FIRST DAY: @TheRibMan at @Boleyn_Pub for West Ham United FC (24 pics)

The Ribman is the street food legend who serves huge rib rolls at venues like KERB street food, Brick Lane and was a hit at Street Feast this summer. Now one of West Ham’s most famous supporters has a matchday home at the fan favourite Boleyn Pub, next to the stadium.

WHO IS THE RIB MAN?

The Ribman: Hardcore fan? Get a West Ham Shirt embedded into your leg

Mark Gaveux, better know as The Rib Man” is a die-hard West Ham fan. Also known by lovers of the London Street Food scene for his famous rib rolls and even better known for his range of scorching hot sauces. They are definitely not for those who shy away from chilli. The ‘mildest’ is called ‘Holy Fuck‘ for a reason. (Note that the ‘mildest’ is still much hotter than either Tabasco or Encona West Indian Hot Pepper Sauce). The range then escalates in heat, concluding with “Judas It’s Scary Hot” Sauce (Judas Iscariot .. geddit?) fortified with the infamous Naga Chilli and the tear inducing “For the Love of God” with added Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, the hottest chilli in the world at 2 million Scovilles.

The Ribman has a huge fan base with his sauces being sent around the world. Demand has outstripped supply, so earlier this year his supporters raised £15,000 on Kickstarter to help him convert an old shipping container into a hot sauce factory.

Plenty of The Ribman‘s fans turned up on the first day with many more well wishes on twitter. This included Petra Barren, founder of the KERB street food collective, who came along to help serve and West Ham fundraising sensation, 12 year old Jonjoe Huerman.

SPECIAL MENTION: Jonjoe Huerman

For those of you unaware, Jonjoe Huerman, aged 12, was named National Fundraiser of the year 2012 at the Spirit of London Awards. He has already raised in excess of £1m in awareness for The Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research in memory of his nan and his hero Bobby Moore who both succumbed to bowel cancer. He dream is to walk in American and there is a possible charity collaboration between him and The Ribman in the works. (For more about Jonjoe see his charity webpage)

THE SAUCE CAN’T BE THAT HOT?

Unless you’re Adam Richman (the insane host of the infamous ‘Man vs Food‘) or a Thai national who grew up chewing Bird Eye Chillis for breakfast, I seriously doubt that you’re “hard enough” to try the entire range. Just a warning… this is the scene from the Hot Wings Challenge last year featuring the sauce.

Bear in mind that this competition didn’t incude the hottest sauce with the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, here’s what happened to competitive eater “Furious Pete” who took on the chilli… unfortunately.

HOT SAUCE COMPETITION: Good news for those insane enough to try the all of his sauces. The Rib Man is planning to have a hot sauce competition soon, follow his twitter feed for the latest news

WHY IS THE RIB MAN NOT SERVING RIB ROLLS INSIDE WEST HAM’S STADIUM

The Rib Man: Rib meat cooked low and slow

The Ribman and his fans have been petitioning David Gould, Joint-Chairman of West Ham, to give The Ribman a food stall inside their Boleyn Ground Stadium, with no reply. However, he now has the the next best scenario… he will now be serving at the fan favourite, Boleyn Pub, for every home game. That includes the Boxing Day fixture!

Here are the scenes from his first day. The first customer was Indy (Twitter: @FoodWallah) who took a detour from the gym to grab a roll. Other customers included Steve Joyce, (Twitter: SteveOJ82) who dreamt of rib rolls!