Our Vegan Fairs Best Street Food Nomination
In December 2025 we learned that we had been nominated for the Best Street Food award by Vegan Fairs. We began attending markets as part of the Vegan Fairs community in April 2024, and it all began at Salisbury.
Having only previously attended our local town markets, taking the entire circus to Salisbury was a bit daunting with no option to just quickly nip home and pick up some forgotten mint chutney!
It is true, we had been operating in our comfort zone, and it was time to take a step out.
In the van we had the kids, Louise and Lauren and I wasn’t sure if we would make it up the various hills on the A36.
Did we have enough power to pull our new trailer, all the kit: gas bottles and passengers safely there and back? When we bought the van in 2019, we had not considered things like gross volume weight and the need for towing. We held our breath as we approached the first hill.
I dropped it into second gear and we made it to the top with relative ease. Phew!
It was a cold but sunny April morning and we parked outside the Guildhall Square for a few minutes.
Thankfully, I had requested to arrive early specifically so I had the the space to manoeuvre and more importantly, with no audience. We were the first to arrive and I was relieved with the space available. We were warmly greeted by Julia, a founding member of Vegan Fairs and we discussed setting up.
The ladies always seem to be on the ball when it comes to setting up. They just jumped into action, even before I’d said hello. I had my instructions.
Next, get the van moved. I drove in and out of two other car parks, before making it to the actual recommended one.
The morning started slow and we had resigned ourselves for a quiet day. Little did we know.
I spent the day entertaining the kids. We explored the market, the town centre and when it got too cold, sat in the van and watched Outdoor Boys on YouTube, all while Louise and Lauren were frantically trying to keep up with demand.
Be careful what you wish for, because when it happens, you’d better be ready.
Having started out in a 3x3m gazebo, my role used to be frying samosas, onion bhajis and making chapattis in the back. But now that was no room for all three of us in our trailer, and things got a little bit more pressured.
When I arrived back in the afternoon, there was a queue. We had never been so busy, and Louise had been constantly on the fryer. We had our busiest day ever and we sold out of everything.
I am glad I took some pics and got to try out some of the other food on offer (pizza from vherbal kitchen was amazing and we have been fans ever since).
On the drive home we shared stories of the day, people we had met and feedback from customers (and there were some wonderful comments).
We arrived home safely that evening, tired but exhilarated by our first ever Vegan Fair. We attended a few more Vegan Fairs throughout the year and came back to Salisbury in October 2025.
I am writing this in January 2026. Looking back now I am glad we stepped out and ventured a little further as this set the stage for all future events. Thank you to organisers and community for this wonderful opportunity and the nomination for Best Street Food 2025.
Thank you for reading.
