Lydie Claire Lovett started her own successful food business because she was motivated to do something different, which lead her to create Chicken Rebel, her own mobile food stand. The menu is comprised of a selection of delicious, free-range fried chicken sandwiches and gourmet tots. Chicken Rebel currently frequents San Diego breweries.
Lovett has brought something unique, as well as fun to the food scene in San Diego. San Diego’s restaurant scene is currently booming nowadays, but it’s something special when it’s coming straight from the heart.Lovett was born in London, England, and moved to Southern California a few years ago. Lovett has had previous experience in the restaurant industry as a restaurant manager, which has only helped her in the journey of birthing Chicken Rebel.
Lovett sat down with me to tell me about some of the adventurous beginnings for Chicken Rebel. Chicken Rebel started just a little over a year ago. Last year, Lovett went to a music festival in Los Angeles and saw a mobile food stand called “Free Range L.A.” There, the inspiration to start up her own mobile food business just sparked. Lovett wanted to make delicious and quality fried chicken sandwiches. Just a week from that point, there was an event called Ray at Night in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego. She aimed her best to get Chicken Rebel started in time for it.
Lovett was able to successfully get all of her equipment, permits, and figure out recipes all in nick of time for the event. She reminisced about how much of a great night it turned out to be, and recalls when saw her friends all pack up and put everything away.
“Yes, it’s my business. But it’s also so collective, and I’ve had some really great people step up and help. I am always humbly surprised by how good people have been and how supportive they’ve been, ” Lovett enthused.
The company’s fun logo. Photo belongs to Chicken Rebel.
After that, Chicken Rebel soon gained more and more momentum. They were able to get into the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market very quickly. Lovett has had some good friends like Brandon Potter and more to help build fruition for Chicken Rebel. However, this year Chicken Rebel sticks to doing breweries and not really farmer’s markets anymore, as the food is a little more catered towards the beer drinking crowd.
And oh my! These fried chicken sandwiches are excellent paired with beer, and especially craft beer at that. And this is coming from someone who has is new to the craft beer game here in San Diego. They are also battered in craft beer, adding more to the appeal.
Good for Lovett, her great team, and all of us, Chicken Rebel has continued to be a great success and more. Recently, Chicken Rebel was “Picked as one of San Diego’s top fried chicken spots” by the Union Tribune. Chicken Rebel has also been consistently booking gigs at breweries this year, staying busy and continually gaining more fans.
The fried-chicken sandwiches are authentic quality as well as come with a great variety of ingredients and options. Lovett’s creations are completely her own. Lovett puts passion and thought into creating the food of Chicken Rebel. Aside from being sourced from Mary’s Free Range Farms, their chicken is cooked Sous Vide before hitting the fryer! This is a process where the chicken is cooked in a water bath in order to control the temperature.
One of my personal favorites is “The Classic,” which is pictured in the top photo above. It comes with beer battered fried chicken, tangy jalepeno slaw and house made roasted garlic aioli. You can’t go wrong with that. The “Fancy Tots” are a favorite. They come with herbs, lemon, garlic, parmesan & roasted garlic aioli. The menu also offers many other diverse ingredients and different options, as well as a vegetarian burger. Chicken Rebel has something to offer to anyone with different tastes.
Photo belongs to Chicken Rebel.
Some of the breweries that you can usually find Chicken Rebel at include Coronado Brewing CO. Tasting Room, Belching Beaver, Ballast Point Homebrew Mart and more. Chicken Rebel has a main website that can be found below. They have a lively Instagram and Facebook account where you can be up-to-date on the latest gigs. Be sure to be on the lookout to try some of the best quality fried chicken sandwiches you have ever had. Chicken Rebel will be clucking again on December 2nd. Happy clucking!
http://www.chickenrebelsd.com/
Chicken Rebel Instagram
Chicken Rebel Facebook
