British Street Food Awards 2012 » Yianni

The BSFA Comes To Town

richardj — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:34:45 +0000

The London branch of the British Street Food Awards is setting up shop — in the Brent Cross shopping centre car park. They’ve invited us along to cook up a storm on the tarmac on October 29, 30 and 31, and then again on November 26, 27, 28. Expect some old favourites (such as Andy from Eat My Pies, Yianni from the Meatwagon, Petra from ChocStar, George from Churros Bros, Anh from BanhMi11 and Rob from Ca Phe VN), but there will also be newbloods such as Patrick from Hoxton Beach, Rob from Brewed Boy, Alec from Bhangra Burger, Gill from Creperie Nicolas and Gary from The Deli Company. We’re throwing our lot in with the Real Food people, who already do such a brilliant job at bringing top drawer produce onto the streets of London’s Southbank. All power to them — and they’re promising farm animals. In case the good people of Brent Cross don’t know what they look like. We’ll be there on Friday 10-8, Saturday 10-7 and Sunday 12-6. Please come along!

The Food Blogosphere

Richie A — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 22:25:13 +0000

It was thanks to Twitter that I first stumbled across Yianni and his Meatwagon. Everyone was tweeting about his sublime cheeseburgers and — as I found out one Peckham lunchtime — theywere absolutely right. It got me thinking about the power of social media. And how the restaurant critics just don’t have the power they once did……..

Check out the interview I did for the wonderful Food Programe on BBC Radio 4. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00shfqt/Food_Programme_Food_Critics/

One to Watch

richardj — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 22:18:09 +0000

In troubled times, a juicy, two-fisted hamburger provides comfort. It isn’t a trend – it’s a classic. And it’s a classic for a reason. So don’t monkey about with it. The meat shouldn’t be lean — you’ll end up with a burger that’s mealy and dry. And make sure to get your meat-to-bun ratio right. For those of you new to the burger game, it’s 1:1. Of course, the Americans reckon they invented the meat sandwich. And they treat it like their own. Which is why some godforsaken place in Pennsylvania came up with ‘the 96er’. It weighs in at nine pounds. You can actually get this meat monster for $23.95, but be warned — the price does not include defibrillation. For an altogether more refined experience, try the £5 cheeseburger from Yianni (below). If you can find him. No word of a lie – he’s tucked away on an East Dulwich industrial estate, and even the most highly-trained of noses would struggle to find his hotplate. Thank goodness for twitter. In the queue for the Meatwagon were writers from two food blogs –A Hamburger Today and Will Eat For Money (a gent called Ibrahim Salha, who took the photos) – who were grilling Yianni about his 28-day aged chuck and the diary content of a cheese which, I have to say, looked dangerously like a Kraft Single. Before I ate Yianni’s burger, my favourite was cooked up by Richard Corrigan. It was made from rump steak (known for its flavour more than tenderness), bone marrow, sauteed white onion and marjoram. And I seem to remember he served it on a brioche. No wonder it won him a Michelin star. Corrigan was very particular about mincing the steak himself – he used a knife, and a mezzaluna to mince it finer. He didn’t add an egg or breadcrumbs. It was perfection. But, with Yianni’s burger, I found something that bettered perfection. Certainly one to watch in the Best Sandwich category at this year’s British Street Food Awards.