Commitment to the environment a driving force at Street Food Chef
The Street Food Chef adventure began in 2009 thanks to the belief that husband and wife team Abi and Richard Golland shared in the simple power of ‘proper food’.
Passionate foodies (Richard keen on cooking, Abi keen on eating!), they were all too familiar with the ability of a delicious plate of food to bring a smile to faces. Having worked in Early Years for 15 years, Abi had also seen first-hand the difference fresh, wholesome and nutritious food could make in daily life.
They moved from Oxford to Richard’s home town of Sheffield in 2006. With three hungry, growing children, they often bemoaned the lack of fast food options available for people who wanted to be able to grab something super-tasty and super-quick without breaking the bank or feeling less-than-healthy afterwards. Richard’s entrepreneurial spirit came into its own – he had previously opened Oxford’s first vegetarian café – and they decided to give it a go themselves.
Mexican food was the obvious choice for their healthy fast-food business. When it comes to food that packs a punch with flavour without having to be unhealthy, a burrito can be the ultimate example of balancing nutrition and taste. They knew that they wanted to serve food that would taste good (that was a given!), but they also wanted to serve food that would make people feel good, too.
They began trading from a 3 x 2m trailer in May 2010. They spent nine months catering at events and festivals in South Yorkshire, as well markets up and down the country, building their burritos fresh to order. They put plenty of miles on the trailer’s clock in those early months and it was within the confines of the tiny trailer that Abi and Richard learnt their trade – everything from managing a small business to rolling a burrito like an expert.
They also quickly learnt what their core values were, that they had to be proud to put their name to everything they served and simply would never feel right about cutting corners. The ethos of Street Food Chef began to take shape around a simple approach to cooking fresh, all-natural ingredients from scratch. This became the founding principle of all things Street Food Chef.
Their first permanent home was the Pinstone Street Burrito Bar, which was a defining moment in their story. After trading through snow, sleet, wind and rain at Christmas markets, they finally got council approval to open on Pinstone Street in February 2011. The fiesta was just getting started.
They were overwhelmed to be rewarded with an Eat Sheffield Award in 2011 in their first year. As well as the support of their customers, being welcomed so warmly into Sheffield’s close-knit foodie community was what inspired them to keep developing their business. Working with other local businesses became part of their ethos – from sourcing ingredients locally where possible to buying their packaging and printing their t-shirts nearby.
When they opened the licenced canteen on Arundel Street, Street Food Chef stepped into a new style of eatery. Long sharing benches, cold beers in the fridge and a relaxed atmosphere all worked together to create the buzz of market-style dining. They achieved their second Eat Sheffield Award in 2012 – and then again every year to date. In 2013 they received a reader recommendation in The Good Food Guide and a coveted runner up award in the Observer Food Monthly Awards 2014 for Best Cheap Eats.
In 2014 nutritionist Kurt (who had worked with them for years, opening their eyes to the qualities of nutrient-rich ingredients like black beans, avocado and coriander) came on board. This allowed them to begin adding nutritional information to the website. They had always known their food was packed full of the good stuff, but now customers could check out the facts and figures for themselves, too.
The aim for Street Food Chef now is to keep developing their business across the city with outlets in Sharrowvale Road and Arundel Street, to listen to what customers want from their fast food and to continue to prepare everything from scratch (including the home-made salsas that are now available to buy) for the healthiest and tastiest results.
The company has used compostable plates and biodegradable bags for its eat-out customers since launching in 2010 and last year Richard and Abi decided to go a step further and do away with as much disposable plastic as possible.
Said Abi: “We switched to biodegradable and compostable cutlery made of plant starch, sourced coffee cups, margarita slush cups and salsa pots made from corn and vegetable starch and switched plastic straws to paper versions.
“The next step is to encourage people to help us use as little of this as possible, so less waste is created. We would even like our takeaway customers to bring their own carrier bags.”
In the restaurants, waste left by eat-in customers is carefully sorted according to recyclability, and is taken away by Sheffield company Recycling Revolution, a not-for-profit social enterprise which employs of vulnerable people and donates to local charities.
The Street Food Chef team is now focused on removing single-use plastic from its kitchens.