HOLY PIEROGI

Logo: Liam Parker


I've been rather quiet on the blog for the past three months as I've been working on a new project.

Earlier this month I launched my new street food business, Holy Pierogi.

Hailing as a modern interpretation of traditional Polish street food, the idea was influenced from my time spent studying abroad in Poland. It was there that I fell in love with not only Polish food, but also the warming culture that surrounds it. Holy Pierogi allows me to give old recipes a contemporary approach by adding my own twists and fusions to classic or authentic Polish recipes.

The menu is seasonal and is therefore different between events and between the months. I work with locally established suppliers to guarantee the best quality product where possible.

With pierogi being the central appeal, there are always at least two types of savoury or sweet pierogi's available to try. Current seasonal concoctions include beer braised beef cheeks in horseradish and honey roasted sweet potato with goats cheese and thyme.

 

Photos: Whip Until Fluffy

Based in Leeds, I will be trading at street food events, markets and private functions in and around the city, but will be spreading to cities across the UK next year.

I'd like to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who has supported me and helped me to finally get my own business up and running. It has been hard work but I can see from the success of the first event and the feedback received that it has definitely been worth doing.

Photo: Belgrave Music Hall

To keep up to date on where Holy Pierogi will be trading next you can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or our website!

Photo: Leeds Indie Food

OUT AND ABOUT | LAYNES ESPRESSO SUNDAY BRUNCH #3

Laynes Espresso, current residents at the Belgrave Music Hall, host a Sunday brunch service every month. My previous experiences (see my posts here and here) have been a bit hit and miss. The food is always great but there were a few problems with service when it launched earlier this year. After missing a the last few I was invited last weekend to join my friend Sarah and her family for her birthday brunch.

The menu looked very impressive. All five dishes sounded delicious but I was particularly eyeing up the French Toast again (I have had it before and it is the stuff of dreams!). With the menu changing for each service to adapt to available seasonal produce it was nice to see asparagus included.

We were a group of four and we decided to order all five dishes so we could try a bit of everything. 

Service was much quicker than in previous visits. All of the dishes came within thirty minutes of ordering them. More staff were on to take orders and the system had been ironed out to be a smooth and quick service. 

First up we have the heavenly French Toast (£7.50)! This came served as two slices of thick brioche which was crisp on the outside but moist and delicate on the inside without being soggy. It was topped with caramelised banana, an almond brittle, espresso mascarpone and maple syrup.

I loved all the flavours and textures in this dish. The espresso mascarpone was quite over powering but it's bitter taste cut through the sweetness of the rest of the dish, giving it a nice contrast and balance.

The next dish was the 36 Hour Pork Belly BLT (£8) - this was almighty in size and proportions. A thick wedge of focaccia was filled with cos lettuce, plum vine tomatoes, avocado, bacon mayonnaise and a slab of pork belly.

This looked extremely impressive. I'm not a massive fan of pork... and particularly pork belly so this wasn't the dish for me but it was received well by others on the table. The pork was melt-in-the-mouth and very tender. Even for pork belly though this was mainly just fat with a very small ratio of meat in the portion we were served.

The Heritage Tomato (£8) dish was delicately presented. A slice of toasted sourdough was topped with sliced heritage tomatoes served with an avocado mousse, salted ricotta, poached egg and then topped with puffed rice (yes they are not caterpillars!).

I love heritage tomatoes for their diversity in appearance and in flavour. With a few different tomatoes in this dish, the flavours were predominantly smokey, with the tomatoes having a meaty texture. 

On to the Beetroot Cured Salmon (£8) we were served a plate of beautiful dark pink salmon, naturally dyed by the beetroot, with a pea, feta and sweetcorn fritter, poached egg, avocado puree and dill creme fraiche. 

And last but not least was the English Asparagus (£8.50) which came served on a piece of toasted sourdough, topped with four stalks of asparagus coated in black sesame seeds and miso, a round of goats cheese and a poached egg which had been deep fried and coated in panko breadcrumbs.

This dish was the savoury winner for me. The goats cheese was slightly melted from the heat of the asparagus and the egg and made it all nice and gooey. The asparagus was cooked al dente and had a good bite to it. Delicately seasoned with the sesame seeds and miso the asparagus flavours shone through.The egg was a masterpiece, I loved the concept and the idea and was fascinated by how it had been made. This dish was a real beauty. 

Overall we were very pleased with the food, service and impressed with the menu. I look forward to seeing what the next menu brings!

OUT AND ABOUT | BELGRAVE STREET FEAST PT. V

After my holiday I was left feeling a bit out of the loop on the food front in Leeds. Belgrave Street Feast came to the rescue however, returning last Saturday for yet another fabulous monthly installment celebrating independent street food vendors, breweries, local artists and music.

Having eaten from the majority of the traders there were a few new showcasing this month, one of which I was really looking forward to try (to see the full lineup click here).

I had been eyeing up the food from Discovery Bay. These guys are better known for their restaurant serving up traditional Caribbean food in their restaurant in Huddersfield. With their business leading to ventures all over the place, they also embark on setting up camp as a street food business.

Venturing over to their stall we could feel the love spilling its way through the crowd. Head chef Barrington Douglas smile was radiating across the room. Lots of friendly talk and interest led to some sampling of the food.

On offer were two different wraps. Tortillas topped with crunchy white cabbage and onion and then either a portion of their Jamaican Jerk Chicken or their Caribbean Sweet Pumpkin Curry.

I was with a vegetarian friend and we both wanted to share one of their wraps. I wanted to try a bit of jerk chicken on the side so asked if this was possible. A little bit of confusion occurred and we ended up with both curries served as one wrap. They saw the horror on my friends face and quickly made up a fresh vegetarian wrap without batting an eyelid. Not letting us pay any more than £5 we ended up with both wraps to eat. 

For me these guys epitomise what street food is all about. It doesn't necessarily translate to money and making dolla but it's all about making sure everyone is happy, the vibe is right and people understand you and your food.

We both thoroughly enjoyed our wraps and went crazy with the HOT sauce they had, alarmingly red in its colour, which had a great chilli hit.

The jerk chicken was moist and flavourful, blackened from the sweet rub and skillet pan, just how it should be. The sweet pumpkin curry was tangy, spicy and robust in its seasoning. Both were extremely satisfying and a nice little change to the usual street food fair on offer.

Moving on to round #2 we went for a bao from one of the Belgrave's in-house vendors Fu Schnikens. These are Taiwanese street food called Guo Bao consisting of steamed dumplings which are usually filled with pork belly.

In the last five months that they have been on offer I have never managed to get round to ordering one to myself (I don't even know why myself?). Having a tried a nibble here and there, I had been hankering for one of their portabello glazed mushroom bao's for a while.

At the last month's street feast they had a salmon special on and I was hoping it would be back on this time. Unfortunately not! They did still however have their three regular bao's on which were more than enough to please me.

We ordered two of the Portabello Mushroom Bao's for £6. I think this is quite a steep price personally but we were still willing to pay it.

The bao's came topped with pickled mooli, cashew nuts, sesame seeds and hoisin sauce. The mushrooms were firm, beefy and there was no need for meat here. Chomping into these little fluffy dumplings we were very happy with the taste indeed. Lots of rich Asian flavours soaring through and the firm texture of the mushroom made it a substantial light bite to eat.

Needing a little bit of a break, we settled up for a pint of the Ilkley Brewery Tour de France ale which was on cask at the bar. Marie Jaune is the name, a blonde biere at 4.5% brewed with French hops and French yeast. Designed to commemorate Le Tour and showcase Yorkshire brewing, this is going to be a big hit in bars in the run up to Le Grand Depart taking place in Leeds on July 5th.

Perfect timing if you ask me. By this point Ginger's Comfort Emporium were back up and running after selling out as we had arrived. Usually served from an ice cream van (in the picture below), they serve ice cream for grown ups in brioche buns and several other wonderful desserts.

With a more simple set up at the street feast, only ice cream was on offer but that did not translate to being a bad thing.

We shared a scoop of their Plum, Gin and Juniper ice cream (£.2.50) which was served in a little pot with a waffle ice cream cone placed on top. I loved their way of serving it. Simple yet effective and made for a good sharing portion without having to swap a load of saliva!

With two mini spoons we stuck in. Super creamy and subltely sweet. The flavours of the plum came through and the gin and juniper gave it a good distant flavour to anything I have ever tasted in an ice cream before. The cone was also great... a proper ice cream cone! Waffle style and none of this cardboard wafer business.

Feeling very satisfied and well-fed we spent a few hours just lapping up the atmosphere inside the Belgrave. The rain was on the verge of torrential outside and was not giving any signs of letting up. With a slice of Dough Boys Pizza, their basic Silvio (£2 a slice), we prepped for the rain and soggily squelched our way home.

The next street feast is on Saturday 14th June at the Belgrave Music Hall and Canteen in Leeds. It's going to be a Brazilian themed special with lots of street food traders speciailising in South and Latin American food, as well as a few extra surprises and the chance to watch the Brazil football match on the big screen upstairs.

See you there?

OUT AND ABOUT | BELGRAVE STREET FEAST PT. IV

Street feast pt. IV flooded the Belgrave Music Hall this Saturday with an ever expanding lineup of the North's finest street food vendors as well as a pop-up arts market and music. An event not just for the eaters like me but also one for families (and dogs too!) with lots of kid-friendly activities on offer.

I however was there for the FOOD!

I set off early to help Sarah from Noisette Bakehouse set up with her wonderful spread of cakes, which also meant I got first snaps of all the sweet treats on offer.

The hot cross bostock I had been lusting after since I heard it was going to be on the menu. It was an elegantly fluffy and light fruity brioche with a generous slaver of marmalade and flaked almonds which was extremely delectable!

With such a great array of traders to choose from and with a limited time period and stomach capacity I was eager to try as many newbies as I could.

After hearing great things about south east Asian traders Street Fodder, I headed straight to them for my first taster. I went for the wild garlic summer rolls which were made with wild garlic from their very own garden.

These were served as two rolls on a bed of fresh Asian 'slaw salad and a tamarind and chilli dipping sauce. These were lovely and fresh and were long and thin compared to the short and fat ones which I have eaten before from Pho. The sauce complimented the rolls beautifully and with the salad it made for a nice light and healthy meal.

They also had chicken satay and pork meatballs grilling away which looked and smelled amazing.

On the roof terrace was a neat little set up from Leeds favourites Hepworth's Deli with an interesting selection of variations on the scotch egg, as well as savoury pastries and quiches. They also had a salad station on hand so you could make a deli box of your choice for a more substantial meal. Cakes, macaroons and sweet treats were also on offer.

Next up was a dish from Tasty Thai Deli who are based in Newcastle. Their menu featured a selection of Thai classics. As a lover of Thai salads, my friend and I shared a plate of their satay chicken pieces with papaya salad.

I was however quite disappointed with this dish. The chicken was perfectly moist but lacked flavour and the salad tasted of nothing but chilli. I can handle my heat so that wasn't a problem but it ruined the taste or flavours that might have otherwise been in the dish. You win some you lose some!

On my wanders I also stumbled across Fu-Schnikens and Fish& who I have both had food from before. Fu-Schnickens were selling their Gua Boa and with a special new option for the event with a Salmon Bao (which looked incredibly tasty!). 

Fish& were selling their beach burgers (pan seared fish cakes made with cod, capers and parsley then slow cooked in a spicy tomato sauce) and sweet potato fries which was a bit of a change to their usual twist on the good old classic fish and chips.

The highlight of the day for me was Arepa!Arepa!Arepa! who reign from Manchester and were treating Leeds to Columbian arepa's and plantain 'nacho's.

The arepa's are flatbreads made from maize flour and are cooked on the grill then stuffed with fillings. I went for the Sobrebarriga arepa which was basically described as a beer steak sandwich... a combo that wins my heart hands down! Recommended to douse it in chipotle sauce I settled down to chomp into this handheld goodness. 

Not the easiest things to eat, this got messy pretty quickly but BOY was it good. The beef was lovely and tender (like a pulled brisket) and the arepa was lapping up the juice and soaking in all the beefy beer flavours... mmm! Despite being a street food snack this was incredibly filling and was the last of my street feast endeavors for the day.

Before I had to nip off (I had a train to catch!) I managed to fit in getting a few snaps of the fish tacos from the Belgrave's in-house Street Food Lab experiment for this month... The Taco Wall!

As a first time at trading these looked super impressive. I didn't get to try one of these (my stomach was not having it after that arepa!) but the presentation was very pleasing to the eye.

Yet another great belly busting street feast at the Belgrave Music Hall and you can find the next one on Saturday 10th May... see you there!