Burgers? Brooklyn Lager? SOLD. H2O once again pulled out all the stops for 2023’s National Burger Awards, paying homage to the heroes behind the grill with a gauntlet style showdown followed by an awards ceremony to honour the best burgers in the UK. The competition was fierce with over 200 entries, that were eventually whittled down to sixteen of our country’s leading burger restaurants, pubs and street food trucks.

Hosted at London Islington’s Electrowerkz, the sixteen contestants took to the road to prepare and showcase their burgers live on stage all in the name of receiving one (or more) of the five coveted awards. But it was no mean feat, with judges analysing the quality of meat, buns, toppings, overall taste and presentation, alongside the chefs’ techniques – it was quite literally, a grilling.

The judging panel comprised of food critics, chefs, and industry experts, who had the pleasure of tasting all the burgers and rating them on a scale of 1-10 based on the above criteria. Scores were then tallied and breaths held as each contestants gathered to see if their names would be called…

But before we get onto the deserved winners, I’m going to take a moment to share with you (and make you very jealous of) the tasty samples on hand for us attendees. And where best to start, than with the reason for the congregation in the first place – burgers. Luckily, I had worn elasticated trousers, as not only did I munch the burger offered up by Danish Crown, which was delicious, but I then proceeded to chow down on The Vegetarian Butcher’s incredibly flavoursome burger. Although a dabbler in vegetarianism, I’ve never had a veggie burger having always saved myself for the ‘real’ thing, but thanks to The Vegetarian Butcher I am now a convert!

With eyes bigger than my stomach, I proceeded to feast on Santa Maria’s cheeseburger inspired nachos, which were topped with a gooey, rich cheese sauce. And to ensure the food coma was utterly complete, I washed it all down with a f’real hardshake topped off with whipped cream and sprinkles – which was the divine sweet touch I needed to top off the night.

Now with the spoils out of the way, let’s get down to the hard-won winners of the event *drum roll please*…

National Burger of the Year

The Beefy Boys with ‘The Old Boy’

Burger Chef of the Year

Anthony Murphy from The Beefy Boys

Vegan Burger of the Year

The Flavour Trailer with ‘K’Pop (SO much Seoul)’

Mayo Mixologist of the Year

Please Sir!

Bloggers’ Choice Award

El Perro Negro with ‘The Big D’

 

A huge congratulations to all the winners and contestants – you put on a great show and put out even better burgers! And lastly, thank you and commendations to H2O for showcasing the best of the UK burger culture and highlighting the talent and creativity of the country’s top chefs and restaurateurs.