A BBQ fan awarded the accolade of Britain’s best burger – says the secret is beer-flavoured cheese.
Danny Hawkes, 42, set up his burger business during lockdown after a pic of his BBQ meals at home attracted so much attention on social media.
His beef burgers were crowned the best in the UK at a national competition last month.
It comes after he was named burger chef of the year in 2021.
He’s lifted the bun on his secret recipe and revealed its a beef patty bashed until they are so thin they get a “crispy, frilly skirt” when they are fried.
His award winning pulled chuck beef burger comes in a toasted brioche bun, covered in beer cheese, with candied jalapeños, American mustard, pickles and burger sauce.
Danny, from Bristol, who serves from a truck outside two local breweries, said there are often huge queues.
Danny, a dad-of-one from Bristol, said: “It’s all really exciting.
“The business is very hard work but I absolutely love it.
“I’m so humbled that people are willing to wait so long for my burger – there are so many other places they could go, I’m honoured and touched.”
Lucia George, 27, Danny’s partner who also works for Danny’s Burgers, added: “It’s gone wild.
“I don’t know anyone who works as hard as Danny: he really deserves to win and for the business to do really well.
“He works constantly and puts all his passion into thinking of unique Combos or ways to incorporate flavours in a fun way, so they balance and compliment each other.
“It’s a lot of pressure now, with everyone wanting to eat the UK’s best burger.
It’s quite a title to win: and really exciting, and from the back of a little Insta in Covid it feels quite mad.”
Danny popped a picture of a burger he barbecued on one of his home-made drum smokers on his social media in September 2020.
His picture attracted so much attention on Instagram it spurred him on to try selling his wares, and his first batch of 30 burgers sold out fast.
And the business, Danny’s Burgers, is now thriving and turning out over 100 burgers an hour.
Danny, who now sells from a food truck he purchased with his profit and a crowd-funder, won Burger Chef of the Year at the National Burger awards 2021.
Customers were willing to queue for two-and-a-half hours last week – many arriving an hour before Danny started serving.
Danny flipped around 700 burgers in the six hours.
They had to buy 120 kilos of beef – four times their usual amount – to get through two days recently.
It has been so busy since the award that Danny has had to hire two new staff.
He won Best Burger in the UK at this year’s event on April 20, after a four-round cook-off, against 15 other finalists at a metal works in Islington, London.
Danny’s truck serves from Theatre Noble brewery on Thursdays, and New Bristol Brewery on Fridays and Saturdays.