Wild Rover

I rounded out my afternoon at the Scottish heat of the British Street Food Awards with a trip to Wild Rover’s army field kitchen.

With their base in Fife, they take their show on the road all over Scotland, catering events, festivals, weddings and the rest. They were two time defending champions of this event, so were very much the team to beat.

The tweed clad counter folks were dealing with a considerable demand, when arrived. The focus of their offering was paninis, featuring either a pigeon or halloumi filling. Given I was rationalising this as the third course of a mega afternoon of eating, the cheese option seemed the best fit, so I ordered that.

The halloumi was grilled to order, packed into bread from Woodlea Stables, then topped with beetroot hummus, parsley and orange dressing, and a roasted pepper salad.

With sun-dappled photos taken, I tucked in. The bread was excellent – a complete joy – but the filling was unbalanced by the overly potent beetroot hummus. It was lovely, but it dominated to the exclusion of the halloumi and other filling items, which were relegated to bit-part players.

This was still accomplished work, but didn’t quite hit the heights of Big Blu and Loving Food.

So overall, it’s a very good four stars for Wild Rover. They’re doing excellent work showcasing local produce, the highlight of which was their highly impressive bread. Today’s offering was a little unbalanced, though. I’d recommend a visit next time you come across them on their travels around Scotland.

In the final reckoning, the noodle excellence of Nusou won the day, with Scoff in a very creditable second place. Good luck to the Nusou folks in the final, which will be held over the weekend of 26-28 September, in Leeds.