Are you mad about food? Dreaming of setting up your own gourmet brand? With low startup costs, street food is an affordable means to acquire skills that will prepare you for further adventures in catering or running a restaurant.
Learn how to secure a pitch, create a fantastic brand and much, much more with visionaries and entrepreneurs from London’s leading street food businesses, including Crabbieshack, Rainbo and Deeney’s.
Our speakers will explain the nuts and bolts of street food startups, including how to find your niche and start testing the market. You’ll hear honest accounts of what to expect during your first three months as a foodie entrepreneur, preparing you for the practical and psychological challenges of starting a brand new business from scratch.
You’ll learn how to use all-important social media tools to advertise your products and location, and build rapport with customers that will ensure their loyalty. You’ll also discover how to boost your profits and expand your business, including franchising options.
Content
Dougie Robertson-Ritchie of Crabbieshack on the nuts and bolts of running a street food business:
- The trials of the food startup: what to expect from your first three months
- The practicalities of working from food trucks and gazebos
- Product sourcing and supplying
- Designing your menu and targeting your market
- How to secure a pitch – tips on contacting spaces
- Common mistakes to avoid
Xochi Balfour and Ben Sheinwald, founders of Japanese street food truck Rainbo on how the street food scene works and how to navigate it:
- Finding your niche
- Easy ways to save money and boost profits
- The most common roadblocks to food truck success – and tips on how to avoid them
- How to grow and expand
- How to become sustainable and profitable
Carol Deeney of Scottish grub stall and cafe Deeney’s on her journey from starting out to franchising:
- How to narrow in on your idea and set up your brand
- Promotions, marketing and the essentials of foodie social media
- Advice on bringing your street food business indoors: residencies and pop-ups
- How to expand into a bricks-and-mortar business
- Top tips and advice
Tutor profiles
Xochi Balfour and Ben Sheinwald co-founded Rainbo, a street food business specialising in gyoza and related accompaniments, and passionate about bringing healthy, colourful food to Britain’s streets. Since selling the business in 2016, Ben now coaches street food businesses to become platforms for growth and expansion in a sustainable and ethical ways.
During her street food experience, Xochi became interested in health and wellbeing and launched a blog, The Naturalista. Her first booked was published in 2016, ‘The Naturalista: Nourishing recipes to live well by.’
Douglas Robertson-Ritchie is the founder of Crabbieshack, a nominee for the British Street Food Awards. Prior to launching his own truck, Douglas trained as a chef at Bistrotheque and ran his own restaurant in Folkestone for two years. He also used to work for the team at acclaimed street food pioneers Jamón Jamón.
Carol Deeney launched Deeney’s – Scottish Flavour as a street food concept in the summer of 2012, trading at various markets across London. Deeney’s haggis toastie has made quite a name for itself, described as “London’s best sandwich” by the Evening Standard, Time Out and BuzzFeed, as well as winning Best Sandwich at Sandwich Fest 2017. In October 2015, Carol opened the first Deeney’s cafe in Leyton, East London. In September 2017, the first Deeney’s franchise was sold to franchisees in Japan.
Details
Date: Tuesday 30 January 2018
Times: Evening course, 6.30pm-9.30pm
Location: The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU
Price: £49 plus £3.19 booking fee
Event capacity: 100
Complimentary refreshments included.
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Tickets may be refunded if you contact us at least 14 days before the course start date. Please see our terms and conditions for more information on our refund policy.
