NOTES FROM THE WAREHOUSE: VENDOR CHIT-CHAT, OUR FAVOURITE DISHES AND THE ROAD AHEAD!
NOTES FROM THE WAREHOUSE: VENDOR CHIT-CHAT, OUR FAVOURITE DISHES AND THE ROAD AHEAD!
Hey, you lovely foodies. Welcome to Notes from the Warehouse. We'll be checking in every now and then to fill you in on the latest updates from Street Food Warehouse HQ and beyond.
This year's Welsh Street Food Awards in Swansea saw Pink Peppercorn take home the judges prize, and Makasih claim the public vote. We've worked for a number of years with both vendors, and were absolutely thrilled to see them rewarded for all of their hard efforts with a trip to London for the British finals. It's an absolute delight, then, to have seen Pink Peppercorn claim Third Prize overall at the British Street Food Awards 2019, as well as winning Best Main Dish for their Cajun Chowder (a modern Welsh take on an 18th century Fishguard Cawl recipe). Big-ups to the two vendors doing Wales proud!
Now, we've shouted high from the roof beams about what a crazy, brilliant summer we had. Chat has been hectic in the office as some of the SFW staff have discussed their food highlights. Across the nine different festivals this summer, we tried everything; from blue rice to big fries, Venezuelan to veggie and vegan. But what reeeeally got our taste buds tingling? Here's a few opinions from us lot.
Tudor Barber, Director of Operations
Favourite Dish: Pad Thai Chicken Noodles
Stand-out Traders: 2 Lads Kitchen
Most-eaten Dish: Tartiflette by Rue de la Cocotte
Tried for the first time: Tofu Fish Bao by Bao Selecta
Georgia Butterworth, Marketing and Events Executive
Favourite Dish:
Cajun Chowder by The Pink Peppercorn Co.
Stand-out Trader: Babita's Spice Deli
Most-eaten Dish: Chicken Shawarma Flatbread by Little Marrakesh
Tried for the first time: Bacon & Scallop Roll by Assembelly
Charlie Cottrell, Digital Content Creator
Favourite Dish:
Bueno Cheesecake by Dutty's
Stand-out Trader: The Pink Peppercorn Co.
Most-eaten Dish: 'Banging Bacon' Mac and Cheese by Gourmet Street Kitchen
Tried for the first time: Singapore Chilli Crab Cakes by Assembelly
Agree? Disagree? We want to know what you think. Let us know on our Facebook or Twitter.
But what about the lovely traders. It's always good to hear about the events from their perspective. After all, without them there would be no street food festival'ing. Their innovation, dedication and talent is something we really admire, so we thought we'd get some insight into how their summer with Street Food Warehouse went.
Rue de la Cocotte, the French wizards who dished up their delightful Tartiflette to SFW staff at all of our events, were very kind in what they said of the events. "We have developed during this year, and that is mainly thanks to our experience with Street Food Warehouse!" We've been delighted to facilitate the growth of a brilliant street food company. "We've beaten our sales records there consequently in one place after another." Amazing!
Howling Wolf Coffee were also super kind. "We loved the festival [Devon Street Food Festival] and thought it was very well organised. In fact, probably the most organised event we've been too this season! We loved the vibe and how lovely and helpful all the crew were."
Street Food Warehouse's director, Tudor Barber, was a big fan of the London-based stall 2 Lads Kitchen, who served Afghan cooked meats with a difference. It seems the feeling was mutual. "I think Street Food Warehouse is one of the best festival organisers that we've worked with amongst the many organisers." Thanks a lot, lads!
Finally, the vibrant bunch at The Bearded Taco said of Swansea Street Food Festival, "It was brilliant as always. We had one of our record breaking days for a food festival, so we were well happy. Fantastically well organised as always."
It's highly fulfilling to see our hard work pay off, and we'd like to extend a massive thanks to each and every trader that worked with us this summer. And onto next summer, we push...
Vendor applications for each of our individual events are being released throughout the autumn period, and the ball is already rolling fast! Swansea and Pembrokeshire dates have been set, and the application process for vendors to get involved is currently live. So if you haven't applied yet, and you've seen what folks are saying about us, then surely you've got to get yourselves involved? Apply now, here.
The summer period wasn't without its emotions, as Street Food Warehouse waved goodbye to long-standing team member Caroline Kinderman. Kinders has been a fave of many vendors, bossing them around in her high-vis jacket and carrying bin bags twice her size. Out into the horizon we sent Caroline on her new path of teaching, and in we welcome new team member Sophie Green. Soph has a backround in Radio and large-scale event organisation, and we're extremely excited to have her on board here at HQ.
We can't let you forget that at Street Food Warehouse, we don't just do our own street food festivals. Whether you've got a birthday, corporate event, wedding, you name it - we'll be there for you, to craft the finest street food catering experiences about. Remember: when street food is in, we'll sort you out.
Moreover, our sister company - The Pop Up Bar Hire - is taking bookings for the winter period. From dry hire to a fully staffed bar, it's always a winner. Check out the website here.
Cheers to the past, and here's to the future. We'll see you all soon.
2019 WAS THE SUMMER OF STREET FOOD!
2019 WAS THE SUMMER OF STREET FOOD FOR STREET FOOD WAREHOUSE!
The summer months hurtled by in a food-fuelled blur. Between May and late August, the Street Food Warehouse calendar was booked to the brim with our summer tour, and having had time to take stock, let us now say this: WOW!
From Aberystwyth to Devon, Swansea to Somerset and Pembrokeshire to Dorset, the Street Food Tour took us to some of the most picturesque places in the country, and gave us the opportunity to appreciate golden hours and golden moments aplenty with insanely talented street food vendors and thousands of wonderful festival attendees across the UK. Hopefully, you were lucky enough to join us at one or more of our events in 2019, in what was our biggest year yet; nine weekends of street food madness, and as we look to the future, we're only just getting started...
Back in May, things kicked off with an explosion of colour and fun as we brought Swansea Street Food Festival back to the Museum Park. Sharing the weekend with Swansea Pride, the biggest bank holiday party in South Wales ensued. A selection of some of our favourite vendors brought their A-game, and the Pop Up Bar Hire sales were through the roof. The Westival boys rocked up with three days worth of party pumpers and served up tasty tunes across the weekend, and with Pride parading through the site on a heaving Saturday, it really was one for the history books.
Then, we took a drive to the South East coast as Sussex Street Food Festival descended upon Hastings. Amongst the awesome line up was a serious selection of Southeast Asian cuisine, and boy did they go down well. Another bank holiday success, and May ticked off.
If we're talking excitement levels for the Street Food Warehouse gang, June felt like December. Why? Because between 14-16, we were looking at Pembrokeshire Street Food Festival - it's like our Christmas!
The fourth Pembrokeshire Street Food Festival was, as predicted, a massive success. Located upon the picturesque setting on South Beach, Tenby, thousands of hungry foodies arrived to chow down on a bang-tidy selection of street food. Bao Selecta were selling buns quicker than they could make 'em, and we were absolutely thrilled to see family-run cheesecake champs Dutty's embark on only their second ever event! Did they sell out? Silly question, really.
Local party-starters in the form of the Westival resident DJs returned to the fold, turning the marquee into a makeshift dancefloor on Saturday night, whilst we also welcomed young children and doggos aplenty for what several punters claimed was one of the best family-friendly events in the area across the summer period. You'll have to judge that for yourself, and come along in 2020.
July went by quicker than you could say 'Mac and Cheese', as we hit the road up and down the country to deliver big street food vibes to Dorset, Aberystwyth and Somerset. Beginning at the beautiful coastal town of Lyme Regis, Dorset Street Food Festival entailed three idyllic days of sitting on that hill with the sun beaming down, and a long ol' line of street food to get stuck into. Tucking into Little Marrakesh's Moroccan chicken whilst staring at the purple sunset was a summer highlight for us.
From the South West of England to the West of Wales, our tour then debuted in Aberystwyth. The sun shone in our blessed homeland, as we brought a highly-lauded army of street food vendors. The mayor popped in for a bite amongst heaps of others, and it was a weekend of celebration all round as graduating students joined us at the Marina.
Another debut saw us back down south, as Somerset Street Food Festival arrived for the first time in Weston-super-Mare. At Italian Gardens, a mere amble away from the famous pier, with water fountains and cocktails flowing in equal measure, it was a pleasure to see so many punters from Weston and beyond heading home each evening with full bellies and smiling faces.
On our old stomping ground of Ilfracombe, it was our fifth (yes, fifth!) year of Devon Street Food Festival, and it was by far the most successful year we've had there so far. The weather was incredible, the place was bustling, and the setting was spectacular. Similarly, we got super lucky in Milford Haven with glistening sunshine for our second stint of the summer in Pembrokeshire. You'll have to check out this video to see just how awesome that weekend was.
Then, to wrap things up it was a biggy - the Welsh Street Food Awards in partnership with Hellmann's. Back where it all began at Museum Park, Swansea, Welsh vendors battled it out for the two places at the British Street Food Awards later this year. Pink Peppercorn took the judges prize for their phenomenal, Welsh-history-inspired dishes, whilst Malaysian maestros Makasih won the public vote for their array of Asian delights. A huge congratulations to both, as well as all vendors at the event. You could never get the Street Food Warehouse staff to pick just two - we love you all!
And just like that, summer was gone. 2019, the summer of street food. So... What now? Well, with vendor applications opening again soon for our 2020 events, there's no rest for the wicked. We'll soon be putting the forms on each individual event page and social media profile as they are released, so for the vendors - keep a keen eye out.
As for you street food punters, Street Food Warehouse are available to you! Street food continues to explode in popularity, and as such, our events calendar next year is expanding even further. But how about some street food at your event? Whether it's a birthday party, wedding or private function, hit us up at Street Food Warehouse if you want to get street food-y!
We value all feedback for our street food festivals. If you want to get in touch, email us: [email protected]
Keep up to date with the latest street food news by following us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.