Meet the British man selling Indian street food from Kolkata in London
Angus Denoon first went viral in 2019, when he sold jhalmuri during the cricket World Cup
A former British chef, Angus Denoon, is taking the internet by storm for serving an iconic Indian street food from Kolkata, called Jhalmuri, on the streets of London.
A video shared by a food blogger, Ansh Rehan on October 19, shows Denoon serving the savoury snack made out of puffed rice to his customers, which has garnered over 7.3 million views on Instagram.
After visiting Kolkata in 2004 and again in 2005, Denoon fell in love with the street food in the city. That was when he began his journey of learning the art of making street food from the local vendors themselves. And after months or years of perfecting it, Denoon took Kolkata’s street food, specifically chaat items, to the streets of London.
Chaat is typically a family of various savoury snacks served at roadside stalls in India. There are several recipes and some of them include the famous pani puri or golgappa, a fried breaded spherical shell filled with a potato filling and tangy water. Among this family of snacks is jhalmuri, a puffed rice snack with a blend of spices and masalas, and chutneys which are usually served in paper cones.
In the video Denoon is seen preparing jhalmuri just like local vendors in Kolkata. He stores the ingredients in plastic bottles, mugs and steel containers as well.
Selling for 4 pounds (Dh19.06) each, the jhalmuri stall is decked in colourful flowers and signboards, with one of them reading, ‘Everybody Love Love Jhal Muri Express’.
But this wasn’t the first time Denoon gained recognition on the internet. It was in 2019, when Denoon decided to take his stall outside The Oval grounds during a cricket World Cup match. The British vendor quickly went viral on the internet and was even mentioned by Bollywood legend, Amitabh Bachchan, in a witty tweet on X (previously Twitter) saying, “Bhery bhel done”.
In an interview in 2019 with Indian news organisation, Times of India, Denoon said, “I watched different people. You pick up … like how they chop, how they use their space, their little mixes of ingredients and their presentation and their little tricks.”
“The Indians get it and are supportive of what I do. English people, once they eat it, they get it. Everyone seems to enjoy it. That’s why I call it ‘The Everybody Love Love Jhal Muri Express’,” he added.
Netizens shared their joy and encouragement on clips of Denoon on Instagram. One comment read, “I loved watching the whole process. It reminds me of the childhood days in my hometown… whenever my sister and I got some extra money we used to run to the jhalmuri vendor in our colony.”
Another comment read, “As a jhalmuri lover I can vouch this is the real deal. Mouth-watering stuff there.”
Denoon now updates his followers on Instagram of his whereabouts, so people can try out the famous jhalmuri when he’s in their town or city.