This weekend I was roped into judging a burger competition.
Who I am I kidding? It’s quite clearly my ideal job.
HitMeUp were launching their very cool new app and celebrating with a good ol’ fashioned burger battle.
The judges were an eclectic group to say the least, Craig Glenday – Editor of The Guiness Book of Records, Jack Whitehall – comedian, Burgerac – burger critic & me – burger addict.
We made our way to Red Market in Shoreditch, started with a big mug of mulled wine and got stuck in.
First up, The Bleeker St double.
This was my personal favourite. Rich, meaty, juicy, cheesy, everything a burger should be. Just look at it…
Next we made our way to Street Kitchen for their famous crispy chicken burger and a cheeky BBQ wing.
This went down seriously well. Crispy, tasty chicken, a hell of a homemade mayo and a fluffy bun. The BBQ chicken wings just sent us over the edge.
Next, a baconey beast by Burger Bear.
He buys smoked bacon and then smokes it again at home for a serious flavour punch. Dedication.
Bacon, cheese, bacon jam, incredible patty, secret sauce & salad.
The face of anticipation.
Wild Game Co.‘s Scottish venison burger mixed us up a bit and had the judges in a flutter.
The pulled pork & slaw bun from The Joint was spectacularly naughty and had almost caramelised bacon mixed in with it.
The ultimate pork-fest.
made the best sausage & egg muffin I’ve ever tasted.
Served in an egg box with hashbrowns.
And we finished up with Tounge ‘n Cheek‘s pork belly creation.
The sun had gone down and it was time to pick a winner.
The judges deliberated, counted up our scores and traded notes over big mugs of beer. It was going to be close, we didn’t hit a single dud on our trip around the stalls. Every burger scored a 7 or over.
Finally, we chose our champion.
Tom, The Burger Bear . A popular winner, the crowd whooped, cheered and celebrated with… another round of burgers!
If you want to get your mitts on any of the naughty numbers we tried, head on down to Red Market for lunch on Thursday or Friday. In the meantime, iPhoners should download HitMeUp (the free app which gets you free stuff for doing stupid stuff).
