In Focus: Kate Carter-Larg, co-founder of the Cheesy Toast Shack, on toasties, running a start-up business, and navigating the media

There are so many ‘what ifs’ — what if it goes wrong, what if we invest in buying a food truck and people don’t come. But you never know if you don’t try,” said Kate Carter-Larg.

For Carter-Larg, the risk has certainly paid off. Founded with her husband Sam in 2015, the Cheesy Toast Shack has quickly become a staple of the St Andrews’ food scene, nestled in its cosy kiosk in the centre of East Sands. Accolades include awards like the 2018 Street Vendor of the Year and 2017 Scottish Street Food Finalist, praise from food critics such as Jay Rayner, and the familiar sight of queues stretching all the way down to the beach front.  

Though this success did not come easily. After graduating with a degree in public relations and working in London and Los Angeles, Carter-Larg met her now husband in Bali while they were both feeling at a bit of a crossroads. Eventually making their way back to the UK and with only £5,000 in savings, the pair bought a food trailer they found on Gumtree with the idea of starting a street-food business together. 

“We saw a gap in the market. Everywhere does burgers, pizzas, all that kind of thing, but nowhere does cheese toasties. We wanted to do something that was a bit more premium and good quality, rather than a skinny one you would get in Costa Coffee or somewhere like that.”

What followed was a hectic schedule of catering events and festivals, all whilst holding a permanent pitch at Kingsbarns beach. The trailer was taken to street food markets, weddings, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and even all the way down to Glastonbury Festival, where a few friends were enlisted to help man the trailer in exchange for free tickets.  

“That was a huge part of getting our name out there and getting people to know us as a brand. Go out and shout out about ourselves, not just online but in all these different events.”

In 2018, there was a new opportunity for expansion. “The kiosk here in St Andrews was coming up for tenure. We wrote an application showing all of our achievements so far and we just felt it was another great location, so it all fell into place really nicely.”

The Covid-19 pandemic led to a decline in event bookings but simultaneously presented a fortunate chance for the Cheesy Toast Shack. Carter-Larg explained: “As a takeaway in an outdoor area, we just naturally adhered to all the guidelines.” Grants were reinvested into the business, bringing in faster coffee machines, new grills, and an ice cream machine, all catering to customers seeking a quick socially-distanced catch up with friends.”

Carter-Larg was open about the challenges that come with running a business with a partner and a young family. “We complement each other well but I’ll be lying if I said it wasn’t without hiccups. We had to learn how to work together.” 

“It has its moments but naturally as the business has grown, we’ve fallen into our roles more. I’ll be more accepting that [Sam is] really amazing at lots of things — he can come up with amazing combinations of toasties that work really well and can understand what tastes best. I’ll do emails, social media, and the marketing side of it. We just leave each other be in that respect. He’s got his roles, I have my roles.”

One of these includes dealing with all the headlines the Cheesy Toast Shack made when it announced its infamous ‘seagull insurance’ in August. Seagulls, especially those on East Sands, are notorious in St Andrews for their raids, swooping down on unsuspecting targets to steal their food. The Shack was no exception, with Carter-Larg saying that in the height of summer, they would see around thirty attacks in a single day. 

“We would always just run out and say have it again on us. A lot of people since it all came out have said that is ridiculous and not very business-minded, but we have always felt that if we give out good vibes and good karma — and this has always been how we run our business — you get good energy back and people know you and the team for being that way inclined.”

However, this was costing the business hundreds of pounds a day, and not looking like it would get better any time soon despite attempts to ward the seagulls off with playing birds of prey noises and flying a bird of prey kite. 

“It was getting to the point where we thought maybe if we offer this optional £1 spend, we could protect ourselves and the customers.”

Now customers can choose to spend an extra £1 when buying their toasties and claim a replacement if a seagull was to attack. This money is donated to a different charity every month, with initiatives including PSC Support, Alzheimer’s Research, and this month, a local fundraiser in aid of children living in poverty to receive presents to open on Christmas morning. 

This is not the only viral moment the Cheesy Toast Shack has received recently. The Carter-Largs appeared on BBC Saturday Kitchen on 28 October, ahead of National Toastie Day, an exciting opportunity to promote their business to a wider national audience. The main story that papers picked up on, however, regarded Carter-Larg’s outfit for the live show, with a Daily Mail article publishing comments criticising her for an “inappropriate” choice of top, sparking thousands of follow up comments and widespread coverage. 

Carter-Larg was firm in her disdain for such lazy and outdated journalism, quickly issuing a response on social media defending her right to wear what she wishes: 

“It was such a non-topic. If you look at our Instagram or know me, I literally dress in vests, crop tops and whatever, as a woman wearing whatever the hell I want to wear!”

“I thought that if I sat and read all of these [comments], it would absolutely ruin me because you start believing it. But on the other hand, which obviously you’ve not seen so much, I’ve had so many comments, messages, people stopping me in the street, phone calls saying, ‘Just so you know, I thought you looked amazing’; ‘I thought you did really well’. There’s been so much positivity as well.”

She added, “I actually feel better than ever. My business has been even busier in the last couple of weeks, people saying they’ve come down because of it. Our social media following has gone up and our engagement’s gone up. I’m just fine.”

Finally, Carter-Larg gave advice for anyone looking to start a business or pursue a passion project:“You’ve just got to go for it. Don’t let other people put you off or tell you you’re embarrassing or silly, because what are they doing? Let them concentrate on themselves, and you just concentrate on yourself, and just push to be the best you can be.”

And that seems to be exactly what the Carter-Largs have done by becoming the toast of the town through the Cheesy Toast Shack.

Photo provided by Kate Carter-Larg