A SUSTAINABLE cafe has qualified as a finalist at the National Burger Awards.

Lucky Beach in King’s Road, Brighton, will go head to head against 15 other food businesses next month at the contest in London.

At the event, which is hosted by Casual Dining Magazine, chefs from restaurants, pubs and street food businesses from across the UK will compete in a cook-off to produce their signature burger and a vegan burger.

Lucky Beach has been selected for its Lucky Burger and is up against independent restaurants as well as larger burger chains, including Smashburger and The Hard Rock Cafe.

Tristan O’Hana, editor of Casual Dining Magazine, said: “What a list of finalists we have this year.

“From restaurants to pubs to street food operators, the different levels of operation that have made it through to the final is testament to how important the humble burger still is to the hospitality industry.

“The competition is going to be so tight this year, so the very best of luck to all of the chefs involved.”

The chefs will be under a strict time limit to cook their “technical” burgers in three rounds, which must use ingredients from the competition’s sponsors, including Farm Frites, Hellman’s and The Meatless Farm Co.

The burgers will then be judged by a panel of industry experts, including last year’s winner, chef Nick Watkins from the El Perro Negro restaurant in Glasgow.

The chef who produces the Burger of the Year will walk away with a £1,000 prize as well as the prestigious award.

The event, which is now in its sixth year, will be hosted by the barbecue cookbook author, DJ and YouTube star Christian Stevenson, also known as DJ BBQ.

Lucky Beach is no stranger to awards, having been voted as the most sustainable restaurant in the country in the Delicious Magazine awards in 2017.

The cafe specialises in brunch and burgers, as well as fish, crab and vegan dishes, and prides itself on its local and organic produce.

Flora McTeare, operations manager at the cafe, said: “This is the first time we have competed at the burger awards, so we are all really excited.

“Our executive chef Luke Larsson will be taking part and he has been with us since we started in 2012, so he’s seen all our burgers.

“The Lucky Burger is like a classic cheese burger but we’ve added more unusual ingredients to create a great flavour combination. It’s great.”

The burger is made with organic beef from Goodwood Home Farm at Goodwood, with onions cooked in chicken fat, a parmesan truffle bun, kombu cheese fondue, pickles and “ketchup leather”, which is a sheet of dehydrated tomato ketchup.

Flora said: “We’re always trying to make the best dish with locally sourced produce and really champion sustainability.

“We definitely pride ourselves on our burgers as it’s what we’ve always done. We want to be the best beach cafe, but also the most sustainable.”

The National Burger Awards are on Wednesday, February 19, at Islington Metal Works in London.