Don’t Judge Me…

It takes a particular type of person to judge the British Street Food Awards, and choose a Champion fit to represent the UK at the European Street Food Awards. For a start, it helps to be hungry. With 24 signature dishes to taste at the finals our judges require a certain dedication. But the job also requires a critical distance – an ability to judge a juicy, two-fisted burger as even-handedly as a pav. Or a plate of creole chicken. With this super foodie line-up, we think we’ve got the dream team.

When Andy Beynon won his first Michelin star, his restaurant – Behind – had been open only 20 days.  Andy – formerly Jason Atherton’s development chef – has created a “behind-the-scenes experience” at the restaurant where guests get a ringside view of the action, and to chat to the chefs. A bit like street food. “I love street food” says Andy, “because you can sample so many different foods in one day, and give people a chance to test what they do before opening a restaurant.”

BAFTA-nominated actor Fay Ripley (Suspects, Reggie Perrin, Cold Feet, Dead Gorgeous) has judged at SIX finals of the British Street Food Awards up to now. So she knows what she’s in for. She’s a serious foodie, and the author of three cookbooks, winning Mumsnet’s cookbook of the year along the way. If she stops eating for long enough, she’ll open in Kerry Jackson, at the National Theatre, this November.

Sophie Ellis‐Bextor and husband Richard Jones spent the best part of lockdown entertaining the country – and their five children – with the Kitchen Disco. Now, in Love. Food. Family: Recipes from the Kitchen Disco, the pair have rediscovered the original use for their kitchen, with a cookbook full of family favourites. They are both real foodies (Richard’s dad was actually a chef), and – in the midst of a summer of festivals – they’re excited to come and taste the best street food in the country. And maybe nick a few ideas for Volume Two?

Originally from Cornwall, Tom Brown worked in restaurants around the South-West – including Rick Stein’s – before moving to London to be Head Chef at Nathan Outlaw’s eponymous restaurant at The Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge. Tom opened Cornerstone in Hackney Wick in 2018 and, in 2021, after a hard year for hospitality, won his first ever Michelin Star with simple, seasonal and produce-driven cooking.