Andy Bates American Street Feasts Food Blogger Event

Recently, along with seven influential ‘food bloggers’ I went to cookery school to learn how to make delicious tasting street food. The event was organised to celebrate Andy Bates American Street Feasts on Food Network. For those of you who don’t know, or I should say the non foodies out-there Andy Bates runs a very popular stall which sells traditional British street food called ‘Eat My Pies’.

Street Food has exploded upon the London food scene over the past 2-3 years… I will use two words that I really hate to sum up the street food scene, it has become ‘trendy’ and ‘hip’. Don’t let that put you off, there really is a  lot of people out there selling amazing street food from stalls and vans at reasonable prices. It’s not all a big con to rip us off… well not yet!

We watched the maestro Andy Bates demonstrate how to make an iconic British delicacy, the Scotch egg. I must admit I was initially a tiny bit disappointed that it was a vegetarian Scotch egg – that was until I tasted it! Next up was Andy’s take on the humble Louisiana sandwich called a Po’ Boy.

The prospect of becoming a vegetarian is something that makes me feel physical sick… it really does. I love eating meat: lamb, pork, goat, chicken and beef that is real food! However after tasting Andy’s three bean vegetarian Scotch egg I could be tempted to eat less meat, it tasted delicious. The Po’ Boy which featured prawns – whole and blended into a patty, celeriac remoulade, Parmesan and various spices all wrapped in a flatbread was also a winner.

After the demonstration and tasting we split into two teams of four to recreate the Scotch egg and Po’ Boy. My team was given the task of making the vegetarian Scotch egg, which was good because I preferred it, and it looked more fun to make.

Both teams took to their tasks like only foodie bloggers could: full of determination, zest and creativity! The end result was a good one. Our Scotch eggs pretty much looked like Andy’s if you didn’t look too close and you closed one eye! The other team did a fantastic job with the Po’ Boy.

Which was the best, the Po’ Boy or the Vegetarian Scotch Egg? They both looked and smelled delicious, however I never managed to taste either. We hit the streets to get a reaction from the public and as quick as you can say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious there was nothing left, not even a crumb!

For more from Andy Bates American Street Feasts visit the Food Network where you can follow his adventure to track down America’s finest street food.