bEATS: "Think...Prosecco on Tap"
Ursula, founder of Asia Pop! serves some outstanding street food. She's also a member of the formidable Bristol Eats Collective - a Bristol based street food group that aim to create & serve the finest food from across the globe. With a huge event lined up for this evening, we couldn't resist getting the inside scoop & it looks like it's all go for the bEATS gang...
Could you tell us a little bit about Bristol Eats? Who’s currently involved? Bristol Eats was started in 2013 by a group of six traders passionate about bringing street food to Bristol. The membership is now over 25 including Viet Vite, Gopal's Curry Shack, Vee Double Moo, Pizza Monkey, Asia Pop, Bertha's Pizza, Hickory Pig and a whole host of amazing traders offering a wide variety of street food. We were really pleased in 2014 to be given an award from The British Street Food Awards as ‘best collective in the UK'!
What started your interest in the street food scene? I started as a street-food trader then became a promoter so I can see both ends of the equation. I jumped onto the street-food wagon back in 2012. It all started when myself and a couple of friends, all with asian backgrounds loved going out to eat proper asian food! At the time we were in London, so were open to the diversity of food choice available, and introduced each other to the food from our cultural backgrounds; from Okonomiyaki, to Ramen, from Chaat to Dim Sum. We decided to use this inspiration to form ASIA POP! - bringing authentic asian street-food culture to Bristol.
Would you say it’s a similar motivation/interest shared amongst the group, or is there a lot of interests floating around? Although it was a trend, I loved the idea as it was a new way to get people out in the evening and socialise over good food and drink. And not just that, but to also experiment and try different cuisines as well as immerse yourself culturally in street- food culture from across the globe. Sounds cheesy, but quite simply - I love bringing people together, over something positive, and thats why I later formed Eat.Drink.Dance; a street-food market hosted in the brilliant backdrop of The Island (Old Police Station), and the Firestation courtyard, bringing street-food traders an artisan market, drink and DJ’s together for a night market. As for the rest of the collective, I can’t talk for everyone but I think the general reason why all members are involved are for similar reasons, to be creative and experimental, enjoyment of cooking food, feeding people and the idea of bringing people together over something special.
Tonight people should be keeping their evening free as Bristol Eats are holding an event by Clifton Down Station & we’re definitely gonna pop down! A great way to spend the evening! Could you tell us what to expect & who’s there? The lineup for tonight’s event is as follows: Viet Vite, Ah Ma's, Featie Boys, Moorish, Gopal's Curry Shack and Pastilla House. From Beef Doughnuts to Authentic Asian Dumplings, from North African Pastilla's to Vibrant Indian Vegan Spinach & Onion Pakoras. There is lots to choose from! I’m looking forwards to trying the food from The Feastie Boys and Moorish as they are two newest additions to the Bristol Eats collective. Feastie Boys - Think, locally & ethically sourced Hot Meat Sandwiches, Vibrant Salads and their infamous 'Beef Doughnut’ - which sounds intriguing! Moorish announced that they are bringing down a big batch of 'Mojo Rojo’ - which they say is roasted red chillies & peppers, greek yoghurt, cumin and paprika. Think locally sourced Mackerel, Salt March Lamb, Flatbreads and Prosecco on tap ;-)
There’s also some live music lined up right? Any clues who’s going to be playing? Yes, we do have some music lined up! A couple of special guests who are friends of the Bristol Eats family. So you’ll have to come to find out!
On the Facebook Event, we couldn’t help but notice that it’s the last event of the season! Does that mean there’s a pause in Street Food over the winter months or should we expect some seasonal popups? Anything planned around Christmas? No this definitely isn’t the end; that’s just the end of the summer season! From the way things are panning out, and with the collective’s commitment it looks set that there will be much more on the horizon for Bristol Eats street-food events. Some of our traders do take to the indoors over the winter months. As you may know Bagel Boy, have a permanent home now on St. Nicholas St. You will also find Burger Theory at the Golden Lion, Hickory Pig at the Three Tuns, and Bosh hosting a monthly supper-club. Asia Pop! also has some exciting news soon to announce for the winter months... Stay tuned!
We’ve been keeping an eye on the work of bEATS members Hickory Pig in the news & on twitter as the battle with the council for disused space to be granted a new lease of life! Could you tell us a bit more about this? Nick and Mike from Pizza Monkey and Hickory Pig have been pushing our campaign to make use of dis-used spaces around the city, in particular the Norwich Union site! We feel this void area would be a perfect spot to bring alive with global street-food; bringing people of Bristol together over good food, and music, for a regular social gathering, (aside from our bi-weekly event at Temple Quay). We know that the Bristol council is supportive of making use of disused spaces, so we have put a plea forward to George Ferguson.
How does the campaign seem to be going so far? I have been in brief conversation with Nick and he says he has news which looks promising, but we’ll have to keep you posted on that one!
What’s in store for bEATS in the future? It's an exciting time for Bristol Eats, as we push forward for a regular space for the collective. Our aim is to build a regular street-food night for the city of Bristol and continue with pop-ups and other events over the winter months.
For more details on tonight's event, head on over to their website, give their Facebook page a like, or follow them on Twitter.
Hear a lot more from Ursula on Facebook or Twitter & stay in the loop with the Asia Pop! antics.