Another of our series answering some of the many questions we have received about doughnuts, that delicious fried treat so beloved of cops, well according to Hollywood anyways.
Do Doughnuts Make You Fat
If you eat one they wont, or even a few. If you eat loads everyday and dont work out then yes they probably will. All good things in moderation is the secret here.
Eating Doughnut Meme
Who Invented Doughnuts
Hanson Gregory, from America (obviously), claimed that he invented the ring doughnut aboard a trading ship in 1847. Apparently he wasn’t satisfied with the greasy doughnuts twisted into various shapes and undercooked in the centre. So he punched a hole through them with the ships tin pepper box, to ensure they were cooked inside.
However a recipe book dating from 1800 written by the wife of Baron Thomas Dinsdale (English) lists a recipe for cooking dow nuts.
So take your pick.
Typical Ring Doughnut
Are Doughnuts Fried
Most of them yes. But, they can also be baked. THe baked ones tend to be more compact, but are equally delicious so there is no right and wrong to which type you prefer.
Are Doughnuts Always Round
The traditional doughnuts that we eat in the UK and North America are usually round. Either ring doughnuts with a hole in the middle. Or filled doughnuts which are a solid circle. But other countries have different styles. The Dutch Oliebollen is more of a ball. And a SPanish Churros is a long thin finger. Take a look at our feature on doughnuts of the world to see examples of what is out there.
Churros Fillings
Can Doughnuts Be Kept Overnight
Yep they certainly can, though they taste better hot and fresh. A tip is to stick jam filled doughnuts in the microwave for a minute, this warms them up and also makes them taste almost fresh again. However, beware. I once did this, and was interrupted by a phone call. After the call I hadn’t realised that they had been in for over five minutes. When I bit into one, a stream of superheated jam shot up a nostril and gave me severe burns.
Can Doughnuts Save The Planet
According to an economist called Kate Raworth they can. The explanation is a bit heavy for a nice simple FAQ like this, so check out the idea at source. Doughnut Economics.
Doughnut Economics
Are Doughnuts Bad For You
Well they are if you superheat them in a microwave and then bite into the jam centre!
They do contain quite a lot of saturated fat, and sugar. So they are never going to be classed as healthy. But it could be argued that the pleasure gained from eating them is good for your mental health, so it kinda balances out a bit really.
Where Can I Buy Doughnuts Near Me
Asda, Tesco, sainsburys, Morrisons. Most of them sell premade doughnuts. They are not fresh and not hot so aren’t that good. Though we are partial to the Morrisons Jam ones, exploding versions excepted.
Boutique doughnut shops are springing up around the world, so there may be one near to you.
Or if you are holding an event such as a wedding or party, we can bring a hot fresh doughnut cart to you, free (to your guests) doughnuts all night. Hot, fresh, and slathered in sugar and Nutella.
Do Cops Really Like Doughnuts
Well, Hollywood reckons they do. And the stereotypical American cop lives solely on a diet of doughnuts, bagels and coffee. But seriously, who doesn’t love doughnuts would be a better question.
I guess there are people who don’t, but they are usually recaptured pretty quickly.
Are Doughnuts Bad For Dogs
They are not good for them. They contain sugars and fats which are harmful in large doses. The oli they are fried in can cause diarrhea. And some contain caffeine or chocolate which can be fatal.
What Is Correct Doughnut Or Donut
Well, the dictionary spelling is doughnut. Donut is a cut down simplified version created by our American brethren across the ocean. They seem to take delight in chopping sections out of words, and replacing the s with z. Or as they call it zee.
Don’t they realise we invented the bloody language. I think they changed everything after the War of Independence just to be awkward.
Another selection of misadventures from our past history.
Keep Them Wheels Turning 2010
When we first started and was operating on a limited budget, we frequently had problems with equipment failures and vehicle breakdowns. As we grew and ended up in a position to buy better equipment, and also put back up systems in place we found that things seemed to run a lot more smoothly.
However the law of averages caught up with us the other day, we had quite a busy schedule, calling at a small village in Surrey to apply 125 chair covers and sashes and set up a chocolate fountain, then on to Sevenoaks to set a number of stalls and a couple of catering carts up, back to the first venue to drop two members of staff off, then I continued on to Walton on Thames to operate a candy floss and popcorn cart. As soon as I finished I derigged everything and shot back to the first venue with the intention of picking my staff up to travel home to Yorkshire, grab a couple of hours sleep, load the van up with the rest of the equipment for the Sevenoaks job and set back off down South.
Bang Goes The Tyre
Everything was going great guns when a bang, signalled that I had a tyre blown out, ‘great, just what I wanted on a lane in the middle of nowhere, a tyre change.’ In time I ended up wishing I was changing a tyre, because when I crawled under the back of the van I discovered the spare wheel missing (it was a hire van). I rang the owner and ot him out of bed, “ring the AA he said, the van is covered”, trouble is when I explained the problem they informed me that under their terms of service, not having a spare wheel meant that I wasn’t covered. Rang John again, “Ring a tyre firm he said and bill me”. An hour later after ringing every number I could find on the internet I rang John again. After an exchange of ideas, he informed me that he was setting off with a spare wheel, wonderful, the three of us only had to sit and wait in the van whilst John covered the 216 miles to us.
Now before John set off he had to nip up to our place and pick up the items I needed for the next day, this included a striker (test your strength machine). On our striker the base unit is made from 20mm steel plate to give it the weight needed to remain stationary whilst being hammered. The base unit is kept on a small set of wheel which allow it to be moved about the yard. When John and my other half lifted it into the van, John had not realised that the wheels were not part of the structure and left his fingers underneath when they dropped it into the back of the van. My wife rang me to tell me that John was running around the yard squealing about his fingers. She wasn’t in the mood for sympathy and told him that if he went to the hospital they would only tape his fingers up, and she offered to lend him a roll of tape to ensure he got on his way quicker.
When he arrived at our end the first thing he did was show me his fingers, which by then were black and blue and quite swollen. Bloody well serves him right for removing the spare wheel.
Squashed Fingers
Mobile Bar Buzz 2010
We recently installed a bar at an event for a major motor industry manufacturer and a games console company. This was a pre paid job with us supplying a fixed package of drinks, including cocktails and one of our Jagermeister tap machines.
The event went stormingly with everyone in fancy dress and the room buzzing. Sabine Schmitz (the German female racing driver who raced Jeremy Clarkson around the Nurburgring race track, with Jeremy in a Jaguar S type, and Sabine in a Transit Van, she lost by only 9 seconds. Ms Schmitz and a cohort of German friends managed to consume our stocks of Jagermeister, before moving onto frozen Margarita cocktails with an added shot of Vodka, something our cocktail mixologist insisted you couldn’t do, but the Schmitz party proving you obviously could!
Our Mobile Bar
De Computer Sez So 2010
Quite often nowadays I don’t have time to keep this blog updated. Odd occasions I do have time I sometimes struggle for something newsworthy to write. Occasionally however something drops in my lap that I just have to put on here. I recently added a new van to our line up, and insured it with the company that insurers our other CItroen dispatch. In common with our other insurances we pay in a lump sum at the start of the insurance term. A couple of days ago the postman knocked on the door to deliver a registered letter from said company, upon opening it I read a formal notice that as I had not settled an outstanding amount they would be cancelling my insurance unless it was paid in the next 7 days. Now this puzzled me as I know I paid in full at the start of the policy term.
Upon reading further down the page, the amount outstanding was in large bold type to make it more noticable. It read that I owed them £0.00 that’s right Zero pounds and zero pence. I sent them a very nice email admitting that I owed this amount and asking if they would like a cheque for £0.00 or would they like it in cash in which case I would send them an empty envelope.
Amsterdam 2010
February, which is usually our quietest month (although this year turned out to be a busy one), saw us managing to fit a 3 day break to Amsterdam in. I have been there in the past both when I was single, and also spent part of my honeymoon there whilst touring Europe.
As is normal nowadays, everything was booked online a few weeks before, with the booking system informing me that actual airline tickets are no longer issued, we instead have E tickets. Anyway a couple of days before we were due to fly I discovered that my other half’s E ticket had been issued in her maiden name, and knowing that airlines are particularly picky about names since 9/11 I rang our carriers, KLM straight up. “No problem Mr Moody, said a pleasant Dutch voice, we can change names quite easily.” was followed by “Oh, sorry we can’t change your ticket”. Upon inquiring as to why, I was told that since I had booked them through a travel agent, the agent would have to make the name change request. I duly rang the agents to do this. (No problem Mr Moody, that’s quite easy, please hold the line”, was again followed by “Oh, we can’t do it”. The reason this time turned out to be the fact that it was Saturday, and the KLM office which deals with name changes doesn’t work weekends.
SO we ended up being told that we should get to the airport early, and the ticket desk there should change the name for us. On the morning we were flying we arrived bright and early only to be met with a queue of about 80 people! We informed an airport attendant of our predicament and asked if there was anyway of getting the ticket sorted sooner, upon asking to see our ticket, his reply was “I wouldn’t worry about your ticket mate, that flight was canceled last night”, turned out that the plane we were supposed to be on didn’t land because of fog.
Five bloody hours were in that queue for. Mid way through it the rumour seemed to be that the next available flight was the day after.Not wanting to lose a day of a short break, I got my laptop out, connected to KLM’s site and booked three seats on a later flight, reasoning that I would worry about refunds later. After booking the seats I was informed that I would have to pay for them at the ticket desk, so I would still have to stand in the bloody queue.
Anyway as we reached nearly to the front of the queue I discovered that the ticket agent was in fact booking people on the same plane I had just reserved 3 seats on, great it looked like I would have 6 seats on the flight, but at least one of the 6 would be in my wife’s current name. I duly reached the front of the queue to meet the ticket agent, a short stern faced lady who looked like she would make a good concentration camp guard in the movie industry.
I was just about to launch into a tirade about waiting 5 bloody hours and not being informed of cancelled flights when a young man dropped a bundle of papers on her desk and exclaimed innocently “These need taking care of when you get a minute”, the look she gave him would have welded steel from 40 paces, and her reply of “You know what you can do with those Stephen, shove them up your bloody arse!” seemed to modify my temper somewhat.
As she turned that steely gaze upon me I gave her my best smile, what I hoped was a slightly pleading look in my eyes, and informed her that not only did we need our flights sorting out, but my wife’s ticket was in the wrong name. Her eyes narrowed, her shoulders tightened and a visible shudder ran through her, taking a hold or herself she sighed loudly, stared towards the heavens, closed her eyes for a long moment then sorted everything out for us.
Amsterdam turned out much as I remember it, the Dutch must be the most laid back and pleasant race in Europe, and we spent a pleasant 3 days strolling around the city, with a short trip to the seaside town of Vollendam thrown in. THe first tram we boarded into the city centre, I asked the conductor for the price of the ticket (most locals use pre paid cards much like the oyster system in London), he just smiled and told me not to worry and get of when we were ready.
The next day having some experience of the tram system, we boarded the tram outside our hotel and I asked for 3 day passes. The lady conductor smiled sweetly and apologised for having run out of them. “It is not a problem”, she said, “Just buy them from a ticket machine when you get off”. Can you imagine that, over here it would go like this, “3 Day passes please”, “Can’t do that mate I’ve run out” “Oh, well can I buy them when I get off at the other end” “No sorry can’t do that you need a ticket to travel” “Oh well give me 3 tickets please” “Sorry, just told you I’ve run out!”
Mid way through I had a headache coming on so thought I would nip into a chemist for some pain relief. What greeted me must have been one of the barest shelves of painkillers I have ever seen, about the size of a television set, it contained pretty much only what you could buy from a late night garage in this country. Upon inquiring about something a bit stronger I was informed that I would need a doctors prescription. “So let me get this straight,” I said, “I can walk into anyone of a million coffee shops and buy cannabis or marijuana, without any problems, but if I want something stronger than 400mg of Ibuprofen I need a prescription?”. “That’s pretty much it”, replied the chemist. “Strange country”, “Yep” came the retort, along with that pleasant Dutch laid back smile.
Amsterdam Coffee Shops
Ready to come home, we reached Schipol airport, and found that they have a fully automated system to book in and be issued with your boarding card. I entered our E ticket number, only to learn that I was booked on the flight along with our daughter, but not my wife. It made me think of a recent case where an immigration official had waved his wife off at the airport in London, went back to work and added her to the known terrorist list of people banned from entering the UK, and then proceeded to live the single life until he was found out 4 years later, in the meantime his wife had spent 4 years stuck in Pakistan unable to find out why she wasn’t allowed to board a flight back to England!
As it turned out, because of the name change we had made at Bradford, my wife had received a separate reservation, which no one had bothered to inform me of.
If you missed them take a look at some of our other old stories here.
Over the years we have come across a multitude of questions about candy floss. Some are quite sensible, others belong in a joke book. We are going to look at, and try to answer some of our favourites.
Can Dogs Eat Candy Floss
Candy floss in itself isn’t harmful to a dog. It is basically pure sugar. However it will lead to a blood sugar spike, then subsequent drop, which isn’t the best thing for your pet. Because most breeds tend to be smaller than humans this will be more pronounced, and because dogs aren’t used to a sugar intake that high it amplifies the effect. So we wouldn’t recommend giving them more than a pinch of floss.
Who Invented Candy Floss
A dentist. No really, it was a dentist. To be fair, he wasn’t just a dentist. He was a political activist, invented a method to purify Nashville’s water supply, wrote children’s books and invented a lard substitute. William J Morrison really was a dentist. He didn’t invent candy floss per se. Cooks had been making spun sugar for hundreds of years. What he did invent was the electric candy floss machine. Or as he called it then fairy floss. This enables large quantities of floss to be made very quickly. Previously making spun sugar was a tedious affair, suitable for topping small cakes and the like.
He debuted his machine in 1904 at the St Louis World Fair. It was an instant success, he sold 68,655 boxes of the stuff at $0.25 a pop. That’s the equivalent of selling $500,000 worth allowing for inflation.
William Morrison
Why Do Some People Call It Cotton Candy
If you call it cotton candy you are most probably from North America. Which is a little strange, because they originally called it Fairy Floss. Sometime after thew switched to Cotton Candy. The Australians and New Zealanders still refer to it as Fairy Floss. Us Brits Candy Floss, The South Africans Tooth Floss, though the Afrikaners call it Spookasem (Ghosts Breath). The French barbe a papa (Daddy’s Beard), Dutch Suikerspin (Sugar Spider), and the Persians Pashmak (Wool Like).
So the name all depends on where you come from.
Is Candy Floss Bad For You
We once read that there are no poisonous substances, just poisonous doses. For instance, water is widely regarded as one of the healthiest things you can partake of. However drink too much and you die. Candy Floss is the same, sugar, pretty much all it is made of, other than a minute trace of colouring. Is one of the basic requirements for life. No sugar in your body and you end up dead. So a little candy floss won’t do you any harm. If you eat nothing but floss, then you will become really fat, lose most of your teeth, and can trigger sugar diabetes. So our tip is everything in moderation.
Can I make Candy Floss At Home
You certainly can, chefs have been making it for hundreds of years. A simple recipe is available here. You can also buy cheap little electric machines that make it in the same way as the commercial machines do. Truth be told they are not very good, but they do work well enough for a kids party or similar.
Home Candy Floss Machine
Does Candy Floss Go Off
Not really. Bacteria, which is usually responsible for food spoiling, doesn’t like sugar rich environments. This is why throughout history sugar has been used to preserve food. You can’t get much more sugar rich than candy floss. Additionally the heat generated to make the floss, around 186 Celsius. Makes sure that the floss is pretty much sterile as it is being made.
However, what does happen, is that the floss gradually absorbs moisture. This leads to it shrinking back into its sugar form, so after a while you end up with a coloured sugar lump instead of a bag of floss. Happily popping it in the freezer means it will last months. The best bit is, you can eat it straight from the freezer as it doesn’t actually freeze. The cold air doesn’t contain moisture so it extends the life.
Sugar Cube
Is Candy Floss Halal
It can be. The ingredients are sugar, and basic colouring flavourings. Now sugar is just pure sugar so no problems there. The flavourings and colouring depends on what exactly is used. Red colour tends to contain the powdered shell of a species of beetle. Called cochineal it is a species native to North America. Alternatives are available, but if you want to be 100% sure then just eat white candy floss. That is made with nothing but sugar, and Silver Spoon brand is both halal and kosher.
Red Food Colouring
Where Do I Buy Candy Floss Near Me
Any local funfair will sell floss. Many supermarkets have small tubs available. Or there are mail order sellers.
How Is Candy Floss Made
A band of happy pixies live in the bottom of the machine, merrily knitting the sugar in to candy floss and pushing it through the little holes in the centre of the machine for the operator to collect with a stick.
Of course some people claim there is a scientific explanation, personally we like the one above, but if you are one of those boring grown ups who think magic isn’t real, here is an alternative explanation.
The sugar mixture is poured into a rotating drum. The high speed of the drum forces the mixture against a wire mess around the perimeter. This mesh is heated to 186 degree celsius. This heat breaks the bonds of the constituent molecules (carbon, oxygen and hydrogen C12H22O11).
The hydrogen and oxygen atoms form molecules of water, which instantly evaporate due to the intense heat. This leaves only carbon behind, which burns and begins to caramelise the sugar.
As it caramelises the liquid sugar is forced through the tiny holes in the mesh and solidify as they meet cooler air. As this is happening thousands of times a second. You get a mass of candy floss composed of these filaments which are just 50 microns in diameter.
Why Is Candy Floss Pink
Actually it isn’t. Pure candy floss is white. The only ingredient is sugar. For other colours of candy floss you add a tiny amount of colouring. So it can be pink, blue, green, orange, yellow, purple and so on. It tends to come out as pastel colours, so you dont really get a deep red, it comes out pink.
Does Candy Floss Have Gelatin In
As a general rule no it does not. But, you would need to know the food colouring ingredients list used to change it’s colour. There are literally hundreds of different food colourings out there, so some may contain gelatin. To be absolutely safe, eat white candy floss, as this is entirely pure sugar.
What Goes Well With Candy Floss
Far and away the most popular is popcorn. The two can be combined on a single cart and are ideal for weddings, parties or events.
At one time, catering units, be they on the fairgrounds or at private events, tended to be basically a box. Nowadays however there are some really crazy catering units available, so that not only are you getting great food, you also get a centrepiece for your event.
We are going to take a look at some of the craziness out there, ranging from pizza’s being dispensed by fire engines, to something that looks like its driven straight off the set of Mad Max.
MAXImus MiniMUS
This is definitely one of our favourites. Resembling some post apocalyptic street food vendor that wouldn’t look out of placing serving a burger to Mad Max himself. Build to resemble a pig, with a snout and ears, it was built in 2009 for Kurt Beecher Dammeier, it took its name from the two ranges of food it served, one with a heavy sauce (MAXImus) and a lighter range (MiniMUS). Sadly from what we can see it appears to have closed down in 2017
Maximus MinimusDefinitely Post Apocalyptic in Style
Baby’s Badass Burgers
We love this concept, though with the way things seem to be going we are surprised it hasn’t been protested. Set up by an ex restaurateur and an event planner, this has a definite attractive lady vibe. With burger names such as Cover Girl, The Other Woman, She’s Smoking and The Good Wife, and Burger ‘Babes’ (attractive female serving staff), to spread the burger goodness. The company now has a number of franchised operations outside of it’s home of Los Angeles, so obviously it works well.
Babes BurgersBurger ‘Babes’
Snog Yoghurt
A natural frozen yoghurt dessert, sweetened with agave nectar and under 140 calories. What’s not to like. So when you need your first mobile store what immediately springs to mind. It’s obvious isn’t it, an ex London A.E.C. Routemaster bus. Built by a company specialising in luxury bus conversions, the original Snog bus opened in London’s Southbank in 2014.
Snog Yoghurt BusThe Snog Bus
Military Pizza Truck
Built into a 6 wheel drive, ex military truck, this is another candidate for catering in the Mad Max era. This one is kitted out as a pizza truck, but maintains it’s military colour scheme and feel. It’s also available for pretzels, popcorn and various other dessert options.
Military Pizza TruckMilitary Pizza Truck
Space Shuttle Cafe
This one is an extreme conversion. TBH, I can’t see you getting this past the DVLA in this country. It is built to resemble the space shuttle, but it’s not a converted commercial vehicle as you would expect, no sir, this one is an actual Douglas DC-3 airplane fuselage, that has been fitted with running gear and an engine. It has a commercial kitchen and rest room built in.
This is one of our favourites, so much so that we are actually carrying out a feasibility study to see if it’s something we can emulate for our own range of catering options. There are a number of versions plying their catering trade, including a couple of examples in good old Blighty. We particularly like the Company 77 effort, with a working water cannon (good for keeping the queue in order) and a photo booth built into the jump seat.
Fire Engine Pizza TruckVarious Fire Engine Pizza Trucks
Airstream Catering Units
Originally built as caravans designed in America in the 1930’s. The sleek shape and highly polished aluminium finish is unmistakable. A number of companies make similar models, but Airstream is the oldest. For decades NASA used a modified Airstream trailer to transport astronauts to the launch pad. They have become increasingly popular for use as catering units both in the States and Europe.
Airstream Catering TrailerAirstream Trailers
Westport Flea Market Burger Van
Not strictly a burger van, this is more of a promotional item to advertise the Flea market Bar and Grill. But we included it just because of the sheer quirkiness, and the work that has gone into it.
Westport Burger Van
Snowcat Burritos
If you happen to be skiing in the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, in Sierra Navada, and you are hungry. Then you are in luck, as they have a burrita stall built into an actual snowcat. Well, they actually have two, one serving burritos and the other Calzones. They are also planning to add churros with strawberries and cream.
Snowcat BurritosBurritos Snow Cat
Keep checking back as we will add more examples as we come across them.
I was using the wayback machine recently to look up an old website. In case you don’t know it is a site that has indexed and stored past examples of peoples web pages so you can go back and look them up years later.
Looking around at some of our original blog posts that disappeared when our original blog software stopped working. In the old days we didn’t have Word Press and Blogger. Blogs were either hand built, or created using desktop software. We used a program called Tangelo, quite happily for a number of years. Anyway, I am going to reprint a few of the more humorous posts. Sadly on many of them the original images have not been stored, so they might be text only.
Bimbo’s Last Stand 2008
History is littered with tales of heroic last stands, usually against forces much bigger than the defenders, there was Rorkes drift, The Battle of Gandamak and The Battle of the Imjin River all fought by British troops, the Alamo and Battle of the Little Bighorn by our American cousins and the immortal Camarón which established the Foreign Legion as one of the world’s elite fighting forces.
Predating all of these was the Battle of Thermopylae in Greece when King Leonidas and his Spartan soldiers, accompanied by a force of allied Greek city states, held back a much larger Persian force under Xerxes for three days in one of the most memorable and eulogized last stands in classical antiquity. Well now we have another last stand on the island of Greece to rank up there with the battles of antiquity.
Bimbo Bishton
Bimbo Bishton, who we occasionally work with, has for a number of years provided Victorian carousels for the Christmas event in Athens. A venture which has proven both lucrative and enjoyable over the years. This year however there was the little problem of a major riot taking place after the shooting dead of a young Greek boy.
The rioters went berserk in the city square and flattened pretty much everything, setting fire to hotels, shops, cars and anything else that took their fancy. Slap bang in the middle of this stood alone the slightly portly figure of Bimbo armed only with 3 fire extinguishers, facing a crowd which Bimbo estimated at 100,000, but the BBC world service claimed to be around the 10,000 mark (I suppose when you are facing them alone it looks more like 100,000).
Petrol Bombs And Arsonists
I spoke to Bimbo about the events and he explained one particularly tense moment. It seems a young Greek man was holding a petrol bomb in one hand and trying unsuccessfully to strike his lighter in the other, all the time Bimbo was trying to convince him not to set fire to his ride, (Bimbo told me at this point he was debating whether or not to kick the said young man in the testicles), the potential arsonist appeared to be taking no notice of Bimbo when his lighter suddenly flared to life, he looked at Bimbo, shrugged his shoulders and promptly threw the bomb at the giant Christmas tree, so really it is Bimbo’s fault that the Athenians lost their famous tree. As the night wore on our intrepid hero was stoically holding his ground when a cloud of teargas drifted his way and proved to him why it was so named,
Athens Christmas Tree
Bimbo said that at this point he was more interested in water for his eyes than in guarding the carousel, but luckily for him one of the rioters explained that water is no good for tear gas, you need lemon juice to neutralise the chemicals and obliged by providing some I can categorically state however that rumours Bimbo is thinking of setting up a Jif lemon stall at future events are untrue.
Thankfully both Bimbo and the Carousel survived the evening. Bimbo even remarked at how civilised the rioters were, as he put it, there were very few injuries and signs of violence against people, it all seemed to be directed at property, indeed one vendor in a street kiosk remained open throughout the riots and wasn’t molested in any way.
Oops 2009
Arthur almost struck again last weekend. What happened was this, we were contracted to supply 4 games units to an event in the North East. One of these games was our striker (test your strength machine) which is 13ft high. On arrival we were shown the room which would accommodate these games, including the high roofed part of the building where the striker was to be positioned. Due to the fact that once erected the striker would block the door, we were told that we couldn’t erect it until after all of the guests had arrived. This isn’t a problem as it takes a matter of seconds to assemble the device.
We carried it into the room and left it on the floor near to where it had to go. Almost everyone had arrived when we were told to put the striker up. As we pushed it skyward we discovered to our horror that the room was about 6 inches to low! As we stood there wondering where to go, one of the guys who had hired us told us to push the plastic roof tile out of place and let the striker poke into the attic.
We did this, but try as we might the tile remained wobbling in position. Arthur decided to go to the pool room and bring back a long extension bar to dislodge the tile, which he promptly did just as the managing director’s wife walked through the door. If she had been two steps quicker, Arthur would have subjected her to a drastic reshaping of her nose, something along the lines of amputation without a general anaesthetic!
Luckily everyone present had a sense of humour.
Flash Bang 2009
Coming back to the yard last week I notice a large stretch of the adjoining field being dug up. After investigating I discovered that the electricity company are removing the overhead power lines (which run over the middle of our property) and re routing them underground. This is an extremely good idea, especially considering what happened a few years back.
To protect those involved, I won’t name any names John Henry, but I was sat eating breakfast early one morning, contemplating starting to load everything up ready for the move to northallerton. At the time it was absolutely throwing it down with rain, and I didn’t really fancy making a start. Anyway, whilst I was psyching myself up, I suddenly heard a yell, followed by a crash, more yelling and some Anglo Saxon language. Coming out to investigate, I came across the unnamed person (John Henry) who was hobbling about with smoke coming from one of his boots.
Not Quite The Scene, But Close
What had happened was that he had an aerial mounted on a long pole, fastened to the drawbar of his trailer (caravan). To remove this ready for hitting the road he had to lift it up a couple of foot higher , the power cables ran directly overhead, and with the amount of moisture in the air, a spark of electricity had jumped from the power lines, into the Aerial, down the pole into his knee where the pole was resting and out through his boot to earth!, luckily when he dropped the pole he missed my car which was parked next to him so it could have been much worse.
The Really Really Great Garage Sale
we recently supplied a mulled wine and hot dog cart to an event in London. This was organised by a bunch of celebrity mums including Yasmin Le Bon and Louise Redknapp. I started the day by nearly walking into Yasmin Le Bon, and ended it by her just stopping short of driving into me.
One of our new recruits, Ray, pictured below(in his apron and plastic antenna) spotted someone he recognised part way through the day, “Look Oliver Lance”, he exclaimed. “Who the heck is he”, I said, thinking it was some rugby player or sports personality. “She’s off one of them Australian soaps”, said Ray I wondered why she had a blokes name and asked Ray, “she hasn’t”, was the reply, “She’s called Oliver Lance”
Turned out he was talking about Holly Valance! You can take the guy out of Barnsley, but you can’t take Barnsley out of the guy.
It turned out a quite enjoyable day with amongst others Melanie Blatt, Trinny Woodhall, Christina Estrada all making an appearance.
Newcastle Hoppings is the largest travelling funfair in Europe (though both Nottingham Goose fair and Hull Fair also claim the title). A major fixture in the funfair calendar. Held in the North East city of Newcastle Upon Tyne over 9 days in June.
With over 300,000 visitors a year, and featuring over 60 major adult rides, and a plethora of children’s rides, games and catering to match. The event is held in June to coincide with the Northumberland Plate. Part of the flat season races for horses of three years or older.
It is situated on the Town Moor, a large grazing land just outside the city centre (during the first world war it was held in Jesmond). The showmen commonly refer to the event as the Town moor, or even just ‘The Moor’, rather than the hoppings name used by the locals.
Temperance Festival Association
The driving force behind the establishment of the hoppings, was Alderman William Davies Stephens, chairman of the Temperance Festival Association. The association, typical of the Victorian era do gooders, felt that the horse race would attract drinking and gambling. They wanted to provide a temperance festival for the miners and other workers as an alternative, to save them from the fires of damnation.
I suppose in a way it was a better idea than the Americans had. Our abstinence gave us a major funfair, the American prohibition gave them Al Capone.
Early Years
In the beginning, the event will have been typical of fairs of that era, stalls, games and sideshows would have formed the bulk of the event. Indeed in the North East, funfairs are often referred to as ‘The shows’ in allusion to the preponderance of that type of attraction.
Funfair Sideshow
These tended to be animal managaries, or the popular at the time human freak shows. Large steam powered rides were appearing on funfairs by then, and quite possibly would have attended the hoppings, but at that time they were still a supporting act.
Over the next 50 years the event began to resemble what we would recognise today. With some of the early thrill rides appearing, Octopus, dive bomber, waltzers, all designed to fly you higher, spin you faster and scare witless.
Shaws Moonrocket
A well known ride, the Moonrocket of Shaws, built in 1939. This was typical of the early rides that would have appeared at the Town Moor.
The Modern Era
Nowadays, well not 2020, and possibly not 2021 due to the little matter of a global pandemic, most of the top rides from around the UK appear at the event. Immaculate examples of the old favourites such as dodgems and Waltzers still jostle with the thrill rides for customers. There are fabulous examples of all the current funfair games, children’s rides and food stalls.
Newcastle Hoppings Funfair
A look at the fair from the air shows the sheer scale of the event. Hull and Nottingham might possibly have more rides in attendance, or be classed as bigger due to some other statistic. But for sheer acreage, there isn’t anything else in the UK that comes near.
2013 was notable for the fair being cancelled due to the severe weather leaving the ground in a poor state. Work has since been carried out to improve drainage and add a metalled road to prevent a recurrence.
Charity
The event was always noted for the free riding the showmen provided for a number of charities, the Variety club would bus as estimated 3000 children in to enjoy the showmen’s efforts, usually on the first evening of the event.
Indeed records indicate that the very first year of the festival saw a tea provided for 1000 of the cities poorest children.
The Name Hoppings
When we used to attend the event, I often wondered about just why it was called the Hoppings. I presumed it was one of those stories lost in time. However recently I came across the official website for the event, maintained by the Freeman of the City/Newcastle Council. They offered two possible explanations for the name. One is that hopping was a very old name for a dance.
The other explanation the offer, is that the showmen used to wear sacks as cloths. These would become infested with fleas and the showmen being bitten would ‘hop’ about. Hmm, the photo below is a typical old image of showmen. Actually one of our earliest corporate entertainment crew who provided a show for Queen Victoria. Take a look, although it is in a poor state, it sure looks to me like they were wearing regular type cloths. Nary a cloth sack in sight.
One of our most popular lines happens to be hot dogs. The standard hot dog, with mustard and ketchup has been a staple fast food, forever. When we decided to move it up a gear and offer hot dogs from around the world, with fillings such as sushi, nachos, even candy floss, we thought we were being a bit edgy.
Out of interest we started looking at what other countries actually offer in their dogs, boy were we surprised, what we thought was edgy was nothing compared to some of the crazy stuff you can eat in other parts of the world.
Here are a few of our favourites;
Tokkebi From South Korea, The Deep-fried Delight
Korean Hot Dogs
Take one plain ole wiener, coat it in batter, deep fry it, then cover it in diced French fries. This is one crazy combo that could almost be a complete meal. Found mainly from street food vendors, the chips are sometimes replaced by ramen.
Choripan, Argentina’s Upgraded Dog
Choripan Hot-Dog
Argentina, famous for invading mall South Atlantic Islands, footballers who score goals with their hands, and Gabriela Sabatini. To be fair the footballer in question was also fabulous when he wasn’t cheating.
They also produce one heck of an hot dog. Not for them the usual mystery meat concoction of left over parts of various animals. No, they use a high quality Chorizo sausage, that is is seared to make it crispy, then slotted into a toasted bun. Add chimichurri sauce or tomato salsa and you have the final evolution of the hot dog.
Tunnbrödsrulle, The Crazy Swedes Entry Into The Hall Of Fame
Tunnbrödsrulle Hot Dog
This is what you get if you take a hot dog, stick mix it with onions, shrimp salad, lettuce, mashed taters, mayonnaise and stick it inside a tortilla. Oh and don’t forget to add the requisite mustard and ketchup.
It hard to tell if this is a hot dog or a sandwich wrap. Either way it ranks up their alongside Abba and Volvo in things to love from Sweden.
TBH it looks like the culinary version of a split personality, some sort of existential crisis wrapped in a flat bread.
Taiwanese Da Chang Bao Xiao Chang
Da Chang Bao Xiao Chang (1)
The name of this fairly uneventful looking dog, translates as big sausage wrap small sausage. The bun you see in the picture isn’t. It is actually another sausage made from sticky rice. Add in sauces including black pepper and our favourite wasabi, and you have something unlike any other hot dog you will meet.
Chinese Pastry Hot Dog
chinese hot dog bun
If the Swedish entry is an existential crisis, this one is a full on split personality. Is it a dessert or is it a main. Take your bog standard frankfurter and wrap it in sweet pastry. Its so obvious, you wonder why no one else is doing it.
They also come coated with different topping such as cheese, icing frosting, egg dough. Its as if you have been talking in your sleep about your favourite foods, and an alien has decided to make them for you, having never actually seen them before.
Khanom Tokyo, Is It A Hot Dog Or A Breakfast Roll
Khanom Tokyo
Thailand takes the existential crises of the Taiwanese hot dog and takes it to the stage of certifiably insane. Of all the things you would naturally think to stick a hot dog in, a pancake would surely be the first thing that comes to mind.
Made from flat pancakes that have a mixture of savoury and sweet ingredients such as quail eggs, sugar ,cream, Someone in Thailand came up with the idea of sticking a sausage in. The dish is said to hail from around 1960 and was served at the opening of a Japanese department store (which could explain the craziness), its now a staple of Thai street food.
Czech Párek V Rohlíku Hot Dog
Czech Párek V Rohlíku
Compared to the oriental offerings this one is plain simple. A hot dog in a bun. Where it does differ slightly from what you are used to, is that this is pretty much like the roller dogs you sometimes see in service stations. A crusty bun that has had the middle cut out and the sausage inserted. Quite neat really, though you need to add your toppings before you had the dog.
Brazil’s Completo Hot Dog
Cachorro Quente Brazilian-Hot-Dog
This one is less of a fast food snack and more of a meal for 2, Take a hot dog sausage, stick it in a large flattened bun, add ground beef, peas, corn niblets, bell peppers, onions, potato sticks, parmesan cheese, carrots, diced ham or bacon, cilantro, and top it off with a hard boiled quail egg. It is a wonder the Brazilians aren’t all the size of the Americans.
Peru’s Salchipapas Hot Dogs
Salchipapa peru
A weird one this, there is no bun and the hot dog is sliced. Placed on a bed of fries and garnished with the usual mustard and ketchup, then chilli sauce and mayo for added tang. You can also throw in salad, fried egg and cheese. A staple street food found in various South American countries this ain’t what springs to mind when you say hot dogs.
Puka Dog Hawaii
Puka Dog
A mish mash of hot dog traditions this one. A Polish sausage, grilled then slipped into a sweet bun. Dress with relishes, garnishes and tropical mustards and voila, another entry into the hot dog hall of fame.
Norwegian Pølse Hot Dogs
Norwegian Hot Dog
You don’t get much simpler than this, well there are some single celled organisms I suppose, and that lad I once sat next to at school, but in the hot dog world this is bare bones. Sort of the Trabant of dogs. Simple, easy to make, no frills and it just works.
A tortilla, with a sausage in and a dollop of condiments. Enough said about Norwegian dogs.
Denmark’s Pølser
Denmark’s Pølser
Though it shares a name with it’s Norwegian neighbour, the Danish version is a whole different beast. The sausage spills out of the bun, both ends, its filled with Danish remoulade, sliced pickles and onions and tends to be served on special occasions. The one stand out feature is the sausage which is a vibrant red colour, reminiscent of the British saveloy. It originates from bygone times, when vendors would dip their poor quality sausages in red dye to ‘spruce’ them up.
New Zealand Hot Dog
New Zealand Hot Dog
Our cousins across the Ocean’s take on a hot dog is very similar to what our other cousins across a different ocean (the Yanks) would term a corn dog. Basically a battered sausage, deep fried and served on a stick, with ketchup.
However you look at it, the humble hot dog is as near to a universal food as you will find. Sure, some cultures take it in a weird (to us) direction, but at the heart of them is usually the hot dog sausage.
Jacket spuds, baked taters, call them what you will. Definitely one of our favourite catering options. Especially as in the current quest for healthier options these are quite easy to use. We take a look at some of our most popular jacket potato filling, as well as some others available throughout the world.
1 Beans and Cheese
This one is oh so simple, and oh so delicious. Heinz beans of course with a nice mature cheddar. Not high on the excitement stakes, but easily our most requested filling. Unless we are dealing with Eastern Europeans. It seems that this isn’t a natural combination for them. And we have heard that the Yanks don’t go a bundle for it either, but looking at their cuisine we aren’t too upset by that.
Beans Cheese Jacket Potato
2 Chilli Con Carne
Our MD’s favourite. Ground beef chilli, with plenty of peppers topped with avocado, sour cream and chives. Almost as popular with our clients, again excluding the Eastern Europeans who are worried by the word chilli, they expect it to blow your head off.
baked chilli jacket potatoes
3 Tuna And Sweetcorn
Our top rated cold filling. Juicy tuna, sweetcorn all mixed in a mayonnaise base. A pinch of radish for seasoning and a little side salad. Much healthier than the usual burger and chips.
Tuna Sweetcorn Jacket
4 Vegetable Curry
This is one that the Eastern European guests actually enjoy. In fact on the recent series of jobs we did where the bulk of the staff were from that part of the world we couldn’t make it fast enough. So now we know their favourite jacket potato filling. Only mild, but with a nice range of veggie ingredients.
Jackets And Curry
5 Chicken Curry
One for the carnivores this time, another fairly mild curry, but with juicy tender chicken pieces. Add a little coleslaw and a side salad and you have a nice balanced meal.
Chicken Curry
6 Bacon and Cheese
Bacon and cheese, two of our favourite things. What’s not to like. Nice smoked bacon, mature cheddar, mixed up and lightly roasted a second time to melt the cheese. Yum.
Bacon Cheese
7 Prawns
Prawns in a prawn mayo sauce. Another cold topping that it healthy and delicious. Add the obligatory side salad and you have a winner. Unless of course you don’t like prawns.
Prawns Jacket Potato
8 Cottage Cheese And Pineapple
A fusion of tastes here, sweet chunks of pineapple, with lashings of cottage cheese. A milder flavour than our use mature cheddar this one is high in proteins and essential nutrients.
Cottage Cheese Pineapple
9 World’s Most Expensive Jacket Potato
Not one of ours, though we would be quite happy to add it to your menu if you are happy to pay the premium. This one was created by the chef at the Cary Arms in Babbacombe Devon. Most of the potato is spooned out and replaced with a mixture of creme fraiche, lemon, chives and spring onions topped by Italian Calvisius caviar. Served with balsamic roasted vine tomatoes and a glass of champagne. £40 lets you try this culinary masterpiece.
Worlds Most Expensive Jacket Potato
10 Sweet Jacket Potato With Roast Grape, Goats Cheese and Honey
Again not one of ours, but this in definitely on the list to try at the next event. Sweet potato with a mixture of roast grapes honey and goats cheese.
These are only a sample of what is available. If you are holding an event and require a jacket potato stall we can work with you on a customised menu just for you.
One of our most popular options, especially in the winter months, is hot chocolate. Drinking chocolate, cocoa, call it what you will. That lovely dark smooth chocolate drink. We offer two options for the type of chocolate we use so we are going to look at the choices. First thought lets take a quick look at the history of the drink.
History
Evidence suggests that the Mayan civilisation was consuming chocolate as far back as 500B.C., and may well have predated that. The drink of that time was served cold, by grounding cocoa seeds into a paste and mixing it with water, cornmeal, chilli peppers and other ingredients. It would be poured back and forwards between containers to develop a thick foam.
At that time, sugar wasn’t present in the Americas, so the drink would have been rather bitter. Vanilla and other spices were added to offset this.
Europeans didn’t come into contact with the drink until 1502, on the fourth voyage of columbus. When Cortes defeated the Aztecs he demanded their valuables. These included cocoa beans and the equipment to make drinking chocolate, bringing them back to Spain in 1528. The drink gained popularity, with cocoa even being given as part of the cowry when members of the Spanish Royal family married other European royals.
Cacao Beans
Sweet Chocolate
When sugar was eventually added it created the drink we know today. It became a luxury item with the first chocolate houses (like a modern day coffee shop) charging upto 75 pence in 1657. The equivalent of upto £65 a cup nowadays. The great Samuel Pepys wrote about consuming drinking chocolate after the coronation of Charles II in 1661. Ostensibly to settle his stomach.
This Dutch gentleman developed a cocoa powder producing machine in the Netherlands. It separated the greasy cocoa butter from the seeds, leaving a pure chocolate powder behind. This was much easier to stir into hot milk or water. It also led to the discovery of solid chocolate.
Nowadays it is widely consumed throughout the world. The Americans drinking a rather thin instant version compared to the thicker European brew. Spain and Italy are noteworthy in adding cornstarch to produce an extremely thick drink. It is a traditional accompaniment to the SPanish dessert of Churros.
So what hot chocolate’s do we use?
Cadbury’s Hot Chocolate
Easily the U.K.’s most popular drinking chocolate, and for good reason, it just tastes so good. John Cadbury opened a grocers store in Birmingham in 1824. A Quaker, he felt that tea, coffee and drinking chocolate’s were a healthy alternative to alcohol.
By 1824, he was producing 16 different varieties of hot chocolate, available as both a powder or a pressed cake.
1906 saw the creation of Bournville Cocoa, made from adding carbonate of potash to the cocoa mix, it created a slightly less bitter drink.
Today we use the classic Cadburys drinking chocolate, made with hot milk (the water version just doesn’t do it for us), and it is easily our most booked service. For weddings and other special events we add Baileys Cream, creating a delightful alcoholic concoction that is oh so smooth.
Cadburys Advert
Charbonnel Et Walker
A certain Mme Virginie Eugenie Charbonnel, from the esteemed Maison Boissier chocolate house in Paris. Set up shop with Mrs Minnie Walker to open a shop in Bond Street Mayfair in 1875 with the encouragement of Edward VII. Their original shop was branded Parisian Confectioners and Bon Bon Manufacturers.
Their drinking chocolate is sold as chocolate flakes rather than powder. It doesn’t mix into milk as well as the Cadbury’s offering, so we tend to use hot water to create a thick chocolate sludge then mix this into the hot milk.
It is a fabulous chocolate, but more of an acquired taste containing a darker chocolate than others. Almost everyone has drunk and enjoyed Cadburys hot chocolate, and the different taste can throw their taste buds a little. Truth be told most of the people who book this option are doing so to add a touch of perceived luxury to their event.
Charbonnel Et Walker
So what would we recommend ?
Smoothness
Cadburys *****5
Charbonnel *****5
They are both smooth, top class options with nothing to choose between them.
Taste
Cadburys *****5
Charbonnel ****4
There isn’t anything wrong with the Charbonnel, and no doubt some will prefer it, but Cadbury’s is the classic taste that most people recognise as THE hot chocolate.
Ease Of Use
Cadburys *****5
Charbonnel ****4
Cadburys mixes into the hot milk with ease. Charbonnel flakes need to be mixed with hot water to create a paste that is mixed into the milk.
Overall
Cadburys 15/15
Charbonnel 13/15
They are both great drinking chocolate. Rich, creamy and smooth. But honestly, if we had to choose one it would be the classic Cadburys offering. It tastes easily as good as any other chocolate out there, and it is still what most people expect hot chocolate to taste like.
We recently added Gourmet burgers to our line up of catering options. On top of the usual cheeseburger, and bacon etc, we added some options a little more quirky. Things such as nacho’s, sushi and such like. However the burgers listed here are way beyond what we consider quirky and definitely venture inot the weird burgers catagory..
1 The Cronut Burger
Cronut Burger
A fusion of sweet and savoury this one. A beef patty with cheese, between the cheeks of a sugary doughnut. A Canadian invention, between a pastry shop Le Dolci, and Epic Burger and Waffles for the Canadian National Exhibition. This one looks like it could be tasty, however it didn’t have a happy ending. One of the ingredients sourced for the burger, maple jam, was contaminated with staphylococcus aureus causing 150 people at the show to fall ill. Still looks tasty, but we’d go light on the jam.
2 The Quadruple Bypass Burger
Heart Attack Burger
A 9982 calorie bohemoth, even by American standards. Two pound of beef, twenty rashers of bacon, eight cheese slices, a whole tomato and half an onion, in a bum coated with lard.
It is served at the heart attack grill founded in 2005 in Tempe Arizona. Everything they do is along the same theme. With flatliner fries, double and triple bypass burgers for those who can’t face this one, and bigger burgers up to octuple bypass. They even have cigarettes and high fat shakes on the menu. The restaurant has a hospital theme, with doctors taking the order and nurses waiting the tables. Sexily dressed nurses at that. It’s as if someone set out to be as controversial as possible.
3 Yorkshire Pudding Burger
Yorkshire Pudding Burger (1)
A fusion of traditional Sunday roast with the fast food convenience of a burger. This one is a giant Yorkshire pud with a burger inside. For those who don’t know the Yorkshire pudding isn’t actually a pudding. It is served most often as a constituent of a typical Sunday dinner. However it also works well as a starter with onion gravy. The supersized version here is 5000 calories.
4 Fried Frog Black Burger
Fried Frog Black Burger
No matter how crazy you can think of making something. The Japanese are guaranteed to out crazy you. They make some really weird burgers. This time it is the Orbi Yokohama museum, who offer up this culinary masterpiece. A full fried frog burger. They aren’t content with just the out there filling. They also add in a bun made from bamboo charcoal that is jet black.
5 Russia Rat Burger
Russian Rat Burger
Take a look at the burger above, quite innocuous isn’t it? Something you would probably enjoy at many a typical burger joint. Only it isn’t. It’s a rat burger. Well, not your usual Rattus rattus that you don’t want to see anywhere near a restaurant. But a Coypu, or ‘River Rat’. The animal breeds at a super fast rate, making it ideal as a food crop. A case of if you can’t beat them eat them. A specialty of a Russian chef at a high end eterie in Moscow.
6 Wimpy’s Braille Burger
wimpy braille burgers
In the days when I was a kid, before the all conquering McDonalds swept the nation. Wimpy was THE burger joint. We spent may a happy time in Wimpy’s around the country. Truth be told, I think their quarterpounders were far better than the McD equivalent.
This burger was part of an experiential marketing campaign to promote it’s new braille menu in South Africa. Reaching over 800,000 blind people across the nation with their braille embossed burgers.
7 Whole Damn Farm Burger
Whole Damn Farm Burger
If you are the sort of person who can’t make their mind up over beef or chicken. Then this one is for you. Made from beed, chicken, ham, pork and bacon. About the calorie loading of four big Macs, this is perfect for the indecisive. From Manchester’s Splendid Kitchen, a sadly now defunct American style eatery.
8 Hellfire Burger
Hellfire Burger
This is one hot burger. By hot, we don’t mean as in fashion, or as in very attractive. We mean hot! Measuring over 1 million on the Scoville heat scale. For comparison, some law enforcement pepper sprays can be quite effective at half that.
Topped by six different chillies, and smothered in hot sauce, you not only have to be over 18, but also need to sign a medical waiver before they will serve it to you. The whole thing is served to you on fire.
A creation of the Xtreme Smokehouse and Grill in Washington Iowa.
9 Southern Comfort Stuffed Burger
Southern Comfort Stuffed
Slathered with booze spiked sauce. The Southern Comfort is stuffed with mac and cheese wrapped in bacon, then topped with Southern Heat potato chips. Its the Southern Comfort and Peach infused BBq sauce that gives it the special tang.
A product of the Nook in Atalanta.
10 Waffle Burger
Waffle Burger
Available from lots of places, this is another fusion of sweet and savoury. Fluffy Belgian waffle goodness, surrounding a beef patty, along with egg and bacon. The perfect breakfast to start the day.
11 Wrapped Pizza Burger
Pizza Burger
A bacon cheeseburger wrapped in a pepperoni pizza. 1360 calories of succulent burger heaven. This frankenburger was a product of Boston’s Restaurant and Sports Bar. Available at more than 40 US restaurants and it’s Canadian franchise.
Although not the healthiest of burgers it still comes nowhere near the big guys records like the Heart Attack Grill, they are some seriously weird burgers.
12 Arby’s Meat Mountain
Meat Mountain
Originally created as a poster to advertise the fact that the restaurant sold more than beef. It was soon being requested by it’s customers and ended up being a firm favourite on the menu. Consisting of two chicken burgers, three strips of bacon, a slice of swiss and cheddar cheeses, roast turkey, ham, corned beef, roast beef, brisket and Angus steak.
13 Super Duper Bacon Burger
super duper burger
What can be said about this monstrosity. It’s bacon, served with bacon, topped by bacon, with a bacon garnish. I suppose if you like bacon then this is heaven, if you don’t then you’ve ordered the wrong meal. Michigan’s Tony’s I-75 Restaurant is definitely a destination for pork lovers.
14 Krispy Kreme Triple Cheeseburger
Krispy Kreme Burgers
If you are going to mix burgers with a dessert you might as well make it with one of your favourites. Two Krispy Kreme doughnuts, three beef patties and three slices of cheese. Nuff said.
15 The Grilled Cheese Burger
Grilled Cheese Burger
Take a grilled cheese sandwich. well, take two of them in fact. Place your burger between them and you have a whole new class of frankenburger.
Coming from an American chain (where else), Friendly’s on the East coast.
16 Deep Fried Double Twinky Burger
Twinky Burger
Whilst you can rely on the Japanese to come up with the craziest concoctions. You can rely on the Americans to come up with stuff designed to clog your arteries. Take a pork belly patty, with cheese and bacon and sandwich it between two deep fried twinkies and you have another masterpiece from Philadelphia’s PYT. Which is almost as weird as
17 Spaghetti Burger
spaghetti Burger
This, their spaghetti burger. Slathered in marinara sauce, with a mozzarella stuffed meatball patty, red sauce, parmesan flakes and spaghetti in a garlic butter bun. This looks like a weird burger
18 Beer Batter Burger
Beer Battered
From Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub in Pennsylvania. A battered burger with all the trimmings. Oh and the batter is made with beer for extra taste. Also available from them as a 25lb challenge burger for two.
19 Alphabet Burger
alphburg
This sandwich contains 26 toppings, each one starting with a different letter of the alphabet.
Avocado
Bacon
Cheese
Doritos
Egg
Fish sticks
Garlic bread
Ham
Italian sausage patty
Jalapeño peppers
Krispy Kreme doughnut
Lettuce
Macaroni and cheese
Noodles
Onion rings
Pepperoni
Queso blanco dip
Ramen noodles
Spinach
Turkey burger
Usingers bratwurst
Veal Parmesan
Waffle
Xylocarp (coconut)
Yams
Zucchini
I don’t know what to say. I am stunned, I know how the prophets felt when they saw the burning bush, or the first pot noodle was invented. The W should stand for weird burgers.
20 Hot Fudge Sundae Burger
Sundae Burger
I don’t know if it is a symptom of the modern world, this rush to get your meal out of the way as soon as possible. But this is another stomach churning attempt to fuse mains with dessert. Take a perfectly good beef burger and add vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce. Take a bow McGuires Irish Pub of Pensacola.
21 White Trash Burger
White Trash
Named after the outlets signature dips called white trash. This includes cheese, green chillies, jalapenos, diced tomatoes, diced onions and tortilla chips, with a stack of beer battered onion rings. If you want one then you need to head over to the Bukowski Tavern in boston.
22 Bacon Wrapped Macaroni and Cheese Bun Burger
Bacon Wrapped Burger
I’m not sure if this is a burger, or an abstract artwork. Mac and cheese wrapped in strips of bacon and used as the bun for a cheeseburger. Not as outlandish or vomit inducing as some on the this list, I could probably eat this.
23 Slaters Merica Burger
Merica Burger
Oh Kay, a third of a pound of ground bacon made into a patty, bacon american cheese, egg, thick cut bacon and bacon island dressing on a bacon pretzel bun. Basically you need to like bacon to eat this one. It was reportedly too salty to finish which is saying something when many a burger on this list has a couple of grams or more of salt without any reports of them being salty.
24 The Mario Burger
Mario Burger
A little bit of green dye, some circles of cheese and you have a gamers treat.
25 The Fat Sandwich Burger
Fat Sandwich Burger
This one looks like a complete meal in a bun. I am surprised that they haven’t stuck a doughnut or a dollop of ice cream in to round it off. From the Fat Sandwich Company in Illinois
Candy Floss Crazy Gourmet Burgers
1 Person 2 Burgers 2
Not really part of the list, our burgers are relatively sane. If you want something on the list I am sure our catering team can put it together for you, but if what you want is a range of delicious non heart attack inducing gourmet burgers for your wedding, party or event. Then check out our burger service. Oh and the picture above is actually two burgers, he was a greedy sod.
