Probably the best burgers in the world
Issue 14 | Winter 2023
Ok, officially the second best. But after heading to Hereford to hear the tale of The Beefy Boys, RUPERT BATES finds his number one burger and crowns Anthony Murphy king of the grill
Arriving at London Paddington station, I was confronted by Burger King. Sleepwalking towards a fast-food lunch, I stopped in my tracks. What on earth was I thinking? Today was not the day for a flame-grilled Whopper. Today I was going to Hereford to taste the second-best burger in the world and hear the story of how a drunken barbecue got seriously out of hand.
The Beefy Boys have another of those wonderful, uplifting stories that pepper the world of BBQ, as enthusiastic amateurs around the grill morph, or in this case Murf, into masters of fire and food, but never losing their authenticity and humility along the way.
Meet Anthony ‘Murf’ Murphy, one of the four Beefy Boys now running three restaurants, cooking around 9,000 burgers a week. It all started in 2011 when fellow Beefy Boy Dan Mayo-Evans decided to throw a barbecue and, knowing his great mate’s love of food, asked Murf to help him cook.
It could have been another of those cliched English BBQs of yore – burnt, raw sausages, undercooked chicken and too much beer. There was arguably too much beer, but Dan and Murf decided they were going to do the cooking properly and researched videos online, learning how to up their live-fire game, American style, delivering a range of burgers, ribs and pulled pork for the party. The results included a cheeseburger on a plancha, hailed by guests as the best they’d ever tasted.
“We thought we were pitmasters!’
Whether it was the beer talking or genuine appreciation of burgeoning BBQ talents, the pair soon found themselves in demand beside the grill and ‘you should do this for a living’ exhortations. They were joined by Lee Symonds and Christian Williams to form The Beefy Boys.
A living at the time for Murf and Lee meant nightclubs, spinning the discs and playing in bands, for, having met at Hereford College of Arts, music was their first love. Christian worked on the family farm while also a runner for the BBC, and Dan delivered gas to pubs.
Working in Bristol, Christian heard of the legendary BBQ Festival Grillstock in the city, created by Jon Finch and Ben Merrington, and in 2012 decided to enter one of the cooking competitions, finishing 7th.
“We learnt a lot and got great advice from some serious pitmasters. Our eyes to the possibilities were well and truly opened.”
Burgers were specifically where The Beefy Boys wanted to head. “I’d always been disappointed by burgers, especially when you live in Hereford despite being surrounded by the most amazing beef,” says Murf.
Two years later they won the Burger round at Grillstock, which qualified them
for the World Food Championships in Las Vegas, borrowing from friends and family and the generosity of Wye Valley Brewery in Herefordshire to fund the USA trip. The Vegas adventure sounds like the script of The Hangover film, except rather than finding a tiger in the bathroom, the next morning they woke up to the recollection they had finished second in the world.
“We were the novelty act, representing the UK against 50 other teams from around the world. We couldn’t take our Hereford meat with us, so had to buy the most expensive grass-fed, dry-aged beef we could find in Vegas. We thought we’d finish last, have a great holiday and fly home. Somehow, we came second in the world, behind the United States.”
Having demolished an Oklahoma Onion Boy (of which more later) as well as The Beefy Boy with its ‘special sauce’, which if Murf revealed would reduce him to a smashed patty, and The Dirty Boy – double American cheese, dirty mayo, beef dripping, onions and bacon – I have no idea how they came second; it should have been first.
Full disclosure: despite a healthy appetite, I was not alone, dining with Hereford travel agent Ross Griffiths of Your Endless Travel and his partner, Josie Pearson, a Paralympian who won gold in the discus at the 2012 Paralympics in London. I was tempted to use their travel agency contacts to fly straight to the States and discover if a better burger could possibly exist.
After Vegas it was pop-ups back home, with queues getting longer and longer and customers sometimes waiting two hours for the second-best burger in the world, originally off the second oldest and smallest grill in the world.
Bigger and better grills were purchased to meet demand, but eventually, with up to 600 people every Thursday at their pop-up, it was time to ask the bank manager if they could open a restaurant.
“He supported us but couldn’t get the loan signed off because we had no restaurant experience. We begged and borrowed and took out personal guarantees. Our houses were on the line.”
Lee’s wife, Kate, with her hospitality experience, became a hugely important part of the team and, in December 2015, the Beefy Boys restaurant opened in their hometown of Hereford, immediately smashing launch projections. More restaurants have followed, in Shrewsbury and this year Cheltenham, with 200 staff now in total.
The Hereford restaurant uses 100% Hereford beef sourced hyper-locally from Hereford butcher Neil Powell and farmer Johnny Morris, with the buns baked fresh daily by local baker Peter Cook, ensuring low food miles and provenance assured.
“I will train the chefs but can’t be in the kitchen every day. What is most important is passion and care and being prepared to start again if not happy. Success is a double-edged sword. It is fantastic getting the recognition and the praise, but with that comes massive expectations – and with food you get instant feedback,” says Murf.
Back home with the family, Murf will fire up the barbecue “although for obvious reasons I don’t do many burgers!”
Next up is a book called The Beefy Boys: from backyard BBQs to world-class burgers – not just a collection of recipes but telling the story of how a hobby evolved into an award-winning food brand. “It is a guide as well, mainly what not to do!”
There’s a food truck, with another one on the way, DIY burger boxes to buy online, and weddings and parties to cater for. The accolades keep coming and this year saw a double triumph in the National Burger Awards, winning Best Burger and Murf crowned Best Burger Chef.
Don’t take my word for it; listen to the best. This summer Murf cooked the Oklahoma Onion Boy – beef, onion, American cheese and mustard in smashed patties – on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, with chefs Matt Tebbutt and Paul Ainsworth singing its praises, between mouthfuls.
“Absolutely incredible,” said Paul Ainsworth (featured on p30), while Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt called the journey from a drunken BBQ to serving 9,000 burgers a week “brilliant.”
American chefs talk of the holy grail of the 100-mile BBQ joint, where people would travel 100 miles or more to eat there. After my trip from Brighton to Hereford, welcome to the 200-mile burger restaurant.
Images: Peter Lowbridge Photography ©