Barburrito Masterclass

Barburrito they are a Ronseal type of company, you can guess from their name what they do. That is they make burritos and pretty good ones at that.

However they are not the biggest or most popular of the ever expanding range of burrito outlets springing up. 

With so much competition, especially in the City Barburrito are doing what they can to stand out and gain some attention.

Recently launched schemes include their delivery service in the City 'Barburrito Al desko' and their #salsaselfie and extreme burrito competitions which asks people to capture themselves in a burrito eating selfie. 

My best attempt at a #salsaselfie

And their innovation and creativity doesn't stop there as they run burrito making masterclasses where they invite bloggers into their stores to experience Barburrito close up and personal and then share their experiences on social media. 

So this is how I found myself alongside other bloggers inher30s and lisasleftovers to get to know what goes on behind the scenes at Barburrito's Holborn store and to try our hand at making our own burritos. 

The evening got off to a great start when amigo beer bottles were cracked open and we had an informal chat with Sales Manager Carl and I got to know my fellow guests for the evening. 

The beer was starting to go down nicely as Carl talk us through the company history and presented us with a tray of burrito ingredients for us to nibble our way through so that we could taste the varieties in flavours ahead of making our choices as to what to include in our own burritos when it came to making them. 

The amigo beers were proving rather enjoyable, I have tried a couple of the tequila and rum flavoured beers that you find in texmex eateries and generally not found them to my liking but Amigos I really enjoyed, maybe they tasted so good because they were free? I don't know!?!

I usually prefer a light lager with a lime such a Sol or a Corona as a companion to my burrito but I think in Amigos I have found a new accompaniment for my burrito eating escapades.

Feeling slightly daunted standing
on the wrong side of the counter. 

Quite serreal to see me stood on
 the 'other side'.

Soon enough it was time to get behind the counter and get stuck into some burrito making. 

After a quick burrito making tutorial from a member of staff with the experience of making 1000s of burritos behind her we were let loose on the other side of the burrito counter.

I will be honest and say that the pressure of making my own burrito and having the decision making power of how to make it all in my hands was just too much for me and I didn't end of doing a very good job!

Despite being advised on what quantities of different ingredients to include in my burrito, I as usual thought I knew best and did my own thing....

I was eager to avoid my pet hate of having too much rice in my burrito so went really easy on the rice despite being advised to include a full 80g spoonful serving. The end result was a burrito quite devoid of filling despite my best efforts to try and pack it out with extra meat, peppers and guacamole. 

So if I learned one lesson from the night it was that a burrito needs a substantial portion of rice to help fill it out but that's still no excuse for the companies that overfill on the rice while skimping on the meat!

The toughest part of all though is definitely the final stage of actually wrapping your precious burrito. Taking your tortilla wrap lying flat on the counter heaped high with fillings and managing to scoop that all together to form it into a solid and compact perfectly formed burrito is both an art form and specialist skills. 

I didn't quite get the technique right and had to have a couple of attempts before quickly wrapping it tightly in tinfoil and try and hold it all together. 

My personalised burrito made by my own fair hands 

After I had my turn it was fun to watch the others take their turn behind the counter and struggle with the same dilemmas and techniques that I just had.

The range of salsas to choose from,
I stayed well clear of the hotter ones!

Eventually the best part of the evening came round when we got to sit down and start eating our burritos over some more amigo beers. The tray of burrito ingredients from the start of the evening had done a great job of wetting the appetite for the burrito feast that was to come.

My burrito despite my worst efforts at making it was still fully satisfying, fresh and tasty. I had opted for burrito ingredients of rice, beans, ranchero salsa, mild salsa, pork, sour cream and guacamole. 

Some of the bright and fresh
ingredients ready for burrito making

But alas as is always the case with a burrito they are all over far too soon but at least there was still time for another amigo beer and more chatting and joking with the rest of the group. 

The night was rounded off with a thank you from Carl as he sent us home with a goody bag of baburrito leaflets and tortilla chips. We were all eager to return our thanks to both Carl and the team before heading off into the London evening.

I would like to thank Barburrito for giving me the opportunity for being part of their burrito making masterclass and thank the staff for their kind hospitality and sharing their burrito expertise and knowledge.