Food is essential to life; therefore make it good.

With Liverpool’s first street food market just a couple days away, we sit down with the food traders who are going to be there to find out their story and what led them to Baltic Market. Based in the iconic Cains Brewery, Baltic Market opens Friday 30th June at 5pm and is free to enter. From wood-fired pizza to vegan Caribbean food – foodies of Liverpool let us all unite in our love for drool-worthy food.

Pao! Food Power

Shelly and her best friends started Pao! the Asian street food company about 2 years ago. It initially started trading from a rented trailer in Baltic but slowly crept into the world of catering, pop-ups, collars and supper club. Pao! is not just a fun word to say, it’s a philosophy. It’s what you are and what you eat and a reminder that fast food can be delicious, vibrant and healthy. Pao’s food is one for the bucket list – whether you’re veggie, vegan or a meat lover – there’ll be no compromised flavour or nutritional content here, just taste bud tantalising bento boxes so delicious you’ll probably moan out loud a few times whilst eating. You’ve been warned.

THE MIDNIGHT DELIVERY

The Midnight Delivery has taken Liverpool and Instagram by storm. They somehow make every delicious treat you’ve ever fantasised about a reality. It all started in Lloyd’s family kitchen with his Grandma’s recipes. He took these mouthwatering cake and unbeatable shakes made with love and delivered them straight to people’s doors. Much to the happy, hungry and hungover. It wasn’t long before home-baking out-grew the house and now they’re are on a mission to bring smiles to the faces of people across the world with their sweet creations. Expect funnel fries, Oreo cookie dough brownies and more. Sorry diet.

LITTLE FURNACE

Little Furnace started when two local Liverpool lads (Ryan & Peter) met through the love of boss food. How else do people meet these days? They travelled to Sicily together and discovered amazing street food that looked effortless to prepare but incredible to taste. They decided to bring a slice, literally, of Italy home to them much to the delight of the many pizza lovers of Liverpool. They got the funds together and bought a small portable wood-fired oven and signed up to their first ever event at Granby Four Streets Market. Unbeknown to them, they sold out and worked non-stop. And they kept selling out. Neapolitan style, wood-fired pizzas with only the best produce – all made from scratch right before your very eyes.

ITAL-FRESH

Meet Poppy & Dan, the vegan couple taking the food scene by storm with their unique Caribbean Street food inspired by their extensive travels around Jamaica and love of all things Rastafari. Since then they’ve been popping up at District in the Baltic Triangle, bringing the little known “Ital” (pronounced “eye tal”) diet into the spotlight, which is centred around using natural, unprocessed ingredients grown from the earth. Gaining recognition from BBC 3, BBC Good Food, The Guardian, The Independent & The Evening Standard; Olive Magazine rated them as one of the best veggie establishments in the UK and they’re one of EasyJet’s Traveller Magazine top 50 places to visit in the UK! Try the Kingston Fried Cauli: the vegan answer to KFC or one of their mouth watering Rasta Bowls – the Caribbean Buddha Bowl – eating vegan never tasted so tropical.

HAFLA HAFLA

They say good cooking starts at home and that’s exactly where Hafla Hafla started. Translated from Arabic, Hafla pretty much means party. And that’s what Tim, the guy behind the food, wanted to do. Born out of love of Israeli and Mediterranean food, Hafla Hafla is a seasoned vet of the street food game. They’ve done stints at all the big boys in the North West food scene where he championed his falafel. Places like Leeds Trinity Kitchen, Liverpool Food & Drink, Newcastle Boiler Shop Steamer and now Baltic Market. Expect slow cooked local lamb leg on a roller spit that is marinated for a minimum of 24 hours with their own roasted hafla spices, falafel wraps, beloved halloumi fries with sweet pomegranate reduction red onions and so much more. Get ready to have a Hafla in your mouth.

OKTOPUS

Launched by the team behind the city’s Black Lodge Brewery, Octopus very recently opened a permanent restaurant at Buyers Club after a series of successful pop-up events at Black Lodge Brewery in Baltic Triangle. Oktopus was devised to showcase a number of Black Lodge’s own-brewed craft beers which are paired with menus by Christopher Ineson, formally Head Chef of Maray and The Clove Hitch. Clean, simple and seasonal cooking with a focus on highest quality vegetable and seafood is the winning equation they’ve chosen to use and who can blame them? Also, the bar is stocked with Black Lodge beers so don’t forget to grab a pint with your food.

TIMMY TIKKA

They say travel expands the mind and that was the inspiration for Timmy Tikka after Moe took a trip to India a few years ago. The fragrant smells, vibrant colours, tastes and textures inspired him to bring a piece of India back to Liverpool. Timmy Tikka is a East meets West hybrid of delicious Indian street food, full of authentic spices and colours, hitting the streets of the Liverpool and being enjoyed by all. They will specialise in kati rolls – a speciality wrap in paratha bread with a mix of meat or veg and wonderful salad, spices and sauces.

SLIM’S PORK CHOP EXPRESS

Slim’s Pork Chop Express is a place where smoking is encouraged. Smoking meats, that is. Situated on the edge of Chinatown and locate on the very lively Seel Street, Slim’s Pork Chop Express offers a fun and unique British take on American back street BBQs. That’s not all either – with Liverpool’s link to Chinatown, they also offer an array of interesting Dim Sum. They specialise in smoked meats, sandwiches – who’s not a fan of melt-in-the-mouth morsels of meat between bread? From the sauces to the burger patties and fries – everything is homemade and contributes towards a true and authentic meat lovers experience.

Baltic Market opens Friday 30th June at 5pm and from then onwards it will be open Thursday-Sunday with Sundays being either farmers market, arts markets or flea markets. July 2nd will be our first ever farmers market with a collection of Merseyside’s best producers all under one roof. Opening hours are 5-11pm Thursday and Friday and 11am-11pm Saturday and Sunday.

Crosby Coffee

Crosby Coffee, a beautiful roastery in Litherland with a small coffee shop inside has become a festival favourite around the city. For nearly a year the business was run from the owners Mum’s living room, using tiny American style roasters and taking days off from work to fulfil orders. He’s gone from farmers markets to owning his own roastery and now he’s ended up at Baltic Market. There’s no excuse for a bad cup of coffee, so prepare for Jack and his team to whip you up something special to keep you going all day.

Cains Brewery, Stanhope Street, L8 5XJ. Visit our website here for more.