By Mockingbird street food soars into Docks Beers
Mockingbird has taken flight at Docks Beers in Grimsby, providing delicious vegan fast food for everyone.
Mockingbird is the UK’s first vendor specialising in both chicken and ‘mock’ chicken dishes, serving both real and vegan versions of classic chicken fast food.
Director and co-owner of Mockingbird, Martyn Davies, has joined forces with two of Docks Beers’ owners, Shaz Shadan and Will Douglas, to set up the new venture.
He explains the thinking behind the new streetfood brand: “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% 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 high our quality chicken which is sourced from a leading grain-fed chicken farm less than 40 miles away.”
Since opening in 2018 Docks Beers has introduced a variety of fantastic street food to North East Lincolnshire, hosting some of the UK’s best pop up vendors at weekends.
However, the brewers are now open 7 days a week and need a permanent vendor who is not affected by adverse weather.
Shaz Shadan commented, “Mockingbird’s shipping container is bomb proof and the new commercial kitchen is state of the art. I want to extend our thanks to local commercial kitchen installers Sylvester Keal who have grafted tirelessly to deliver a brilliant end product, especially Ash Ramsey and Ben Keal. This really is a gamechanger, not just for Docks Beers, but for the area. Grimsby has no vegan streetfood or high end chicken offering so Mockingbird fills not one gap in the market, but two. Personally I’m excited because being a vegan myself I know all too well the lack of local fast food options for people like me. This means I will be one of the most frequent customers!
“One of the great things about Mockingbird is the level of professionalism and experience that Martyn is bringing to the table. He has ensured that our brand harnesses the best characteristics of both the streetfood and restaurant sectors. I’ve no doubt we will become the area’s go to for the best seitan and real wings, tenders and grilled chicken.
“Both the vegan and chicken fast food markets are rapidly growing and there is nothing catering to these niches for mile around so we expect to be busy. We will be serving not just Docks Beers eat-in customers and Docks Academy event goers, but we also welcome walk-up and click and collect customers. We also anticipate launching delivery services in January 2022, if not sooner.”
Mockingbird’s food will be served Wednesday to Sunday midday to 9 pm, with coffee and cakes being served in the mornings from 9 am.
Those wanting to try can visit Docks Beers or order click and collect from www.mockingbirdstreetfood.com.
