From street food origins to Birmingham culinary icon: Lee DeSanges' journey
We're about to meet Lee DeSanges, the award-winning chef behind Baked in Brick. From humble beginnings to a brand that is now iconic, Lee has become a key figure in Birmingham's culinary landscape. We explore his journey and the unique role the city has played in his success.
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00:00Street food for me started in my back garden. I built a wood-fired oven, we had loads of pizza
00:05parties at home. I love street food, I used to really follow Digbeth Dining Club and I had this
00:10great idea one day to convert a classic mini into a pizza oven with a barbecue underneath the bonnet,
00:16got onto the street food circuit, loads going on in Birmingham. We did really well in the first
00:21year, we won the British Street Food Awards and the European Street Food Awards, that kind of
00:25propelled me massively and then after about a year and a half I jumped into bricks and mortar
00:30and opened my first restaurant here in Digbeth. From humble beginnings to award-winning recognition,
00:38Lee's journey reflects the vibrant energy of Birmingham's street food scene. I think Birmingham
00:44has been really important. Luckily for me the food scene in Birmingham is massive and that's
00:49everything from street food to fine dining to urban to cool little spots. I think potentially
00:56for me if I didn't have that maybe I wouldn't have got to where I am today. People in Birmingham
01:05love our food and just been really really supportive. As Birmingham's culinary landscape
01:11continues to flourish it's clear that the city plays a vital role in supporting local talent.
01:18Food in Birmingham is massive. I mean you can go everything from street food in Digbeth or Hockley
01:25Social Club or all over the city right up to fine dining like Actar's two Michelin star restaurant
01:34or Adam's Michelin star restaurant or you go into Sturts and you've got amazing people again from
01:39street food into bricks and mortar like Buddha Belly or Eat Vietnam or Yardbirds Chicken. So
01:46the scene is so diverse and I think for any foodies or anybody coming from out of the city
01:52into the city or for people like me looking to go and eat great food there's so much choice in
01:58Birmingham. Building on this momentum Lee's latest venture brings a fresh taste of local flavour
02:05to the heart of Birmingham. I think my kind of inspiration is more rustic kind of getting some
02:14amazing food sitting with friends cooking over open fire that's where my inspiration comes from.
02:19So the Bakehouse by Baked in Brick kind of happened in in lockdown. I started a little
02:25bit of a bakery just cooking burger buns for friends who are in street food whose own bakers
02:30had closed because of because of the pandemic and then from there we kind of well I say we kind of
02:36we then started opening these little shops that do amazing coffee that's actually roasted in
02:40Birmingham by Quarter Horse Coffee and this is our fourth opening. When this little site came up
02:46we jumped in it straight away and here we just serve great coffee, amazing pastries, artisan
02:51breads like sourdough, tin loaf, pain au chocolat, croissants, great homemade sandwiches and salads.