STREET food is making giant leaps. In Whatever happened to the Class of ’15 we have charted the pop-up to permanency voyage of six street food traders; we welcomed Holy Crab’s coveted new tenure in the Arndale; meanwhile peripatetic Blue Caribou Canteen is seeking investment via BBC 2’s My Million Pound Menu.
The Manchester-based trader’s speciality is poutine, that over-the-top Canadian comfort food – crispy skin-on fries, Quebec-style cheese curds and a rich veal or mushroom gravy.
In the third episode of the current series (8pm, Tues Jan 22) co-owners Graham Gartside Bernier and Vincent Bernier, both 40, are seeking £200,000 for their Blue Caribou Canteen project.
Under the benevolent gaze of host Fred Sirieix of First Dates fame, they are up against rivals pitching high end Nordic cuisine in a replica Viking dining hall and a couple whose cuisine is inspired by the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage through Northern Spain.
Filming took place at the Corn Exchange, in the former Byron Hamburgers restaurant, last autumn. Each episode of My Million Pound Menu sees three wannabe restaurateurs in a bid to win over the public and a four-strong panel of industry investors.
Graham and Vincent came up with their concept after frequent travels to Quebec, where poutine is widely available, and where Vincent grew up. The Blue Caribou Canteen has traded for two years, mainly at markets in Liverpool and Manchester. We’ve enjoyed their food at Guerilla Eats and Hatch.
Now the couple want to take this French-Canadian speciality to the high street and compete in the popular lunchtime market, against dishes like burritos.
Coincidentally the international Poutine Week runs from February 1-7.
