Maidstone council's new Love Food Food Hall at the Lockmeadow centre has opened its doors to customers for the first time this week.

The food hall, which is named LoveFood@Lockmeadow and opened on Tuesday, contains eight outlets offering a wide choice of meals and drinks from Caribbean to Thai street food after a £470,000 redesign at the centre in Barker Road.

Total Jerk Caribbean Food, owned by Michelle Ayling, is already familiar to many foodies in Maidstone from their history as a pop-up restaurant at local events such as the Vicars Party in Yalding.

Mr Bigs, run by Darren Reid and Hein Freyer, will offer American-inspired hot dogs and pizza.

Aroi Dee will serve Thai street food. It will be run by restaurateur Chutima Blakley, who also owns the Thai Orchid just a few hundred yards from Lockmeadow, but the menu will be totally different.

The Flour Power Coffee Shop, run by Vick Town, will of course be offering coffee, but also a range of cakes and tray-bakes, with many vegan and gluten-free options.

Notorious BRG, run by Jonny Wall, will bring the taste of the Brooklyn East Coast to Lockmeadow. It will be a statellite to his take-way restaurant in Canterbury. It will specialise in burgers, nachos, loaded fries and milkshakes.

Street Food by Easy Dine is run by Sadith Fernando and Seila Merino and will offer dishes such as pork belly in a steamed bun, fish and chips in a cone, tacos and more traditional dishes like sausages, mustard and onion gravy.

Funky Feast, run by Eric Allangba, will combine the tastes of the Middle East, Mediterranean and Asia in meals such as quinoa and spiced pineapple salad, and beetroot and chickpeas falafel burgers with tahini yoghurt and rocket salad.

The Moondance Cocktail Bar run by Dayzee Potter will offer the perfect drink for an aperitif or digestif to round off your meal. It will also serve milkshakes, juices, and finger-food.

Currently, the Barker Road entrance to Lockmeadow is closed for refurbishment, and so early diners wishing to try out the tastes on offer should use the rear car park entrance by the river.

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