The finalists for this year’s highly anticipated National Burger Awards have been revealed with one Greater Manchester burger joint making the cut. Joining fifteen other finalists is none-other-than Salford-based That Burger Place, which has officially been ranked one of the best in the UK by the National Burger Awards.
The 2024 event marks its 10th anniversary and the competition will see chefs from across the hospitality sector – including restaurants, pubs and street food traders – go head-to-head in a live cooking showdown to see whose signature burger creation will be named the best in the UK.
The brainchild of Chef Ryan McDermott and his partner Megan, That Burger Place has quickly earned legendary status among Uber Eats fans in the Walkden and Salford areas. Since 2017 they’ve been serving their take on West Coast smashburgers – 100% beef patties, super smashed for a tender yet crispy sensation. Plus, this is not the first time it has been named a finalist for the awards either as the burger spot made the final in 2022. Selected for its drool-worthy Golden Gate Smash burger this year, That Burger Place will be invited down to London to face-off against the likes of London-based burger chain and 2020 champion Bleecker and Black Bear Burger, another of the capital’s burger-specialist institutions.
They will also be joined by the likes of Loungers, owner of the Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside brands, as well as Mollie’s Motel & Diner – created by Soho House founder Nick Jones MBE – and Stonegate, the nation’s largest pub and bar operator. Several well-known and up-and-coming independents have also made the cut, including Bristol’s Fattso, a brand that came third in the signature round last year.
In addition to the signature round, chefs will participate in a technical challenge that will see them create a burger from a specific selection of ingredients supplied by event sponsors in a bid to be crowned Burger Chef of the Year. They will also take part in a meat-free burger round sponsored by Redefine Meat.
Alongside all of the burger action, this year, for the first time at the National Burger Awards, a Freakshake Challenge will also take place, in association with Horlicks. Winners of every round will be chosen by a hand-picked panel of esteemed industry judges, including former victors of the competition.
All of the National Burger Awards 2024 Finalists
Black Bear Burger, London – Black Bear Burger
Bleecker, London – Bacon Double
Bun & Sum, London – Bow Dip
Burger Shop, Hereford & Worcester – Double Bacon Cheese
Burgervore, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire – Basic Instinct
Fat Dads Kitchen, Bristol – The Triple Beef
Fattso, Bristol – Chimmy Chimmy Ya
Herd Burger, Newquay – The Herd Burger
Libertine Burger, Leamington Spa, Rugby & Stratford-upon-Avon – Libertine #044
Loungers, across the UK – Dirty Brisket Burger
MeatCastles, Retford – Royal Flush
Mollie’s Motel & Diner, Bristol & Oxfordshire – Mollie’s Double Cheeseburger
Stonegate Pub Company, across the UK – MVB
That Burger Place, Salford – Golden Gate Smash
The Barley Mow, London – The Secret Burger
Whole Beast, London – Aged Cheeseburger
The National Burger Awards final will take place on February 20, 2024 at Big Penny Social in London.