All the traders fighting it out to be crowned northern champ in the British Street Food Awards this weekend

The northern leg of the British Street Food Awards is happening this weekend at Freight Island, with some of the best traders in the north and midlands heading to Manchester to fight it out.

We’ve now got the full list of those taking part in this year’s event, with a host of homegrown talent among them.

15 traders will face off against each other, with the winners going through to the finals in London in September.

Judges include chef Luke Payne from The Pack Horse pub in Hayfield, Manchester’s Finest’s very own Matty White and British Street Food Awards founder and food journalist, Richard Johnson, with a ‘People’s Choice’ award too, meaning you’ll be able to vote for your favourites.

Here are the traders in full:

Back-A-Yard Jamaican – authentic Jamaican flavours from Nottingham

Baldy’s – Wigan’s multi award-winning artisan pies

Burgerism – North West’s most ordered burger serving premium smashed burgers

Colombo Street – award-winning Sri Lankan street food from Nottingham

Fuku – Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cuisine, formerly at Hatch in Manchester

Hello Oriental – the hit Manchester food hall with flavours from across Asia

Mega Gyros – classic Greek gyros at Freight Island

Mia’s Arepas – traditional Venezuelan dishes

Pattersons – serious fried chicken from Liverpool

Payal – Indian street food cuisine at Freight Island

Rio-Mex – chef Caroline Martins’ fusion of Brazilan and Mexican street food

Smoking Coal – Freight’s own low-and-slow legends

Syiok-Lah – Malaysian cuisine from Leicester

That Ziki – Greek street food found at Kargo.Mkt

Zapp – traditional Polish street food found at food markets across Manchester

Each trader will produce two ‘killer’ dishes to show off their skills, with a taster dish priced at £6.50.

The winner of the northern heat then has a chance of getting to the European Street Food Awards in Germany later this year.

On the Northern Championship, Richard Johnson, founder of British Street Food Awards, said: “We have always wanted to host BSFA at Freight Island since it opened back in 2020. The venue perfectly captures the experiential nature of street food, elevating it with style and ambition. The Northern finalists are a big deal to us and we are delighted to finally host this at Freight Island.”

“We look forward to finding out who wins the Northern heat – impressing both the judges and the public – and for them to represent the North at the 2024 British Street Food Awards grand final in London next month.”

It’s free to attend, and happens on 17 and 18 August from 12pm, with the winners being announced on the Sunday.

There will be other entertainment on the day too, with Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip DJing, alongside the Body Heat DJs.