New street food business brings 'curry in a bun' to South Warwickshire

By James Smith

21st Mar 2024 | Local News

Bongo Bunee Chow will be at East Chase Distillers in Kenilworth on Friday 22 March (images supplied)
Bongo Bunee Chow will be at East Chase Distillers in Kenilworth on Friday 22 March (images supplied)

A new street food business is bringing 'curry in a bun' to South Warwickshire.

Bongo Bunee Chow will be at East Chase Distillers in Kenilworth on Friday (March 22), bringing its unique menu of South African curry to the town.

It is the second outing for the new business, which had its first outing at Warwick' Saturday market earlier this year.

Bringing 'Bunee Chow' - a South African curry dish served in a hollowed out bread roll - the latest street food offering is run by Raj Darji and Craig Scott-Dawkins.

"Craig and I have known each other for about three years since I moved to the local area in 2020 - he is actually my chiropractor!," Raj told Nub News. 

"We got to know each other very well, and one night we were out in Leamington and Craig was telling me about his upbringing in Durban [South Africa] and some of the food he liked to eat. 

"He knew I was well into my food and said it would be great to bring Bunee Chow to the UK."

Bongo Bunee Chow is coming to East Chase Distillers this week (image supplied)

Having not heard of Bunee Chow before, Raj was told how the dish originated from plantation workers in South Africa in the 1800's.

They wanted homecooked, curry-type dishes during work, and cooked the Bunee Chow the day before, taking it to the plantation in the bread dish. 

Now a staple across the country, Raj and Craig have now brought the cuisine to Warwickshire.

"The first festival was really good," Raj explained. 

"We were complete novices in the food industry. No knowing how it works, how street food works, there was a lot of learning.

"And we have had a lot of support from the local community and CJ's Events Warwickshire. 

"There was a lot of learning for us and it was a chance to try things out and learn ahead of our next event."

Raj - who left his corporate job last year to start working with food - is the chef and has created three dishes for the menu.

He said it was important not to dilute the offering with other types of curry, and said the first outing was a great chance to educate local people on Bunee Chow.

For those who cannot make the Gin and Curry Night at East Chase Distillers this week, Bongo Bunee Chow will also be at Redditch Food Festival, Stratford Pursuit and Warwick Food Festival this year.

And the duo also have long-term plans to start attending bigger festivals and events from 2025.

The Bongo Bunee Chow menu (image supplied)

"Our target this year is to really establish ourselves in Warwickshire, build up our client base and then as we move into 2025 we will be looking to go to larger festivals," Raj said. 

"We would love to do music festivals in the future.

"We are both really passionate about the food we are bringing. We are passionate about the quality, that has to be number one. 

"Our focus is on providing a high quality dish. And also from a sustainability perspective, we don't have any packaging that isn't biodegradable. It is served in a box which is biodegradable and with biodegradable cutlery."

Find out more on the website or on the Instagram page.

     

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