The winner of Best Street Food Trader at the British and European Street Food Awards is opening a permanent home in Digbeth.
The acclaimed Baked in Brick street food enterprise helmed by former UCB lecturer Lee Desanges opens at the Custard Factory on Friday, July 6.
Brummies can try smoked salmon, dill fennel and creme fraiche pizza (£9.50) as well as 'Blanco Pizza' - oak smoked chicken, boulangere potato and bechamel sauce - instead of the usual tomato.
Lee has become a well known face at Brum’s Digbeth Dining Club for the past three years, thanks to his mouthwatering 24-hour marinated chicken tikka over charcoal under the bonnet of a 1964 Mini Cooper and naan style flatbread cooked up in a wood-fired oven.
The suitably arty interior of the new place pays homage to Lee’s roots with a full size mini cooper in the wall.
There is also a mural designed by artist Kay Fisher telling Lee's food journey from baking pizza for friends from a wood fired oven he built himself in his garden in Sutton Coldfield to owning his own restaurant (see our video above).
Baked in Brick's famous chicken tikka wraps will be a highlight of the lunchtime menu.
The main focus is on wood fired oven baked pizza. The selection includes pepperoni and spicy N’duja (£9) or how about pizza topped with pork and fennel meatballs with yellow pepper ketchup? (£9.50)
We’re not too sure about the sound of the smoked salmon, dill fennel and creme fraiche on pizza (£9.50) But if it’s a Baked in Brick creation it should be worth a try.
In 2016 Lee won Best of the Best at The British Street Food Festival Awards. The following year Lee collected Best Main Course and Best Street Food at the European Street Food Awards in Berlin.
He told us: " It's a dream come true to have my own restaurant.
"I never thought five years ago that my pizza parties in my back garden would turn into me owning my own pizzeria.
“I’m classically trained in cooking and have worked in the kitchens of some wonderful fine dining places but always loved the romance of street food.
"As it's my restaurant I have the freedom to put what I like on the menu so it's not all about pizzas.
"I want to offer people a creative dining experience so there is something new on the menu on each visit.
"For example we will have non pizza specials such as steak and pasta dishes where we make all our own pasta.
"We do a Pizza Blanco - using bechamal sauce instead of tomato sauce. Nobody expects it to be nice bit but the people who have tried it so far reckon it's the best thing on the menu!"
The menu at the 60-seater restaurant also includes Lee's street food award winning dish. Shire Meadows beef shin ragu and wild mushroom calzone with a stilton dip - which won Best Street Food at the European Street Food Awards in 2017.
There are also charcuterie and cheese boards ( £7) and we love the sound of oak smoked burrata salad, heritage tomatoes, pesto, focaccia (£7)
And Brummies are welcome to just pop into Baked in Brick for a drink.
There are draught and bottled beers from Purity including the award-winning Lawless Lager on draught and Longhorn IPA, Mad Goose and UBU in the fridge.
There are also a selection of handcraft cocktails. Best of all there are outdoor tables - perfect for summer quaffing and scoffing.
Baked in Brick joins Indian Streatery , Meat Shack and OPM as the latest street food vendor turned restaurant.
The restaurant will be open Monday – Wednesday : 8am-5pm, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 8am - 10.30pm and Sunday: Midday -10pm.
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