Happy Birthday To Us

Ten years ago we held the first ever British Street Food Awards. In a car park in Ludlow. We wanted cool, high-end street food, with provenance, served out of something with personality, but struggled to find enough traders who really got what we were talking about. However, enough like-minded souls came from all over the UK to compete – for a stick blender. The blessed Mark Hix, Thomasina Miers and Anthony Worrall Thompson travelled all the way to Shropshire to judge. And Mark from NCASS was there to check our gas connectivity. It was The Beginning.

Ten years on, we are proud to unveil the 2019 British Street Food Awards supported by Hellmann’s, our brilliant sponsors. This year we’ll host five heats (including the Scottish Street Food Awards, and the Welsh Street Food Awards) and a big zero waste final — we’re excited to be working with Hellmann’s, NCASS and the Sustainable Restaurant Association to find the UK’s Most Sustainable trader. PLUS we’re now taking our food fight to Europe (oh, the irony) and in 2019 we are proud to announce 15+ countries will compete at our massive ESFA finals in Sweden. Nice!

But Bustler Market in Derby is where it all starts, with Portsmouth, Edinburgh, Swansea and Leeds to follow. So, how has it grown to be the biggest street food competition in the world? Well, of course we have some incredibly talented and hard-working traders working across Europe cooking up a storm but it’s also down to the people who take part in the voting – YOU! The public love the style of dining that street food allows. “It’s low-commitment dining and it’s why pop-ups and street food has become so popular” says Johnson. So please come on down – Eat, Drink, Vote!