Street food vendors have taken part in a major competition with a chance to compete in a national contest up for grabs.
Twelve competitors took part in the Welsh Street Food Awards, held at Llandeilo’s recently restored historic Market Hall. They cooked for a judging panel and a public ‘people’s choice’ vote. 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 now 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.
Welsh Street Food Awards Champion Derw Robertson-Jacobs of Pasta a Mano said:
“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 of 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 Hills 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.”
Contestants in the Welsh Street Food Awards 2024 were:
- Abi’s Gambian Kitchen
- Bayside Grill
- Burger Bay
- Cegin Manuka
- Diod
- Hills Brecon
- Origin Pizza
- Packed
- Pasta a Mano
- Pwdin
- Sin Nombre
- Taco Taco Taco
