Historic burger showdown set for September

The organisers of the National Burger Awards have announced a huge, one-off competition in honour of the event’s 10-year anniversary.

On 3 September 2024, 30 previous winners and chefs of the National Burger Awards will gather in London to compete in the Champion of Champions to see which signature burger will establish its place in history.

Among the 30 finalists are two-time winners Bleecker and El Perro Negro, as well as popular outfits such as Danny’s Burgers, The Beefy Boys and Whole Beast. The Champion of Champions will even see businesses that are no longer operating relaunch for one day only, including Cut + Grind, Bun Club and the team behind Mac & Wild. The full list of finalists can be found below.

Over the past decade, the annual event has crowned winners across three categories each year, most recently in 2024 through the Plant-Based Burger of the Year, Burger Chef of the Year and, the big prize, National Burger of the Year.

A total of 26 victors from each of those rounds from 2015 onwards will now return to the capital to cook-off against each other at Big Penny Social in one of the biggest burger celebrations the country has ever seen. What’s more, a Wild Card round has also been added, featuring four former chefs who scored highly at a previous final. This round features MEATliquor, Lagom, Nanny Bill’s and Cubitt House.

Unlike the traditional National Burger Awards format, the Champion of Champions cook-off will revolve solely around the signature burgers from each venue, meaning everything hinges on just one recipe.

“We had to do something to celebrate the National Burger Awards’ 10th birthday,” says Genna Ash-Brown, editor of Dine Out magazine, which hosts the event. “But, wow, are we excited about how the Champion of Champions has come together. If you’ve ever attended a National Burger Awards final, you’ll know how action-packed and competitive the day is, but we just know this unique burger extravaganza is going to be off the charts! Maybe we’ll see you there?”