The first day of any job is horrendous. You don’t know anyone, they all have their own little personal jokes, and on top of that you don’t have a clue what you’re doing.
You are forced to ask anyone and everyone, including customers, all myriad of questions and the only bit of relief comes from the fact that you can get away with most things with the immortal words “It’s my first day!”
This is probably how Scott felt back in 2015, the only problem is; it wasn’t Scott’s first day in the street food game – he’d already been doing it for months.
“It was actually me and a friend who started Oh My Glaze and we began with absolutely no experience in the industry whatsoever.” So why did he start? Well, as Scott explains, he “didn’t want to work for anyone else”, so starting his own business was the only way he could guarantee he was ever going to work hard.
Scott and his mate decided to head down to Hulme High Street with Oh My Glaze and what followed was a steady stream of problems. “We made all the mistakes that you could make”, with expensive ingredients, a menu that was too cheap and a product that generally didn’t work.
Not really making much money, Scott and his partner went there seperate ways with the latter becoming a Head Chef elsewhere, but Scott was still determined to make it work. He spent a day with fellow trader Diamond Dogs, and after doing a full day’s work had “learnt SO much in one day that I just went back and changed every single thing I could.”
He changed up the menu, making it much simpler and focusing on a few select dishes but making sure that they were perfect. That’s where the wings came in. “They fit perfectly with the name because they’re a bit messy… you sit down, you eat them and they’re all sticky and you have to lick your fingers.”
Customers do indeed get messy, so messy in fact that he’s started offering a pair of black rubber gloves with the wings – to act as your “wingmen” or “wingwomen” to keep your fingers nice and clean and not end up absolutely covered in glaze.
But where’s the fun in that? I bloody love licking my fingers for the next 10 minutes after a portion of wings, especially when the glazes are this good.
Oh My Glaze offer a choice of three for your wings or wrap, there’s Lime and Coriander, Cajun BBQ and my personal favourite – the brilliant Scotch Bonnet & Rhubarb.
I asked Scott where the inspiration came from for such an odd sounding pairing and the answer was simple; “My mum always has a lot of rhubarb in the garden so it was always in the fridge and so naturally I’m going to want to have a little play around.”
The resulting glaze is the perfect mix of fiery spice and subtle sweetness – something any fan of hot wings should try.
We caught up with Scott at GRUB, where he’s been a regular fixture for a while now. In addition, you can also find Oh My Glaze at Stockport Foodie Friday which takes place on the last Friday of every month down in the Old Town.
“I think it’s important to definitely carry on with the street food, you should never underestimate these kinds of events – there’s good money to be made when you’re mobile”.
So, the next step isn’t bricks and mortar? “I do want bricks and mortar one day, I have looked and will continue to look but it’s all about finding the right spot and the right price.”
Of course my next question was; Where is the right spot? and Stockport lad Scott is clearly torn between the high rents and competition in the city centre or the pull of the suburbs. “I reckon Stockport is up and coming, my friends all laugh at me but I swear by it.
“With the likes of The Allotment and Where The Light Gets In taking things to a whole new level”, Scott is keen to help be a part of that regeneration somewhere along the way.
Any final advice from Scott for potential future Street Food traders is very concise but clear. “Speak to people. Speak to the organisers (like GRUB), speak to other vendors – they’ll all have advice on where there might be a niche in the market, what to sell and how to sell it.
“Street food is a nice little community, at the beginning I thought it would be tribal, but you make friends and everyone helps each other out along the way.”
For more information on Oh My Glaze! you can head to their website or follow them on socials:
You can also catch Oh My Glaze! at GRUB at Fairfield Social Club this December.
