THERE'S something immensely tactile about eating chicken wings. The deep orange of Buffalo sauce streaking your forearms, nubbly, crispy bits of fried coating to nibble off, a stack of stripped wings piling ever higher in a basket in front of you.

"People who love chicken wings are crazy for chicken wings," says Ben Ford, one half of street food chicken wing outfit and restaurant, Wingmans (wingmans.co.uk). "It's a cult," adds his co-founder David Turofsky.

In lockdown, the duo and their team are currently still working, running a delivery service from their London joint, taking things "one day at a time".

They've known each other since they were kids growing up in north London, but started working together after Turofsky returned from a year ostensibly studying in America. In fact, says Ford with a laugh, "he came back with this fiendish appetite for chicken wings." "And buffalo sauce, generally," adds Turofsky, proudly.

The timing was ideal. "I was looking for a break," says Ford, who has a background in food, "and David was looking for someone who could cook."

In June 2015, they embarked upon their first festival, British Summertime, leaping from a "no trading history to one of the biggest summer festivals in London," remembers Ford. "We had a very sleepless 11 days – five guys cramped into the back of an Airstream trailer – learning what it was to run a street food business."

"It was probably the toughest 11 days of our lives," notes Turofsky.

While admittedly "a chicken concept" the mates are determined to cater to all tastes and lifestyles, whether you're vegan or gluten-free, halal or veggie (take their Shanghai cauliflower, or tempura oyster mushrooms: "It's not just chips – that's not a thing").

"We wanted to make sure we weren't leaving anyone out," says Ford with feeling. Their whole ethos is around sharing plates and socialising - which, right now, is understandably impossible outside of your household. This is where their debut cookbook, Wings And Things, comes in – hopefully everyone you're locked-down with can appreciate chicken wings (and their meat-free alternatives).

"Everyone loves chicken, particularly wings!" buzzes Turofsky.

"When you get a good wing, and it's got the right crunch-to-meat ratio..." ruminates Ford. "It's got a nice crispy outside skin and juicy flesh..."

The key to great wings, they argue, is to follow in the great American tradition and toss them in sauce. "It's huge in America," says Ford. "You order wings, they toss the wings in the sauce, they serve them in a bucket or a basket – and no one here was doing that." Sauce is crucial.

If you're more used to ordering a bucket of wings than snipping wing-tips, marinating and deep-frying your own at home though, Turofsky's top tip, jovially yelled down the phone, is to "cook with love!"

On the more practical side, Ford recommends, as you're cooking meat on the bone, you invest in a meat thermometer. It'll help you get the oil you're frying in, and the chicken you're eating, up to the correct temperature. "Make sure there's clear running juices, and no blood on the bone," he adds.

Remember to cook safely, too. "For people who don't have a mini deep-fat fryer at home, frying in oil in a saucepan can be dangerous at times," says Ford, "so we suggest making sure you have a big enough pan and you're not over-filling it."

Sauce and combo wise, Turofsky says "don't be afraid to experiment" either.

"Even if it doesn't quite work," chips in Ford, "you still have a portion of chicken wings in front of you." And there's not much wrong to be found with that.

This is what happened when we tried Ford and Turofsky's Honey Monster wings in lockdown:

The first hurdle was deciphering ingredient one: "Chicken wings, tip removed, drums and flat separated." My wings from Sainsbury's were very much still connected and fully wing-like. Twenty minutes, several YouTube videos on 'finding the soft bit', and slicing through ligaments later, I got there.

Luckily, I did have white pepper in the cupboard somehow, but no celery salt (I don't drink Bloody Mary's...), so swapped in thyme salt instead for the dry marinade. I was short on golden caster sugar too (sorry guys) so had to do a mixture of sugars for the honey glaze, but it glossed up good and was sticky and sweet, without making your teeth ache.

Next time I'd whack the temperature on the oven up – the wings weren't quite crispy after three rounds of basting, and 30 minutes roasting – but paired with a side of potato wedges and mayo, they were suitably messy and moreish.

Wings And Things: Lip-smacking Chicken Recipes by David Turofsky and Ben Ford is published by Quadrille, priced £16.99.