Chipotle

We were lucky enough to be invited to a great Qype event one Saturday morning which featured a guacamole-making workshop, and though at the root of it the process involves smashing up avocados, learning about how they do it at Chipotle was a perfect example of the care & attention that goes into their food.

Store manager Jacob explained to us about the finely honed process surrounding their ingredients selection & constant quality control, and the sentence that still resounds in my mind from the morning was when he said: “People think of burritos as fast food – what they don’t see is the 12 hours of slow-food preparation we do behind the scenes so that they can get it in 5 minutes”.

The burritos at the Marylebone store are every bit as flavoursome, spicy, and fulfilling as the Charing Cross Road branch, which is handy to know because it’s critical to be able to get a decent burrito no matter where you are in this amazing city.

Thanks to Qype for a fantastic event! I’ve been a longtime customer of Chipotle, so it was an absolute pleasure to hear more about their brand ethos and the care and attention they put into their products.
And what food they make! I had to surrender my afternoon, accepting my fate to lie as a beached whale upon my couch.
I’ll write a longer review on my blog in the next few days, and I’ll post the link here!

Tucked away on a corner of Baker Street usually inhabited by (infested with?) large packs of spotty teenage tourists with matching yellow rucksacks of a Saturday morning, or suited office types of a weekday lunchtime, lies London’s newest addition to the fast-growing world of quality fast food.
As one who has always believed the phrase “quality” fast food to be completely incongruous in itself, and therefore who usually shuns fast food (fast), Chipotle is, admittedly, a place that on any other day I might pass-by without giving it a thought. It’s unique to this country; sadly the idea of quality fast food has passed us poor Brits by, yet every time I visit the US – a deli in NYC or a burger joint in Portland, I am bowled-over by how decent the food is. On the other hand, your average UK sandwich shop or independent burger shop (Chicken Cottage, anyone? Subway? EW!) fill me with The Fear.
Enter: Chipotle.
By “quality” fast food, I mean that the ingredients are sourced by the restaurant directly, all food is created from scratch onsite and on the same day – even the tortilla chips – and more importantly, a great deal of care and love is pumped into all aspects of food creation.
Chipotle is an American-Mexican restaurant which I dearly hope will play a small part in changing the game with UK fast food. Even I can bring myself to use the R word (rather than calling it a “joint” or mere “outlet”), especially when I know my quick-grab lunch is the product of about 6 hours of preparation by real cooks.
It has a rather beautiful and quirky history; a chain with a soul, if you will. Despite its brief foray into some form of partnership with the proprietors of the Big Golden Arches (eeeevil), Chipotle has stayed true to its roots and sources its ingredients locally, where possible. Essentially that means: meats and vegetables from the UK. Of course there are exceptions: avocados are seasonal and they are mostly imported from far-off warm lands.
To give you a quick idea of the level of care and knowledge that goes into the food here, our guide Jacob talked about the difference in flavour of avocados from various different countries and at different times of the year. We were moving into the time of the year where the Hass avocados are sourced from Chilli, which meant they wouldn’t be perfect for another few weeks. Or what about the difference in flavour profile of guacamole depending on what kind of salt is used? Enough said, right? They know their stuff!
The proof was in the pudding, though. The pork burrito with black bean and mild chilli and guac was absolutely superb.
I’m all about a good burrito, it used to be difficult picking one up anywhere in London – especially to go – but it’s getting easier these days.
Don’t be fooled: although Chipotle serves your lunch in 3 minutes flat, this is some seriously brilliant food.

Fantastic! Really enjoyed the talk and learning about the real ingredients and care that goes into all the food!

Omg!had the best breakfast buritto ever.I mashed up the place!well just 48 hass advocados,add cilantro,red onion,salt,lime,lemon special spicy concotions,hey presto u have the most fresh fragant guacomole!delicious.
Jacob is v passionate and informed about the history, background passport credentials of ALL the ingredients used at Chipotle.
You can taste the levels of flavour be it tomatoes or jalepenos peppers each and every item that goes into the flavour experience is distinct.
All I can say is go and check it out fast and furious but do not underestimate it.

FOOD WITH INTEGRITY!
Couldnt have said it better myself. Was lucky enough to attend the event on Saturday morning. Massive thanks to Jacob and his staff for a very interesting morning. I think one would need to go far to find people with such passion for what they do – fast food WITH integrity – yes! Prepared freshly every day, tasty, wholesome and filling – well worth a visit.
More details of the store here… http://www.blazingmonkey.com/1/posts/10-Services-Offered/...CHIPOTLE-for-Burritos-Baker-Street-London-.html

I was there to film the Qype event and it was a great experience from the start onwards. Jacob talked everybody through the history of Chipotle, to have a better understanding of the Burrito chain. They have got over 1200 shops in the US so that says a lot about the brand. All the Qypers did seem to enjoy all the preparations, it was endearing to see all geared up on a lovely saturday morning.
Thanks to all, I got some really nice things on camera… watch this space.
Definitely recommend, the burrito was massive!

Went to the event yesterday and I must say, It was just great. This is the best take-away Mexican food I have ever sampled. It’s original, handmade, and simply taste like it should with all freshly prepared ingredients.
I shall definitely recommend this restaurant to all my good friends.

A group of us were treated to a morning at Chipotle’s second restaurant in London, which has been open for a couple of months now, in order to get a better understanding of this American burrito chain.
The proposition is “Food with Integrity” as indicated by the chicken listed as “Higher Welfare” on the menu! Our experience of being tutored in how to make the in-house guacamole certainly showed that Chipotle have a passion for ingredients and food preparation. They represent the better aspects of the American attitude towards food.
My pork (outdoor reared) burrito was tasty and filling – qualifying as a full meal as far as I’m concerned, although I did include a dollop of guacamole at an extra cost of £1.40 in addition to the burrito cost of £6.95. Generally burritos are in the £6.50 – £6.95 price range.
Given that there are now about 1,200 Chipotle restaurants in the US, which has a population about five times the size of the UK, that implies about 250 outlets could be opening up in the UK over the coming years if the popularity of the burrito takes off over here – and in my opinion that would be no bad thing.

What an amazing way start your weekend !!!
Having spoken to one of the faces of the chain and having seen how much effort goes into preparing a meal that you only spend a minute ordering I have to say I would recommend this place to everybody who can really appreciate high quality food made with passion.
I also noticed during today’s presentation how nuts they are about hygiene and this is a definite plus !!!

YUMMY! nuff said.