SMOKIN’ BROS FIND LOW AND SLOW WAY TO BUSINESS SUCCESS
Two friends who turned their love of cooking into creating their own street food business are to host their first pop-up restaurant.
Smokin’ Bros – who specialise in making dishes from slow smoked meats using their own hand-made smoker – are to take over The Skylark in Edinburgh’s Portobello High Street on Sunday, November 6.
The two Smokin’ Bros – Lewis Notarangelo and Jordan Allan, two school friends from Edinburgh – are hoping The Skylark takeover will allow them to take a giant step forward in developing their US BBQ-style food concept into a fully-fledged business.
The menu for The Skylark will feature slow smoked BBQ brisket and pulled pork – using all Scottish produce from Shaw’s Butchers – along with tasty add-ons such as mac and cheese bon bons and zesty slaw. Two desserts – bacon and maple syrup cheesecake and peanut butter brownies – have also been added to the menu to show the Smokin’ Bros know more than just meat.
Lewis said: “Smokin’ Bros started off as way for Jordan and me to take our passion for food and cooking to a new level.
“So rather than just talk about it, we decided to build our smoker from scratch and spent weeks testing and developing the smoker process to ensure we created truly authentic – and tender and juicy – smoked meats.
“It’s all about looking after the meat and taking it low and slow.”
The Smokin’ Bros first break came when they were invited to host a street food stall each weekend over the summer at the Dalraida Hotel on the Portobello promenade.
Lewis added: “The Dalraida was the first time we took Smokin’ Bros to the public, so we were understandably nervous. But the response was amazing. We sold out within three hours on our first day and on each event thereafter we keep on increasing our range and scale – and still kept selling out.
“The Dalraida also opened us up to so many new opportunities. We got asked to host three outside catering events – and then the management team at The Skylark approached us an us to host a pop-up.”
Jordan added: “We really excited about the night and we are looking forward to bringing the Smokin’ Bros street food experience to a restaurant setting.
“We think we’ve come up with a great menu that will showcase all that is good about Smokin’ Bros to diners who are new to low and slow smoked meats – and those who already know about us and have started to follow where we will be next.
“All the food is made by us from scratch – starting with our own rubs and then the meats can take 10 hours to smoke. We are also really pleased that we are able to ensure all our meats are locally sourced using good Scottish beef and pork.
“The hope is that from here we can go on and look to invest in a mobile wagon or a permanent location – as well as a plan to take part in a host of festivals and outdoor events next year.
“So look out for the Smokin’ Bros appearing near you.”
WHERE: Smokin’ Bros at The Skylark, 241 Portobello High Street, Edinburgh on Sunday, November 6, 4.30-10pm. To book call 0131 629 3037.