite. I get it. I don’t usually get excited about burgers, but these were absolute stunners.
10 I was sad that there are so few punning names for street food businesses.
11 In the regular restaurant cheffing world, men vastly outnumber women. Street food is rather better. It was wonderful hearing from women, including the owner of Pinko’s Korean Street Food, who talked about the family recipe inspiration that goes into their Seoul Combo Cupbap. The same goes for Brocail, D&A Sushi and Far Out Bao. So many couples, too.
12 Wondering whether to have dinner that night. I did. And I had breakfast that day too. I am a professional.
13 It’s only when we’re on stage, about to announce the award, that I realise how important this is to so many. The expectant faces! It’s such a labour of love for them. When he wins, Duncan McLachlan from Ember, bounds onto the stage with overjoyed golden retriever energy. Our job here is done.
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