Liberty Cheesesteak Company was founded in March 2014 as a mobile market in Partridges Market, Duke of York Square. As the concept grew, mobile operations expanded as the Liberty Cheesesteak food truck began popping up in various locations around London.
So I'm off tomorrow to find out what it's like, here's the low-down on the whole thing, but is it any good, check back soon for the review and a bunch load of photos!
By 2015, the company’s rapid growth precipitated the acquisition of a larger preparation and storage facility in Deptford. Trademark was granted for the UK and Europe, while turnover continues its steep and steady growth.
With the opening of the Spitalfields location in September 2015, Liberty launched a delivery business to ensure more customers across the city would be able to enjoy Cheesesteaks on demand. Customers can order through three different delivery partners Jinn, Deliveroo and Take Eat Easy.
We take our inspiration from our inheritance and in founding the Liberty Cheesesteak Company our goal is to honor our culture by being the first to share with London the Cheesesteak in its most authentic form
Since its founding, Liberty has sold over 50,000 Cheesesteaks and plans to open its flagship Philadelphia experience store in Soho, later this year.
JP Teti was born into family with deep South Philly roots and aspires to share the spirit of the people of Philadelphia with London through the humble Cheesesteak and other Philly regional specialities. A graduate of Providence College (USA) with a BA in Political Science, JP also completed a course in International Relations at Cambridge University and earned his MBA at London Business School.
London has such a wide array of foods, I was sure I would be able to find a decent Cheesesteak, but it seems I was very wrong. As it turns out, the ingredients needed to make a proper Cheesesteak are hard to come by in London.” says JP. Upon deciding to make his own, JP discovered how arduous the process would be to create the perfect Cheesesteak. “The three essential ingredients in a Cheesesteak are the bread, the meat and the cheese. All three need to be just right and we are obsessive about the details to make sure it tastes just as good as you would get from back home
While there is no shortage of American food in the capital, Liberty goes beyond superficial Americana. It strays away from the stereotypical limelight, and instead focuses on sharing the Philly culture through the iconic and with highly sought after sandwich made of bread, steak, and secret recipe cheese, known as ‘Wiz’.
A cherished part of Philly culture, many Philadelphians will not even bother ordering a Cheesesteak an hour’s drive from the city, let alone from the other side of the world. However, Liberty Cheesesteak Company, under the leadership of JP Teti, has created a recipe to do his proud Philly heritage justice, right here in London.
JP moved to London eight years ago to take on a role in a multinational corporation heading a £100 million division. While he loved the new metropolis he now calls home, he began to grow hungry. The kind of hunger that could not be satisfied by a kebab, a dosa, a dumpling, or any of the other culinary delights the big city had to offer. JP needed a taste of home and thus, began his search for a Cheesesteak the likes of which he grew up eating.
London has such a wide array of foods, I was sure I would be able to find a decent Cheesesteak, but it seems I was very wrong. As it turns out, the ingredients needed to make a proper Cheesesteak are hard to come by in London.” says JP. Upon deciding to make his own, JP discovered how arduous the process would be to create the perfect Cheesesteak. “The three essential ingredients in a Cheesesteak are the bread, the meat and the cheese. All three need to be just right and we are obsessive about the details to make sure it tastes just as good as you would get from back home.
An artisan’s pursuit, the search began for the right meat, which led Liberty to invest in its own commercial grade butchering equipment to butcher their prime ribeye beef to their precise specifications. Supplied by one of London’s top beef wholesalers, the meat is perfectly seasoned and mixed with onions at the customer’s request to create the nostalgic taste Philadelphians associate with their hometown.
In Philly, the most popular and authentic way to have a Cheesesteak is with a cheese sauce called “Wiz”, which has a very unique taste, texture and colour. To get it right, Liberty develops and manufactures its own Wiz to a very precise recipe. With a base of locally sourced cheese and no artificial flavouring or colours, Liberty’s Wiz has quickly become a customer favourite making it the cheese choice of 85% of all Cheesesteaks sold. The two other cheese options that can be substituted and still have the Cheesesteak considered authentic, are Provolone and American.
The right kind of bread is the last piece of the puzzle, and after much recipe tinkering only one baker in London has been trusted with the task. Essentially a white Italian loaf, it has to be soft and chewy, yet with enough of an exterior crust to ensure it doesn’t fall apart with the addition of hot meat and cheese.
Want more details? (you mean the above isn't everything you could ever want?! Well, I'm off tomorrow so I'll send you pics on Twitter and Instagram!
