About Us

Feeding You Toasties Since 2015

What started as a whirlwind romance became something much cheesier. When Sam and Kate met, it wasn’t long before they took a leap of faith, pooling just £5,000 in savings to buy a tiny 2×3 food trailer they found on Gumtree and setting up shop at East Sands beach in St Andrews. That was 2015, and the rest, as they say, is toastie history. From towing that little trailer to farmer’s markets, weddings, gala days, Glastonbury, and the Edinburgh Fringe, Sam and Kate built their reputation one golden, gooey sandwich at a time. Today, The Cheesy Toast Shack is a St Andrews institution. Open seven days a week, employing a team of 15, and serving up award-winning gourmet grilled cheese to locals and visitors from around the world.

Featured on Saturday Kitchen Live

In October 2024, Sam and Kate were invited to appear on BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen Live to celebrate National Cheese Toastie Day, joining host Matt Tebbutt and special guest Sir Trevor McDonald. In their spotlight moment, they cooked one of their most popular menu items live for the nation and spoke about life as independent street food traders in Fife. The appearance gave them a platform to shine a light on the brilliant small businesses of the St Andrews area, and the response was phenomenal, boosting their following, their seagull insurance donations, and their reputation overnight. As Kate put it: “Who would have thought, when we first bought that trailer and only had a couple of grand in savings, we’d end up here.”

Home of the Famous Seagull Insurance

East Sands is a beautiful spot, but it comes with some very bold and very hungry neighbours. At the height of summer, seagulls were swooping down and snatching toasties clean out of customers’ hands up to 30 times a day. Sam and Kate tried everything: birds-of-prey kites, recordings of predator calls, warning signs - nothing worked. So in August 2024, they came up with a typically creative solution: Seagull Insurance. For just £1 added to your order, you’re covered for a free replacement if a gull makes off with your lunch. The idea went viral across the UK, featuring on ITV’s This Morning and in outlets from The Daily Mail to The Telegraph. But the real magic is what happens to the money. Instead of going into the till, every pound raised is donated to a different charity each month. Since launching, the scheme has raised over £5,700 for causes including the St Andrews Foodbank, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Gaza Infant Nutrition Alliance, and Edinburgh Transplant Unit.

Supporting Community and Other Local Businesses

Community has always been at the heart of The Cheesy Toast Shack. From sponsoring local sports teams to rallying behind small St Andrews businesses, Sam and Kate have never forgotten their roots as two people with a big idea and very little money. Sam, a proud Dundee lad, and Kate are passionate advocates for independent traders, using their platform and their viral moments to put a spotlight on the people and places that make this part of Fife so special. Beyond seagull insurance fundraising, they’ve backed causes close to home and far beyond, and have even partnered in helping to establish Mill Market, Dundee’s first permanent Scottish street food market. Whether it’s their lovely regulars who pop in daily for the same order, or first-time visitors who’ve travelled miles to try the legendary mac and cheese toastie, everyone’s welcome at the shack.