Nestled in the heart of Folkestone’s creative quarter is Big Boys, offering a bold taste of American cuisine. With hearty burgers, juicy hot dogs, a range of indulgent sides, shakes and cakes all home made on-site, Big Boys offers honest, fresh and delicious food made from quality ingredients.

The Big Boys story started just over a year ago, when brothers Gareth Attwell and Guy Meurice set up their pop-up restaurant in a café in Hythe High Street. From humble beginnings opening twice a week throughout the Summer, the brothers’ dream was to open their own restaurant, and when a space became available on Folkestone’s Old High Street, they jumped at the opportunity to bring their popular gourmet burgers to a wider audience.

Gareth, the head chef, built his career in fine dining before opening Big Boys. Having worked with some of the UK’s top chefs including Michael Caines, Marcus Wareing and Gordon Ramsay, Gareth is proud to devote his skills and experience to creating the perfect burger. “The menu may be different but the principles are the same. We work hard to put together interesting flavours, using the best quality ingredients we can find. The difference is that our food is fun and accessible, and of course it’s all the things we love to eat ourselves, which helps!”

The restaurant’s menu focuses on American-inspired treats: gourmet burgers including Le Garcon Francais, a homemade beef patty with brie de meaux, wholegrain mustard and honey fried onions; and The Juicy Boy, a cheese-stuffed burger. Vegetarian burgers include The Hornblower, a combination of smoked tofu, courgette, peppers, emmental cheese; and The Skinny Boy, a Puy lentil and white bean burger, served with ricotta and parsley. Along with beechwood smoked hotdogs, sides include rosemary salted fries, homecooked barbecue baked beans and a regularly changing selection of specials. Not to be missed are the boys’ delicious range of cakes and sweet treats, all freshly baked on-site.

Gareth proudly represented Big Boys at the National Burger Awards this year with his signature burger, the ever-popular Fat Boy. He has shared his tips for the perfect Fat Boy burger with us: “After much experimentation in the early days we found that a 20% fat to meat ratio gives the very best combination of taste and juiciness. By mincing our own beef on-site we’re also able to control exactly which cuts of meat are used, to achieve a smooth eating burger.”

To make The Fat Boy at home, you will need:

1 x homemade burger (20% fat ratio)

Pulled pork (Big Boys marinade premium pork leg in a blend of herb and spices and then slow cook it at 96ºc for 13 hours)

BBQ sauce (Big Boys’ sauce combines ketchup, mustard, maple syrup, jam, molasses, vinegar, fruit juice and a secret blend of herbs and spices)

2 rashers of crispy, streaky bacon

Gherkins

French’s mustard

Chopped lettuce and a slice of tomato

Good quality cheddar cheese (smoked if you like)

Big Boys Fine Burger Co. 35 The Old High Street, Folkestone CT20 1RL

07517 567 809 // bigboysfineburgers@gmail.com // www.bigboysburgers.co.uk