The WORLD’S biggest street food competition returned to Wales across the weekend of 15-16 June, with Street Food Circus taking the festival to a new location at Llandeilo’s recently restored historic Market Hall.
Twelve competitors in the Welsh Street Food Awards cooked for a judging panel and a public ‘people’s choice’ vote across the weekend. The awards were judged by Richard Johnson, founder of the British Street Food Awards, alongside food writer, broadcaster and restaurateur Simon Wright, Welsh food and travel writer Kacie Morgan and Welsh food blogger and content creator, Shannon Owens.
The Welsh winners will take their dishes on to compete at the British Street Food Awards finals in London with a chance to go on to represent Wales at the European Street Food Awards grand final in Germany.
British Street Food Awards Final
London, 13-15 September 2024
European Street Food Awards Final
Germany, 4-6 October 2024
Wales Champion winner: Pasta a Mano
Winning dish: Car-Y-Mor crab linguine with mascarpone, lemon & Awen Organics agretti.
Wales People’s Choice winner: Hills Brecon
Winning dish: Le Bacon Cheeseburger, Bearnaise sauce, red wine ketchup & bacon lardons
Welsh Street Food Awards Champion: Derw Robertson-Jacobs, Pasta a Mano:
“This is a great validation for our ethos of not compromising on the quality of our ingredients, making everything from scratch and only using the best local ingredients. In Pembrokeshire I have all these incredible producers on my doorstep – many of whom are now close friends – and all my ingredients come through these really supportive producer relationships. I’m so proud to be able to showcase what our often-overlooked part of the world has to offer.”
Welsh Street Food Awards People’s Choice winner, Owain Hill, Hills Brecon said:
“We’ve had fantastic feedback and people have been lovely all weekend so it’s very humbling that they’ve voted for us to win. All of the traders have been exceptional and this has been such an amazing showcase for Welsh Street Food. Going on to the UK finals will be a great opportunity for us – alongside another great business Pasta a Mano – to represent Wales and take Welsh food and Welsh producers to a wider UK audience.”
Richard Johnson, British Street Food Awards founder said:
“Congratulations to our champion – the judges had a tough job with such a diverse and delicious line up of competitors, but when it came down to flavour, quality and originality, Pasta a Mano was a unanimous choice. And a massive well done to Hill’s for winning over all our visitors and taking the People’s Choice award.
“Over the years, we’ve seen many street food cooks from Wales go on and win against competition from the UK and the best in the world. So we’re excited to see how far the class of 2024 will progress.”
Matt the Hat, Street Food Circus founder and ringmaster added:
“We were thrilled to be able to take our travelling caravan of international flavours to Llandeilo. We’re on a mission to discover and nurture new street food talents – and to create events in unique locations all over Wales to give as many people as possible to try their food.
“Thank you to the people of Llandeilo and Carmarthenshire for coming out to support our chefs and helping to send them on their way to the UK finals and, we hope, all the way to Germany!”
Welsh Street Food Award Contestants 2024
ABI’S GAMBIAN KITCHEN
Ghana has long been a hidden gem of wonderful, delicious food and Abi is a passionate home cook living in Carmarthen. Abi is showcasing West African home cooking using bold regional flavours and traditional cooking techniques. Competition dish: BBQ chicken yassa with onion sauce, homemade slaw and couscous
BAYSIDE GRILL
Amitpreet is a career chef who takes pride in the food he produces and the homemade sauces and spice mixes he creates at the Bayside Grill in Cardiff. Competition dish: 8-hour slow cooked beef short rib and mac ’n’ cheese balls.
BURGER BAY
It’s all about the lamb with Burger Bay. That and their converted 1979 VW van!
Competition dish: home-reared lamb burger, 8-hour slow roasted pulled lamb shoulder, crackling with minted gravy
CEGIN MANUKA
Cegin Manuka is from the seaside town of Aberaeron – people come from far and wide to sample their pan-Asian inspired menu. Competition dish: sticky chilli chicken, Thai green salad, crispy noodles & Manuka sweet chilli sauce
DIOD
Llandeilo locals serving up great Welsh food (and great coffee and cakes) from their coffee and wine shop in the heart of the town. Competition dish: tandoori chicken flatbread, house red slaw, mint yoghurt
HILLS BRECON
HILLS Brecon, a family run business have been building a reputation as one of the best burger joints in the country, using the best in local produce to make their explicit burgers! Competition dish: Le Bacon Cheeseburger, Bearnaise sauce, red wine ketchup & bacon lardons
ORIGIN PIZZA
Just a couple of guys and gals sharing a passion for wood fired pizza using local produce and travelling the UK in their Land Rover (with built-in pizza oven!). Competition dish: wood-fired roasted duck hoisin base, Fior di Latte, spring onions with cucumber and parmesan with a garlic, parsley and black pepper mayo.
PACKED
Packed are street food newbies – developing an idea they stumbled across while travelling through the Americas: the Italian gravy-dunked beef sandwich. Competition dish: beef topside braised in a rich gravy, sweet grilled peppers, homemade giardiniera, dunked in gravy.
PASTA A MANO
Pembrokeshire’s premium pasta peddlers are making a rare appearance at the Welsh Street Food Awards. Their commitment to using local sustainable ingredients, alongside authentic Italian cooking style makes them stand out from the crowd. Competition dish: Car-Y-Mor crab linguine with mascarpone, lemon & Awen Organics agretti.
PWDIN
Bringing a delicious range of scrumptious sweets and nostalgic puddings – and a previous finalist at the British Street Food Awards. Competition dish: warm Belgian chocolate brownie with Nutella and fresh strawberries
SIN NOMBRE
Sin Nombre have been at the forefront of Mexican fire cookery in Wales The team loves cooking over fire and specialise in BBQ fish. Competition dish: BBQ monkfish loin, fire roasted shellfish, coconut & chipotle marinade, roasted tomatillo salsa, chimichurri, whipped avocado, blue corn tortilla
TACO TACO TACO
A crew of chefs and foodies crafting unique tacos that their nana Lita Esperanza would proudly serve on the streets of Mexico City! They’re looking to shake up the taco scene in Wales with original tacos that fuse authentic Mexican flavours with top quality local ingredients. Competition Dish: Smoked black Welsh lamb, cucumber salsa verde, heritage tomato pico de gallo, mint and two corn tortilla
