Birmingham's next generation of chefs are turning their backs on restaurants to run burger vans and snack shacks, writes Mary Griffin .

WITH set-up costs spiralling out of their reach and savvy customers searching for low-cost, high-quality fast food, Birmingham’s young food entrepreneurs are turning their attention to the street.

And now they have a forum to showcase their goods at a new monthly street food market in Kings Heath.

Duncan Stanley, a Moseley resident and food fanatic working under the name of Brum Yum Yum, launched the market last Saturday.

With 15 traders serving dishes from barbecued ribs to traditional toasties, and Hereford beef burgers to Birmingham-made Belgian waffles, the market drew scores of foodies to Kings Heath village square.

Duncan, who used to be an apprentice producer with UB40, first developed a taste for street food while touring and as an independent traveller in South Asia, South and Central America and Europe.

“Street food has really grown in London over the last few years,” he says.

“And there’s a street food scene in Leeds, Manchester and Bristol, so I thought really it was time to give it a go in Birmingham.”

The former West House School pupil describes street food as being “stripped-down cuisine” catering for a middle market that sits between fast food pizza shops and high-end restaurants.

“It’s about independent chefs taking one or two dishes and perfecting them,” he explains.

“People are out, looking for value but also very sophisticated in their tastes nowadays.

“In Birmingham we’ve got plenty of choice at the top and bottom ends of the market. But there’s a middle-market malaise.

“Set-up costs for new restaurants are so high and staff costs are out of reach.

“So it’s really difficult for middle market businesses to give customers any value.”

He adds: “My dream has always been to have my own restaurant but I know the restaurant business is a very difficult one to earn money from.

“Most are trained head chefs with many years’ experience of catering but in this economic climate they don’t have a hope in hell of opening a restaurant – and the chance of making money is quite slim even if they did.

“This is a way of getting out there and reaching a discerning audience with quality dishes.”

Birmingham’s street food scene was kick-started last August when Moseley resident Jack Brabant launched the Digbeth Dining Club at Spotlight, under Digbeth’s railway arches.

With a weekly roster of two or three vendors, the club serves freshly cooked food to a post-work crowd every Friday night.

Like Brum Yum Yum, Digbeth Dining Club has gathered a cult following through Twitter and Facebook.

Jack, 30, says: “People want good food fast and they want it to be high quality, and people don’t necessarily want the restaurant experience.

“It’s an expensive business to open up a restaurant and there are a lot of talented chefs who don’t have the capital to do that.

“We wanted to dispel the myth that street food is just cheap burgers and jacket potatoes.

“It can be restaurant quality food. We regularly get messages saying ‘That was the best burger I’ve ever tasted’ or ‘That was the best pizza’. We’ve never had any complaints.”

Building on Digbeth Dining Club’s foundations, Duncan’s Brum Yum Yum has been licensed by Birmingham City Council to operate street food markets and is already looking to expand with sister markets in the Jewellery Quarter and city centre.

The organisation is also in talks with BBC Good Food producers about featuring street food at their shows.

The Kings Heath Streetfood Market returns on the second Saturday of every month, running from 12 noon to 6pm.

The best bites

Digbeth Dining Club’s choice of Birmingham’s best street food vendors...

The Meatshack

Under the strapline “Dripping filthy goodness”, the Meatshack claims to serve “the best burgers in Birmingham”, cooked to order in five minutes. 

Jabberwocky

The Jabberwocky started out two years ago in a large VW van bought on a whim after a car accident.

The van now serves gourmet toasties across the Midlands, promoting this humble snack to a delicious dining experience.

Leamington-based Barny and Flic, the brains behind the van, use quality ingredients from local suppliers, making everything they serve from scratch.

The Original Patty Men

Like the Meatshack, the Original Patty Men have focused their attention on burgers.

They use beef that has been hung for nearly five weeks, allowing the marbled meat to reach its ideal maturity and full potential.

Everything except the ketchup and mustard is homemade and locally sourced with glazed sour dough buns coming from a top-secret artisan baker.

They have developed their own Krispy Kreme burger and are also fans of smoked brisket and pulled pork.

Hungry Toad

Constantly tinkering with new recipes, Hungry Toad, from Redditch, has been a hit with barbecued baby back ribs and their own special recipe buttermilk fried chicken.

They have also been known to serve huge burritos, two-hour slow cooked chilli, delicious curries and, the street food favourite, burgers.