I’ve always loved cooking burgers. Over the years I’ve tried and tried to make a really good one, and every now and then I get close to something I’d call decent. Lately my smash burgers have been turning out pretty well, but the thing about burgers is—you know when you’ve had a truly great one. And equally, you know when you’ve had a rubbish one.
There’s something about a burger that feels deceptively simple, like an omelette. It’s only a few elements, but somehow the details really matter. What beef do you use? Is it ground? Do you add anything to it? How do you cook it? All those little decisions seem to make the difference between average and brilliant.
A few years ago I was watching a programme by Tom Kerridge about startup restaurants and the hospitality trade, and he featured a group called The Beefy Boys. Their story is actually pretty incredible. They supposedly started out cooking burgers together in their back gardens and decided on a whim to enter a burger competition. They won the UK competition, got sent to Las Vegas, and ended up coming second in the “Best Burger in the World” contest. And from there it just blew up.
These days they’ve got three or four burger joints around Herefordshire and nearby—places like Worcester, Shrewsbury, and Cheltenham. So when I realised I was going to Hereford—the same place as their original restaurant—I was in.
I went for lunch and had their standard burger. I don’t like too much loaded on mine, but I do love a bit of bacon and cheese. I had a craft beer with it and honestly, I really enjoyed it. Whatever magic they’ve figured out to make a proper burger, they’ve nailed it. I’ll be back
MAP