Few of us can withstand the cravings for bacon and knowing this, Nike look back to one of the most iconic iterations of the Air Max 90 that first came to light back in 2004. Sporting a range of deep reds and light pink hues, this colour blocking perfectly reflects the various stages of preparation.

To celebrate the upcoming return of the Air Max 90 ‘Bacon’, we enlisted the help of Elliot Cunningham from Eat Lagom to conjure up one of his culinary delights that spoke true to the ‘Bacon’. Elliot talks us through his journey so far and the burger he brought to life to celebrate this revisit.

RAFFLE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND BELOW!

Footpatrol: Firstly, we must say a massive thank you for joining us for the revisit of the Nike Air Max 90 ‘Bacon’, we couldn’t have thought of a better person to build a connection between food and the sneaker!

Elliot: Well thank you for having me, it’s an absolute pleasure to have been asked to collab on such a fun project.

FP: We must start with your story, could you give our audience a little bit of background to yourself and Lagom?

EC: So my name is Elliot, and I have been working as a chef in London for the best part of 8 years. I feel very fortunate to have worked with, and alongside some of the best in the industry. I’m Swedish/English/Chinese mix, for me and my family, food was always a fun and exciting part of our day. We loved food growing up, all mucking in together or helping one of the parents create a feed for the gannets. After a short stint at uni, with the aim to become a doctor, I left my studies behind to pursue a career in food – finding any job/opportunity I could and running with it. It was after a few years, that I felt confident enough to start my own food venture – Lagom. Recently I have launched a new concept as an off-shoot of Lagom, following its principles, but focussing on woodfired pizza – ELD pizza.

FP: Our understanding is that Lagom kind of means “Not too much, not too little”, would that be correct? If not then we feel it still perfectly sums up what it is you do. The food has a sense of simplicity about it but the flavours are always spot on.

EC: Well the word has no direct translation partly why I felt it was such a brilliant word to use for us; it starts a conversation, like good food should. A swedish word for the right amount, or thereabouts. Our Lagom aims to showcase bbq as not just pulled pork, ribs and burned sausages. We try to focus on the little details, that’s what makes our bbq what it is – from sourcing, to seasoning.

FP: One thing we’ve always enjoyed when we’ve come down to visit you is the variety of meats available within your burgers, whether that’s the goat cheese burger, the featherblade bun or the pastrami burger… It’s great to get such a range of meats that you wouldn’t normally find anywhere else with such a chilled out, BBQ vibe… What is it that makes you offer such a variety?

EC: I feel traditional barbecue typically isn’t very sustainable: the same favourite cuts used week in, week out – quantities cooked on mass. It didn’t sit well with me, as I’m aware that we all need to make an effort to reduce our meat intake and support the little guys. This results in a menu that changes, and means things aren’t always on the menu but will feature as specials when they become available. It’s this core idea we try and focus on, and a good example of this would be our goat meat burger – no need to grind down a whole forequarter of beef just for burgers when we were able to find a product that could rival the beef, purely with trims from more desired cuts.

FP: So just how important is it to try and cook with the best meat you can? We’re guessing, it can make or break the meal? 

EC: Absolutely – you get out, what you put in. Use a cheaper piece of meat, expect to work for that end result. Use a great piece, and you will have to do very little to let that product sing.

FP: Although 2020 has been one of the most difficult years, especially for the hospitality sector, we saw you begin a new venture alongside Lagom, ELD pizza, just how did this come about?

EC: So Eld was a pop up we did last year, in an attempt to keep the wheels rolling, and our staff happy. I also like to be busy…. Following a successful few weeks at a cafe residencey in clapton we sought out a permanent home for Eld, on Hackney Road. Things age going great there, and we are excited for our official opening.

FP: We feel your pizza offering is similar to your burgers above, such a unique, yet simple offering, constantly experimenting with new things, is this what you love about cooking?

EC: I make food I want to eat, no frills just simple product led food that we are not afraid to have fun with along the way. This for me gets the best response.

FP: Now, to bring it back to why we’re here, the Nike Air Max 90 ‘Bacon’ and we understand you’re going to cook up a classic Lagom bacon burger, could you tell us a bit more about this creation and how people could make it at home?

EC: So our burger is very simple but relies on the core ingredients to do the talking; simply seasoned aged beef mince, dry aged bacon, punchy mustard mayo, pickle juice, American cheese and super soft milk bun.

The way we cook ours also relies heavily on the process – we smash em! So rather than forming a patty first, we just weigh up a ball of mince and place that directly onto our hot griddle – you can use a big non stick frying pan.

Place a square of greaseproof over the ball and press it flat with a spatula; be firm and press it out – this allows maximum contact = maximum crust = maximum flavour. The fat content (32-6) allows you to get maximum crust without it drying out. 

Season with salt and coarse pepper, flip and throw on one slice of American cheese, your pre grilled bacon more cheese and your bun lid.

Place mustard Mayo on the bottom bun, and your dressed slaw, load on the cooked patty and cheesey goodness and you’re good to go! 

FP: A Massive thank you for joining us for today to celebrate this launch and for creating some amazing food along the way!

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