The Art Of Street Food
I’ve got a real fascination with street food - all things street food. I love the variations of food that I wouldn’t otherwise try if I was to see it on a menu in any other style of eatery. I love the originality of the company names, and the ingenuity and decoration of the vehicles that end up cranking out these culinary delights. I love the dedication of those who throw their lives into the pursuit of creating these worldly dishes and man their station come rain or shine. I love the sense of social eating street food destinations provide. I love the food.
I’ll be honest, I was late to the whole street food revolution. It wasn’t until the winter of 2017 that I had my 1st experience working in that market when helping to piece together the ‘Winter Wonderland’ version of Newcastle’s ever-popular Hadrian’s Tipi. I remember being blown away by the guest reaction to the less than main-stream food options that were on offer and how they all stood the test of time for over a 2-month duration.
From there my interest was piqued, and by the time we were vetting tenants for the city’s 1st shipping container village the following year I was legitimately excited when we secured some of the more-popular mobile regional street food operators into permanent sites within the complex.
Point me in the direction
It’s safe to say that now I’m a sucker for a food festival, a pop-up event or where-ever I can go to get my street food fix. Recently I found myself in London for a client. After my work was done my mission was to visit the as many places as I could do see what was being served in trucks, tents and sheds across the capital’s favourite (and new) street food pitches.
From Camden Mark to Dinearama in Shoreditch, from KERB Canary Wharf to Seven Dials in Covent Garden (and all points in between) I ate my body weight in dumplings, sea food, meats and cheese – yes cheese – the Cheese Bar in Covent Gardens is just a brilliant concept; think Yo Sushi! But with cheese dishes on the conveyer belt…….life changing!!
At some point in a future blog I’ll write my ‘Top 10’ street operator as per my taste-buds, but that is for another day. For now, my London trip had me considering the factors behind the success of the movement and where it’s journey might evolve.
Around a decade ago, had you spoken about your street food adventures you were probably talking about the dodgy sausage van at the end of a Saturday night out on the sauce, or if you were lucky a top-class fish and chips from your sunny Sunday afternoon at South Shields beach. Now it could be argued that street food at best sits at the cutting edge of culinary innovation, and at worst, is now a billion-pound UK industry.
Why the all the noise?
A recent poll of over 2000 consumers by The Grocer showed that self-confessed ‘foodies’ found street food exciting (80%), authentic (78%) and high quality (72%). Like myself, these consumers are moving away from standard High Street (branded) fare seeking out these exciting culinary experiences, so much so that the High Street is fighting back with operators looking to mimic these authentic flavours on menus that offer more than just ‘token’ themed dishes.
Not just the High Street but it could be argued that even our beloved grocery retailers want in on the act with ever expanding number of more authentic and fusion flavour offerings filling the supermarket shelves as they look to cash-in on the growing demand for more interesting taste experiences.
Over the years the street food van has evolved into the quirky street food van; the traditional British food sold from these vehicles has evolved into an offerings from all corners of the globe; and now more and more we see those popular operators are moving into permanent homes in street food markets and the like up and down the country.
Street food has its own annual Awards in the UK having celebrated it’s 10th anniversary this year. There is no denying that for many consumers the visual experience of the food and ‘doing it for the ‘gram’ is an exciting part of the move to experiential dinning as street food now is (search the hashtag on Instagram and there are well over 8 million examples of food-porn ready and waiting!) ; but the British Street Food Awards are rating the passion, the authenticity, the provenance…..the taste.
Moving on
So, where next? A shopping centre? Taking street food to the High Street? How many years before street food is main stream? There are already operators looking to capture that authenticity and find their niche outside of the traditional street food scene; Dishoom and Wahaca perhaps the most successful proponents to date.
Who will be the UK’s 1st Michelin Star street food operator? What a leap that would be!
It feels to me like the days of wanting to operate a ‘standard’ food truck are behind the current consumer market. If you’re serious about making a living from mobile catering then what is your niche? What trend are you passionate about bringing your culinary edge to? Hell, what trend are you looking to start and become the next big thing? I may have seen the future from a few operators during my time in the capital – only time will tell (hello innovative uses of spices), but whatever genre of food you decide to bring to the market one thing is clear; in the billion pound industry that has risen from the humble trail blazed by The Meatwagon, The Fish Hut and Pizza Pilgrims, if you’re going to do it, do it with the same passion and authenticity that started the movement, or don’t do it at all. This consumer will thank you for it either way.
See you at the bar….
Mark
