Sticky Beak Drops In For Wingfest 2025
Published On Tuesday 27 May 2025 by Sticky Beak
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The sun was shining down for our afternoon slot at WingFest ’25, held at Bustler Market in The Chocolate Factory, and The Man and I were all fired up to savour some lip-smacking morsels. Plenty of other folks had the same idea, and there was a real buzz in the queue ahead of the 5pm opening time. Silly us, we’d got in the wrong line, but a lovely young lass from Africa took us down to the front, got our invite confirmed, and sorted us out with everything we needed for doors opening.
We exchanged our merch token for the obligatory WingFest Baseball cap, and headed inside to snag a table near the main stage and bar. His Nibs got a pint of Beavertown Brewery’s Neck Oil for himself and a pint of Cider for me then, whilst I sat at the bench, he headed off to see our friends at Hillbilly’s Street Kitchen to grab our first batch of Chicken Wings.
Hillbilly’s did two nattily named wings: ‘Wing Wing, Who’s There?’, and ‘My Cousin is also my Mum’. Let me start by saying that there was certainly nothing redneck about either minx; they were both packed with taste, and a nice entry-level heat for newbie wingers. Wing Wing had a fab smoky tang to it, with the Cousin being a bit spicier. Dave and his team garnished their wings beautifully, too, so our afternoon got off to a flying (pun intended!) start. Their day got even better when Wing Wing got voted Gold in the people’s taste vote.
Next up were Peck! Peck! who came up from London to tempt us Midlanders with their morsels: The Gruffalo and Yuzu Caramel. Both wings were a great size, giving us the opportunity to have several bites and really get to know the flavours in both offerings. The Gruffalo took its influence from Korea, giving the traditional Buffalo sauce a Gochujang twist, and its accompanying Blue Cheese ranch sauce was excellent. Peck!Peck! weren’t the only vendors to use Yuzu in their wings, so clearly this is the ingredient ‘du jour’ in Wing-World. The citrus edge lifted the heftier notes of burnt caramel in the mouth to bring a nice balance. Personally, I loved the Kimchi Mayo; you got a definite twang of yeast/earthiness, which made the creamy condiment way more interesting. Crunchy Spring Onions and crushed nuts added a lovely waft of texture, as well.
The BadBoy Wings team do some fab Buffalo wings and they were delicious with their fiery blast. No mucking about here! For me, I loved their off-piste ‘Curry Chaos’ more; maybe it was the fact that it was a bit different to the predominant Buffalo wings at WingFest? The combo of a Butter Chicken sauce, Raita, Mango Chutney syrup, Onion Bhaji crumb and Burnt Poppadom [crunchy] garnish, and teeny-tiny micro-Coriander was ruddy stonking. Turns out, I wasn’t the only fan; Curry Chaos got voted Best Wild Wing in the people’s taste vote. Good job, lads!
His Nibs’ next outing was to The BBQ Society stall, where they were offering Sweet Candied Buffalo and BBQ & Ranch partners to their Smoked Chicken Wings. Fans of Jalapenos were rejoicing at the sheer amount of the green beauties that topped the wings! I have to say, they were delicious; you got a marvellous sweetness first…and then the Jalapeno’s signature heat blossomed a couple of seconds later. The BBQ Ranch was exactly as stated: a rich, smoky BBQ sauce drizzled with creamy Ranch dressing. The wings were so tender that the meat was literally falling from the bone, and this was just an honest, fabulously tasty wing.
Derby’s very own Boa, complete with their own #uptheboa stickers - very natty – produced a couple of corkers: Chipotle Chile Buffalo and Hoisin Honey Ranch & Gochujang Ranch. Like Yuzu, Gochujang was a common thread than ran through several vendors, and you certainly got its strong flavour here. Nutty, toasted Sesame seeds and crunchy shredded pancakes added another good blast of taste. Taking the first bite of the Chipotle Chile Buffalo wing, it came as no shock that this minx scooped top spot in the Best Buffalo category of the people’s taste vote. Crumbled Feta cheese, Coriander, and Lime zhuzhed Soured Cream were tasty garnishes…as well as a fab Lime wedge dipped in zingy Tajin (Lime, Chilli and Sea Salt) seasoning. Both offerings had a bold tingle factor that got our palate’s attention.
By now, time was marching on, and it was apparent that we weren’t going to make it to all 10 wing teams. In the end, we did manage 8; only 2 [sort of] disappointed us (I really didn’t like the oiliness of Tom Yum Nashville from Homeboys, sorry chaps, but I loved the citrus kick of your Yuzu). The Man had been trooping round with his camera for a few hours, returning with trays of wings and the odd bit of merch – cheers Flying Goose Sriracha, the bag is brill! A leg and A Wing, and Dirty Chicken Ltd, we hope you’ll be returning to Derby WingFest next year so that we can try your delights.
The Magic Wingdom was our final pair of wings: Wingdom, and Kimchi Buffalo. These were the only 2-part wings that we’d come across, and it was nice to see a ‘complete’ wing. A sweet yet spicy Gochujang sauce liberally coated the Wingdom, paired with a Chive-pimped Ranch drizzle and fresh Oniony Chives and peppery Radish for crunch. Pungent Parmesan gave another great layer of taste to an already yummy morsel, and we both loved this; hot and sour deliciousness at its finest. A distinct umami kick from Kimchi could clearly be discerned in the Kimchi Buffalo sauce, with more punch coming from the Blue Cheese dressing on this offering. There was lots of sauce to savour, and we found ourselves actually mopping the excess up with the chicken, it was that good!
Throughout the evening, we had been joined by a lovely couple, Helen and her husband (whose name I have forgotten, to my eternal shame!). One thing’s for sure; you always make friends at WingFest; you’ve already got one thing in common – and a ready-made conversation starter: Chicken Wings. Live music, DJ sets, Axe throwing, and Karaoke also provide more fun than you can shake a stick at. If you really want entertainment though, go and watch the ‘Lava Wing Challenge’; think Vesuvius-hot wings, tear-inducing pain and gallons of milk desperately being chugged to counteract the Scoville agony! There is absolutely no way I could do it though, so hats off to all the brave/bonkers lads and lasses that gave it a go.
See you, next year, Derby WingFest; as always, you served it strong!!
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