Trinity Kitchen represents exactly what you don’t expect to find in a sparkly brand new indoor shopping centre owned by the corporate captains of the land in the middle of a bustling city. Land Security, which is responsible for more than 26 million sq. ft. of property, could well have stuck a Wagamama or a Nando’s in that wide open, naturally lit space on the first floor of the Trinity Centre and made an obscenely large profit from it. But instead, they got in contact with Richard Johnson, journalist, author, and the man behind the British Street Food Awards.
Some of the food stalls are fresh from the summer festival season. Bristol based food van (converted horse box), Katie and Kim’s Kitchen, offers humble, homely and wholesome food. Their spicy carrot and coconut soup served with a toasted cheddar and rosemary scone was surprisingly filling and incredibly delicious for £6. Made from scratch and fresh from the oven, it was too hard to resist their warm custard tarts at £2.50. Despite the duo’s hallowed status for spearheading the British street food revolution – Katie and Kim’s Kitchen won the 2013 British Street Food Awards – Katie told LSi that Trinity Kitchen was “so different to anything we’ve ever done before”.
Doused in bright colours and bunting, Manjit’s Kitchen is a personal favourite at Trinity Kitchen. The vegetarian Indian stall’s signature dish is a chilli paneer wrap, which bursts with fresh and distinctive flavours at just £5. And, surprisingly, it didn’t fall apart on the first bite.
Like most of the street food stalls at Trinity Kitchen, Manjit’s Kitchen will only occupy the space for four weeks. The logistics of rotating food stalls to the top floor of a shopping centre every so often is unfathomable but it ensures constant excitement for the space’s fundamental concept.
Trinity Kitchen is ultimately the antithesis of what Jamie Oliver is trying to create. We’re not being told what not to eat during those trips to the shops. The food on offer is fast, but special. It is possible to eat almost anything you fancy (or everything, in my case) and a lot of the pennies spent there go to independent businesses, rather than to some big man at the top.
The street food revolution enables our taste buds to sample Vietnamese rice dishes, burgers from Italy and burritos mejicanos just by walking down the road. It gives everybody an opportunity; both retailer and consumer. It is real, it is raw (though usually not the food) and it is happening right now.
Rosie Collington
Photo: Rosie Collington