A new street food concept is being launched in Grimsby, with the intention to roll it out and scale it up should it prove a success.
Docks Beers is introducing Mockingbird, what it claims to be the UK’s first vendor specialising in both chicken and ‘mock’ chicken dishes.
It is located in a container-based kitchen now permanently pitched at the King Edward Street brewery, developed with town firm Sylvester Keal. More could follow should it take off.
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Martyn Davies, director and co-owner of Mockingbird, has joined forces with two of Docks’ owners, Shaz Shadan and Will Douglas, to set-up the new venture. He brings a decade of experience as an operations director at some of the UK’s best known restaurant brands.
Mr Davies said: “Mockingbird is based on a simple concept; ‘vegan or bird, you decide’.
“We place as much if not more emphasis on our handmade seitan ‘mock’ dishes as the real chicken. Initially we aimed for a 50/50 split between meat-alternative and chicken dishes, but we have replaced animal products wherever we can with alternative ingredients. Vegan choices now outweigh chicken on our menu because 100 per cent of our side dishes - including loaded fries, mac and cheese, and desserts - are vegan.
“This is not at the expense of taste. Our customers will be blown away by how good the food is. Our USP is Mockingbird’s secret seitan recipe which we use to make our own ‘mock’ chicken pieces and wraps, not forgetting our high quality chicken which is sourced from a leading grain-fed chicken farm less than 40 miles away.”
Docks is no stranger to street food, having regularly brought in pop-up stalls since opening in 2018.
Now open seven days a week, it was felt a permanent, weather-proof offering was required. Mockingbird will initially serve Wednesday to Sunday, from noon to 9pm.
Mr Shadan said: “Mockingbird’s shipping container is bomb proof and the new commercial kitchen is state-of-the-art.
“This really is a gamechanger, not just for Docks Beers, but for the area. Personally I’m excited because being a vegan myself I know all too well the lack of local fast food options. This means I will be one of the most frequent customers!”
He anticipates serving not just Docks Beers eat-in customers and Docks Academy event goers, but click and collect customers, with delivery services in the pipeline.
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