Local chef starts new gourmet burger van
There is a new burger in town. Phil Fallows, former head chef at St Mary's Hall hotel, has branched out on his own with 28 Mile Grill, a mobile catering trailer specialising in gourmet burgers and seafood.
He said: "Gourmet does sound a bit pretentious, I know, but basically what it means is that the burger patties I make are all handmade and they're going to be a specific blend of beef, certain cuts and certain fat to meat ratios, etc. It's pretty precise. So that should produce a burger like no-one's ever tasted before." Phil said he thought it was time to do something for himself after working as a chef for 24 years, eight at St Mary's Hall and six before that on Tresco. When he heard about the Isles of Scilly Voucher scheme, he jumped at it. "I thought let's go for it, now's the time. The Voucher scheme was just amazing. They gave me 60% towards the cost." Phil, who has been operating a limited menu from Porthmellon Industrial Estate to rave reviews, recently lost out to current incumbents Scilly Fish and Pom's Thai Takeaway after tendering for a pitch behind the Town Hall. "I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get a pitch there but I probably would have been more disappointed if I'd knocked somebody off their spot, to be honest," he said. "It was a tricky situation and it didn't sit very comfortably with me at all. I had thought I was going to be trading somewhere else but it didn't work out." However, his own pitch has now been confirmed and he is more than happy. "We've been given an amazing spot on the Strand just to the left of the shelter if you're facing the quay!" He added: "I can't wait to get down there and get cracking!"