From The Ribman to the Rice Guys, our traders come from all walks of life and all parts of the world, helping to make London one of the most exciting cities to eat in in the world! Check out these revealing insights, then head to our InKERBator Weekender for some live KERB Workshops on how you can start your own kerbside business + food inspo galore.
Proud to have our dishes and business owners behind them be so female-driven and to be hailing from all corners of the globe, every day helping to redefine what British food is in our big old city.
We’re also proud to be part of an industry that presents so few barriers to entry, and without dictating technical training, age group or heavy financial requirements.
Who said you needed training to jump into the food world? A full 72% of our lot didn’t:
Craig from Burger and Beyond used to be a lift engineer, now he’s a restaurateur in Shoreditch; Only Jerkin’s Luke was a mental health nurse in Birmingham before he started his jerk nugget empire; and Pochi’s Saori Brown worked as a blu-ray engineer in Futtsu, Japan before she hit our shores to serve up that superior soboro.
“Not everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist can come from anywhere” – Ratatouille
TRADER PATHWAYS
Name: David Yeung, Yun
City born in: Chengdu
Signature dish: Silken tofu rice noodles
Former profession: Entrepreneur
Age at launch: 33
Initial investment cost: Over 40k
Name: Lani Lam, da ja street food
City born in: Sydney
Signature dish: Taiwanese fried chicken
Former profession: Footwear designer
Age at launch: 32
Initial investment cost: Less than 5k
Name: Muzaffar Sadykov, Oshpaz
City born in: Osh City
Signature dish: Uzbek plov
Former profession: Head chef (and refugee)
Age at launch: 38
Initial investment cost: 5-10k
Name: Swati Kandala, Curry On Naanstop
City born in: Nagpur
Signature dish: Vada pav and chana chaat
Former profession: Anti-money launderer
Age at launch: 37
Initial investment cost: Over 40k
Name: Saori Brown, Pochi
City born in: Futtsu
Signature dish: Japanese soboro
Former profession: Blu-ray debugger
Age at launch: 30
Initial investment cost: 5-10k
Name: CJ, Wheelcake Island
City born in: Taipei
Signature dish: Wheelcakes
Former profession: Art Gallery Administrator
Age at launch: 28
Initial investment cost: 5-10k
Name: Gott, Yaay Yaay
City born in: Bankok
Signature dish: Kraprow
Former profession: Chef
Age at launch: 43
Initial investment cost: 5-10k
Name: Abigail Scheuer, Le Choux
City born in: Paris
Signature dish: Choux buns
Former profession: Chef
Age at launch: 26
Initial investment cost: Less than 5k
Name: Maya & Kristy, Kaki Lima
City born in: Sumatra
Signature dish: Indonesian soto
Former profession: Chef & health medic
Age at launch: 32 & 35
Initial investment cost: Less than 5k
Name: Kea, Rice Guys
City born in: Kuala Lumpur
Signature dish: Hainanese chicken rice
Former profession: Corporate Audit
Age at launch: 30
Initial investment cost: Over 40k
Name: Tristan, Bian Dang
City born in: Johannesburg
Signature dish: Taiwanese Beast Box
Former profession: Chef
Age at launch: 32
Initial investment cost: 5-10k
Name: Luke Dawkes, Only Jerkin
City born in: Birmingham
Signature dish: Jerk fried chicken nuggets
Former profession: Mental Health nurse
Age at launch: 31
Initial investment cost: Less than 5k
Name: Lee & Sinead, BBQ Dreamz
City born in: Manilla & Galaway
Signature dish: Filipino Megabox
Former profession: Restaurant Manager
& Artist
Age at launch: 31
Initial investment cost: Less than 5k
Name: Faai & Lee, Greedy Khao
City born in: Bankok & Newry
Signature dish: Vegan Khao Soi
Former profession: UCL Gender Studies
& PHD computational geophysicist students
Age at launch: 27 & 33
Initial investment cost: Less than 5k
