In support of the new partnership between Scottish farmers, US celebrity restaurant Wahlburgers has announced the launch of three limited edition items to celebrate the 10th year of Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight.
From Saturday 31st of August to Sunday 15th of September, diners in the Covent Garden restaurant will be able to enjoy a taste of Scottish produce by ordering The Bonnie Burger, The Moving Mountains® Bonnie Vegan Burger and Tattie Tots.
The Bonnie Burger is made with an 8oz Scotch beef and haggis patty topped with Isle of Mull Cheddar, the UK’s best-selling haggis from Simon Howie, Scottish bacon and house-made Johnnie Walker whisky sauce, lettuce and red onion.
The Moving Mountains® Bonnie Vegan Burger is made with a 4oz Moving Mountains plant-based patty, caramelised onions, vegan smoked Cheddar, the UK’s best-selling vegan haggis from Simon Howie, sautéed mushrooms, house-made Johnnie Walker whisky sauce, lettuce and red onion. The vegan haggis is made with carrot, swede, leek, celery, onion, sweetcorn, mushroom, oatmeal, barley, lentils, red kidney beans, chickpeas and spices.
Tattie Tots are a variation on the classic American potato Tater Tots topped with house-made Johnnie Walker whisky sauce and crumbled Lanarkshire blue cheese.
Chef Paul Wahlberg, Executive Chef and Co-Owner of Wahlburgers, said:
“The transition to the UK has meant a lot of time and research into UK producers and many months of tasting to replicate the Wahlberg flavours we have in the States and Canada. We are proud to use UK suppliers and delighted with the quality of the Scotch Beef that outstanding Scottish butcher, Simon Howie, uses to create our proprietary blend of chuck, short rib and brisket for our burgers.”
Simon Howie, Chairman of Simon Howie Butchers, comments:
“We are passionate about producing quality products and so with quality and taste top of the agenda for creating the UK version of the popular Wahlburger, we’ve enjoyed this venture from the get-go. From working with the Paul and the team to create the perfect blend of chuck, short rib and brisket to watching their first UK restaurant open in Covent Garden and hearing the amazing feedback we are delighted to play our part in giving Scotch Beef the global platform it deserves.”
Simeon Van der Molen, Founder of Moving Mountains, said:
“We are proud to be launching a unique limited-edition vegan burger in partnership with Wahlburgers. A first for the restaurant, the Moving Mountains® Bonnie Vegan Burger will with be topped with a vegan version of the classic Scotland delicacy, haggis.
“Wahlburgers is driven in its mission to serve delicious food and is the perfect partner for us to celebrate Scottish Food & Drink fortnight. We are excited that Moving Mountains is taking another step in making truly inspiring flexitarian dining available to Brits nationwide.”
Claire Higgs, Communications and Marketing Manager at QMS, adds:
“Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight is a fantastic opportunity to share some of the culinary delights we have up here in Scotland with the rest of the UK. There are so many suppliers across our country dedicated to the quality assurance that comes from producing Scotch Beef PGI that is a trusted ingredient with hallmark stamp of traceability and sustainability. We are thrilled to be working with Wahlburgers to provide a Scottish twist on one of their much loved burgers.”
Pete Warden, Hospitality Director of LXA representing Wahlburgers in the UK, explains:
“We spent a huge amount of time recreating the famous Wahlburgers burger to ensure the texture and flavour was as close to the US Wahlburgers experience as possible.
While we were clear we wanted to source from the UK the move from USDA Beef to Scotch Beef meant a lot of time was required to get the Wahlburgers proprietary blend of chuck, brisket and short rib just right. Scottish butcher Simon Howies was able to create this for us thanks to an introduction from our supplier Brake. We are delighted with the result and proud to support Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight.”
Press release provided by Wahlburgers