Northampton gourmet burger truck business ‘elated’ to be named finalist in National Burger Awards

A Northampton gourmet burger truck business has been named as a finalist in this year’s National Burger Awards.

The Flavour Trailer, which has three trucks that operate from across the county, was set up in April 2018 by fiancees Mario Shephard and Charley Cummings.

The pair spent eight years honing their chef skills across Europe before setting up the business, which has aimed to “revolutionise the way people enjoy takeaways”.

Now, they will compete against 15 other burger businesses to acclaim the title of the UK’s best burger.

Mario, who will be representing the team in the final, said: “We’re elated and still in disbelief. This has energised our team.

“I’m experiencing a mixture of nerves, excitement and anticipation.”

It is the ‘classic flavour burger’ that landed The Flavour Trailer in the final and on February 22, Mario will have to make it as part of a live cook off in London against the fellow finalists.

Chefs will also take part in a technical showdown to create a burger from a specific selection of ingredients, in a bid to be crowned Burger Chef of the Year.

Mario says his journey as a chef has been a “long and exciting one”, and in the final he will “rely on instinct to do what he always does”.

“I’m not going to change anything and will serve it as it gets given to our customers,” he said.

The business is not new to being nominated for awards, as they won gold in the ‘One to Watch’ category at last year’s Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards.

The chef said: “This would be a great accolade to win and it would be shared among the team. We wouldn’t be here without everyone’s efforts.”

The business’ third truck, named Truck Norris, is now up and running in Duston and Hardingstone.

Team Flavour Trailer is also in the process of renovating their unit in Brixworth into a restaurant and seating area.

With the massive audience for the pop-up trucks, the business will remain a takeaway, but they want to give customers the option to sit down and eat their food.

You can find out more about this on the Chronicle & Echo website in due course.