Derby Wing Fest 2024 - Sticky Beak Drops In For Their 10th Birthday Event
Published On Saturday 1 Jun 2024 by Sticky Beak
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I was a late-comer to the Chicken Wing Appreciation Society, having my first proper experience of it last year at WingFest, Derby at Bustler Market’s location on John Street. Rest assured though, I am a fully paid-up member of the wing club now – I love ‘em!
2024 saw Derby WingFest’s 10th Birthday/Anniversary Showdown being as popular as ever…the queues to get in were waaaaay down the road and around the corner, but the team soon got folks in and then it was over to the stand to pick up a baseball cap. The caps were in every colour known to man, woman and beast, so I got a Khaki one, His Nibs stuck with Navy Blue. WingFest’s partners – Tiny Rebel Brewery, The Busker Irish Whiskey, and Flying Goose Brand Sriracha - all got a mention on the merch, and it reminded us that first port of call was the bar! I perched on one of the inside benches and sent The Man off to grab refreshments, whilst I checked in and sussed out which vendors were on my hitlist.
Whilst we were supping (Cider for me, Craft Ale for His Nibs), we checked out the 10 wing-masters – it seemed really fitting that there were 10 sellers on the 10th anniversary; I do like neat-and-tidy stats like that! I’d love to say that we got round all 10, but even my gluttony has limits – though there was a steady stream of ‘wing wolfer-downers’ chomping away both inside and outside. We managed a respectable 6/10, and there were some real bobby-dazzlers. Each team was super-pleasant and incredibly passionate about their product, and rightly so, given how bloomin’ tasty some were.
Special mention has to go to Derby City’s very own crew, Boa; the wings from here were excellent: each wing was a good size and had plenty of sauce on it. The first one we tried was an intriguing minx in the ‘wild wing’ category: this sauce was a fusion of Szechuan and Miso, and was really nicely balanced – the spices certainly got our taste buds’ attention! Boa’s other offering was their take on BBQ; they combined Gochujang and Hot Honey to achieve the much-craved heat levels that ‘wingers’ chase with a cheeky sweet hint.
Shwings (love that name!) bopped out a couple of treasures: we both rated their Buffalo Heatwave and Black Curry numbers. The Heatwave certainly lived up to its name, but the team had paired this with some soured cream to temper the el-scorchio factor and a scattering of crumbled Nachos gave a fab blast of crunch. If part of the joy of eating Chicken Wings is licking your fingers to get all the glaze off, then the Black Curry morsel will be right up your street! Not only did we love the stickiness of the sauce, the subtle curry taste went with the juicy meat beautifully. Again, crumbled Nachos formed part of the topping, along with creamy Mayo and snipped, fresh Herbs.
Bustler’s DJ kept the vibe upbeat and happy and there was plenty of action to observe in the outside space, including the eating competition! Participants really put themselves through the wringer, chomping on progressively hotter and hotter wings; one by one they tapped out, until a victor was crowned – these guys have asbestos palate’s, that’s all imma say!!
The Chatty Patty Street Food team (Laura and Simeon) were playing for keeps in the traders’ competition arena; their Sunset Buffalo and Chi-Kee BBQ wings were seriously good! Sunset Buffalo had plenty of trademark Hot Sauce in it, but clever use of Truffle Ranch Dressing brought sweet relief in the mouth, making this widely accessible to all-comers.
I thought this was a real pearler. As you may have guessed from its name, Chi-Kee BBQ had an oriental slant to its sauce – Hoisin added a great depth to the flavour profile, and the sprinkle of Sesame Seeds and Spring Onion slices added a pleasing textural element. This team won our ‘Big Wings’ award – you certainly got plenty of wing for your wonga here.
Innovative names grab the attention of WingFest punters, and one example was the Barbie Q Girl from the Jus Winging It team. The heat of the Buffalo sauce was assuaged by Blue Cheese here, which is perhaps as well because there was no mercy with their brilliantly tangy Buffalo Soldier offering! Jus Winging It weren’t the only ones to use Blue Cheese to soften the heat of a fiery Buffalo sauce: the Bad Boys Wings crew also decorated their wings with chunks/large crumbs of smooth cheese. Bad Boys’ Chicken Wings had the best outer to their offerings in our opinion; it was thick and super, super-crunchy.
The award for best presented (matched by their taste) has to go to Hill Billy’s Street Kitchen. Their Buffalo Wings were topped with Gherkin Slices and chopped Herbs and the sauce was fi-yah – pass the yoghurt!! The Korean BBQ wings had a garnish of micro-herbs, Sesame and Spring Onion; flavour-wise the sauce was like a sexed-up version of Sweet ‘n’ Sour, but earthier and duuurtier! Nom nom.
Apologies to the other vendors: Home Boys, Hungry Boys Kitchen, Eat The Bird and Dirty Chicken, we just ran out of time – some of the queues at the stands were huge and we wanted to get round as many as we could! Maybe next year?
Massive thanks to Enytha, Charlotte and Rory for inviting us along and looking after us – we had a blast! Here’s to the next decade of WingFest Derby!!
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