Fife street food business scoops UK and Scottish awards and appears on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen

Choola serves up Nepalese street food from a little blue trailer, and is run by husband and wife duo, Ameer and Nicole Limbu, who wanted to fill a gap in the Scottish street food scene by serving up dishes found on the streets and in the homes of Nepal.

The business only officially started trading at markets in early June, it has won not only the 2023 Scottish Street Food Awards, but also the 2023 British Street Food Awards. As a result, it got the opportunity to compete in the European Street Food Awards in Germany recently where it won a ‘future food legend’award. Ameer and Nicole have also appeared on BBC1’s popular Saturday Kitchen, cooking up one of their award-winning dishes.

Nicole said, “The idea for Choola came from Ameer’s love of food and cooking. Growing up as a young boy in Nepal, he was always in the kitchen helping his mum and his aunties, and while he has worked as a chef for many years in different kitchens, his true passion lies in the amazing food and flavours he grew up with.

“He took the leap last year and started Choola, and I decided to leave a corporate marketing role to join Ameer in the business earlier this year.”

They received advice and support from Business Gateway Fife adviser, Rosie Dowie, on starting up, as well as making use of the organisation’s webinars.

Rosie said: “The couple have enjoyed a busy first six months, trading at events across Scotland, from the street food markets of Edinburgh to local markets such as Bowhouse in East Fife. They also like to stay local with their suppliers too, sourcing pork from Balcaskie Estate in East Fife, and buffalo meat from The Buffalo Farm outside Kirkcaldy, both of which are used in their award-winning dishes.

“They have certainly made their mark in the industry in a very short time and have shown much potential to develop further in the future.”