A big new Camden opening will unlock its shiny takeaway hatch for a sneaky peak before the permanent restaurant launches on 23rd March.
And to mark the occasion the Cheese Bar has come up with quite a good PR wheeze (and believe us, we hear about ’em all).
For one day only, dairy-hungry, fromage-crazed locals and workers alike can make haste to upgrade their shop-bought, pre-made sarnie for one of founder Matthew Carver’s glistening grilled cheese monsters.
At the end of the day, charities will be on hand to collect the donated sandwiches, which their teams of volunteers will distribute to soup and street kitchens across the local area. Nice idea, right?
But what the Wensleydale is the fuss all about? Well, in 2014 Carver and his converted 1970s ice cream van Alfie set out to celebrate the best of British cheese by making the “most irresistible grilled cheese sandwiches” in London.
Fast forward three years (not to mention dozens of hip streetfood markets) – and a recent successful crowdfunding campaign saw Carver and his Cheese Truck reach the funding target of £130,000 in just five days.
The new gaff is to open in the scrubbed-up Grade 1-listed burgeoning foodie quarter of Camden Market, alongside recent arrivals Voodoo Ray’s, The Flour Station, Crosstown Doughnuts and Nojo ‘guilt-free’ crepes – to name a few.
So what’s on the menu? Ahead of the restaurant opening, it will feature signature classics from the Cheese Truck’s halcyon days, including festival favourite Cropwell Bishop Stilton and the bacon & pear chutney sandwich, alongside new additions like a Berkswell Saganaki and truffled Baron Bigod.
Carver and team also make a point of championing a new breed of urban cheese makers, crafting produce within the M25, including La Latteria mozzarella, Gringa Dairy in Peckham and Kupros, who produce 100% English sheep’s milk Halloumi.
The interior will inevitably be as stylish as its bedfellows: expect a large marble-topped bar, exposed brick walls and floor-to-ceiling display fridges housing over thirty British cheeses, as well as a changing selection of twenty craft beers (although we hope there’s some good-value vino too, by far a better cheesy companion in our minds).
“After travelling the length and breadth of the UK serving grilled cheese sandwiches from our trucks, we’re so excited to be in Camden Market,” says Carver. “We’re proud to be working with the local community and to help out those less fortunate, too. So for one day upgrade your lunch whilst helping others out: what’s not to love?”
