So much energy in that room. Last Sunday we held our tri-yearly KERB Workshop – a full day immersion helping those who want to get into street food take the plunge. Laying out a whole day of talks and advice from some of the best street food minds out there, who’ve been there, done that journey and have incredible stories and insight to share.
Thank you to everyone who came down to learn and good luck on your street food path! So many different characters…
Above: a journalist wanting to start Egyptian street food; an environmentalist keen to sell crunchy insect lunches; a girl set on owning an ‘alcoholic crumble’ van; two Sri-Lankan food lovers who met at the Workshop – (we want them to join forces and co-start a stall); a lady wanting to bring Polish-Singaporean fusion to London; an ex-humanitarian engineer who’d fallen in love with Mexican flautas; a Filipino chef called Rex (check out his steamed buns from this supper club); co-Founder of vegan coffee shop The Fields Beneath (who wants to launch an on-wheels version with top experimental chef partner Andy)… plus about 40 more great people.
Thank you also to KERBanists Growlers and Bord for laying out the food (pregos and artistic cheese board platters); Guy Jackson from Dapple studios for presenting the workshop; and to our incredible street food speakers too. If you missed it, here’s some gold dust advice / nuggets below:
- Petra Barran, KERB Founder: “The street is democracy’s greatest arena, the kerb is where we all belong. Street food is a lifeblood and trading, you become part of something, and the markets nourish this city”
2. Mother Clucker’s Brittney Bean: ” Our biggest mistake from the start was not taking time to understand our business. It seems straight forwaed but its not. It sucks – but you NEED to do it. Or hire some one who can. Get an accountant. Don’t do it all yourself. Outsource a book keeper – it’s really not that expensive and so worth it”
KERB Markets man Theo Lee Houston: “You can’t do and be every area of your business alone- use your network.It’s all about your attitude; stay humble, make friends with everyone, keep them sweet. Go and work with as many people as you can and learn from them”.
Hawksmoor’s co-founder Huw Gott: “the two most important skills in hospitality: work hard and be nice to people. It seems simple but to have both of them at the same time is such a skill. At Hawksmoor we focus on our approach to people, investing in a 5 year soft skills training programme and we teach them how to read the table”.
Project Sandwich’s Charlie Gilpin: “I was too proud to be a fries business. I was too stubborn so my business didn’t work. Don’t pander your ego. When you get given advice take it. Stop procrastinating. I had no idea for 2 years want I was doing; I still don’t. However ready you think you aren’t just go out there and do it. It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever done.
Smokin Lotus’ Rosalind Chik: “I never knew how to run a business when I started; my story is what got me there. Be honest with yourself. If you know something will work, stick to your guns and don’t be scared to try something new. learnt more from my failures than I did from the good bits”.
Eat Poke’s Guy Jackson: “Never rest on your laurels; always work towards a way to make it better. Little touches make ALL tbe difference. Be true to yourself. Make it about what you want it to be, and simply be the best. You have to be the best”.
8. Jamon Jamon’s Nick: “There’s no room for arrogance in street food. LISTEN. Take criticism. Don’t price yourself too high. Always be bubbling moving doing something”.
[His talk was so engrossing we forgot to take a pic.]
Next #KERBWorkshop: May 2018. Until then download our street food starter pack for help on starting a street food business.
