Danny’s Burgers from Bristol took the top honour at this year’s National Burger Awards and creator Danny Hawke thinks it could be the impetus he needs to open his own restaurant.
His signature burger, The Beef Chucky 2.0 won over the industry judges at the UK-wide event, triumphing over 15 other burgers from across the country. It features a 50-day dry-aged beef blend, dry-aged ex-dairy chuck roll, Kerrymaid American cheese, a beer cheese sauce, Kühne sliced dill pickles, mustard, candied jalapeños and fresh white onions, encased in a seeded brioche bun.
Danny’s Burgers operates from the New Bristol Brewery in St Pauls at weekends and founder Danny Hawke won the National Burger Chef of the Year in 2021 at the same awards.
A National Burger Awards spokesperson said: “Hawke’s juicy chuck roll patty is rubbed with house seasoning and cooked over charcoal and hickory wood in a drum smoker for six hours. It is then transferred to a foil tray with bone marrow canoes and braised with coffee stout.
“For the beer cheese sauce, the chef combined cream cheese, jalapeños, cheddar cheese, Red Leicester, American mustard, Worcestershire sauce and beer from a local Bristol brewery.”
Danny Hawke said he “didn’t see it coming at all…”
“I’m a little bit scared about how busy this is going to make us now. After coming second last year, I wasn’t aware of how much of an impact the National Burger Awards could have, but off the back of that, it was crazy, so no doubt this will be the same.
“I think this will even give me a push to open a restaurant. It was ridiculous cooking against those other chefs. There are a few in there – Bleecker, Zephyr – who got me into cooking burgers, so to beat them is pretty incredible.”
Fellow Bristol-based business Squeezed was also recognised at the National Burger Awards. The Wapping Wharf restaurant came second in Vegan Burger of the Year and third in the Burger Chef of the Year award.
