The British Street Food Awards celebrate the ‘Best of the Best’

The street food scene has been hotting up for the British Street Food Awards, with heats taking place right across Britain and Northern Ireland.

The street food scene has been hotting up for the British Street Food Awards, with heats taking place right across Britain and Northern Ireland.  But the main event, the finals, landed on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September, at the Rainbow Arena, Digbeth, Birmingham, home of the famous and award winning Digbeth Dining Club.

As proud sponsors, we were there to sample the best street food in the country, and bask in the warm September sunshine. The Indian summer came with a stack of south Indian choice, including the ‘Bhaji Bhaji Bowl’ from Dosa Deli and pakoras from the Cheeky Indian. Along with south Indian cuisine, Taiwanese food made a big impression (Le Bao, take a bow), showing that South Asian cuisine is living up to its ‘hot trend’ status. The Thai offering from Buddha Belly stole the show, and the hearts of the Birmingham crowd, coming away with the ‘People’s Choice’ Award for its Thai curry with black and white jasmine rice.

But the main event was the judges’ prize, ‘Best of the Best’, sponsored by Santa Maria. And judging by the size of the queue, the winner was popular with festival goers and judges alike. The award went to Baked in Brick, which operates out of a converted mini with a wood fired oven where a chassis should be, and a barbecue under the bonnet! Their winning dish was a slow cooked beef shin ragu calzone that had the crowds eating out of their hands.

Street food is the trend that can’t be ignored – and we’ve just released our latest insight on its continuing influence on the eating out market in the UK. Find out what consumers want from street food, and how you can bring street food flavours to your kitchen by downloading our report, "What's next in street food?"

To find out more about the British Street Food Awards visit www.britishstreetfood.co.uk/festival, and check them out on Facebook and Twitter @BritStreetFood.