Scots Wha Hae!
What an honour! To host the 2024 Scottish Street Food Awards on the opening weekend of the Edinburgh Food Festival – on the Festival’s tenth anniversary! The final, in Assembly George Square Gardens on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 July, was all about championing excellence in Scotland’s diverse food culture. And what a final it was.
On the menu were the arancini from Cala Cala; African/Scottish fusion from Knights Kitchen; Lebanese meze from Lazeez Street Food; plant-based goodness from Planet G Food; handmade bao buns from Steam Bunny; Edinburgh’s own Ting Thai with iconic Thai delicacies; homemade brownies from Chock Shop; and fruit crumbles from The Crumbleologist. Who to vote for?
No pressure. The previous two winners of the Scottish Street Food Awards went on to win at the finals of the British Street Food Awards, with Choola being asked to cook on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen, and Edinburgh Food Festival alumnus, Junk, going on to take the title of European champions at the European Street Food Awards.
The people voted on the People’s Choice, and the Champion was chosen by our team of judges. And what a team of judges they were. Conor Toomey, ex-Head Chef of the Michelin-starred Condita restaurant, the foodie and comic Jay Lafferty, and Gaby Soutar, the weekly restaurant reviewer in the Scotsman since 2007.
This was how it went down in 2024:
CHAMPIONS:
1= Knights Kitchen and Planet G
2 The Crumbleologist
PEOPLE’S CHOICE:
1 Planet G
2 Lazeez Street Food
3 The Crumbleologist
Both winners will go on to represent Scotland at the grand finals of the British Street Food Awards in London, taking place at Hackney Bridge on September 13-15. And, just maybe, the grand finals of the European Street Food Awards in Germany on October 4-6. Fingers crossed?