Just a few short months ago, Nicole Limbu was working in a full-time marketing role which offered all the job stability that anyone could ask for.
‘Risk averse’ by her own admission, in March of this year she surprised even herself by taking the plunge and handing in her notice to work alongside her husband, Ameer, as the couple went all in to make their shared dream of running a street food truck business a reality.
Fast forward to last weekend in London and this gamble would find them surrounded by some of the brightest talents in the industry as their venture, Choola, was named the overall winner of this year’s British Street Food Awards.
“We still keep having these little moments where we can’t quite believe this has happened,” Nicole said, “We entered the Scottish Street Food Awards on a whim, so to have been joint winners there was surprising enough.
“With us being so new to it all, we weren’t expecting anything other than the chance to meet some new people and eat some great food at the British finals in London.
“The fact that we won there too is absolutely crazy.”
The concept behind Choola stems from the hours Ameer spent alongside his mother, aunts and uncles in their kitchen, as they prepared traditional Nepalese fare including Pork Momos and Buffalo Tar Kari.
Having spent years working as a chef later in life, a street food truck proved the perfect way for him to share the flavours of his childhood with a wider audience and once up and running, he and Nicole wasted no time in attending events across Edinburgh and Fife.
He said: “I learned from the best, so I’ve always had a passion for food and the sense of community that it can create.
“There are a few restaurants around Edinburgh that offer a sort of Indian and Nepalese fusion which seems to have been designed to cater to Scottish diners.
“We wanted to offer something more traditional.
“It’s been really surprising to see how willing people are to try different things.”
“We actually have a Buffalo Farm in Kirkcaldy,” Nicole added, “but there have been so many who hadn’t actually tried it before ordering one of our curries.”
Utilising local produce is just one of the founding values that have seen Choola achieve such incredible things in a short space of time, alongside a vow to ‘never focus solely on profits’ and give back to food banks and charities whenever possible.
With the business still very much in its infancy, Nicole and Ameer also credit a huge deal of their success to the support from family members who have offered a helping hand with everything from shifts at the truck to cat-sitting duties.
Ameer said: “My mum was actually with us at the competition in London.
“None of this would have been possible without her, so for her to be there with us and experience the moment Choola was announced as winner was just amazing.
“I think she was more emotional than we were.”
Just three months in, and taking every day in their stride, there’s no stopping the husband and wife team as preparation begins for the next leg of the Street Food Award competitions at the European finals in Germany.
“There are some tough days,” Nicole said, “the ones where the queue doesn’t seem to stop and you realise what a huge lifestyle change it is from a corporate job.
“But something in my gut told me it was the right thing to do and I still can’t quite believe everything achieved so far, from the awards to building up regular customers.
“We’re so grateful for the whole adventure and don’t take any of it for granted"
“Especially when it’s the recipes that I grew up with.
“It might sound cheesy, but for us, there’s this idea of trying to spread a little joy and building on a sense of community with our food.
“It seems to be working so far, and we couldn’t be happier about that.”
Find the latest updates from Choola, including the events they will be attending throughout the year, find their social media page here.
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