The Business of Street Food – Women In The Food Industry & KERB – 23rd September 2024 – Recap

Women in the Food Industry & KERB hosted a panel event about the business of street food! In the bookshop at Seven Dials Market, you could discover how to start and promote your own street food stall, the pros and cons of buying a street food truck, the challenges and benefits of moving on from selling locally to national distribution, and have learnt much, much more. Men & women were welcomed to this insightful panel, and networking event.

Here is who you would have met:

Mex Ibrahim is co-founder of Women in the Food Industry, she also manages (on a volunteer basis) the marketing, social media and website for the monthly Kew Village Market – which has 50 stalls – 70% of them food. Mex will chair a lively panel with the following speakers who all work regularly in street markets or started their food careers there.

Alexa Fernandez is the founder & Chief Spice Officer of Chili Maven. She is on a mission to bring real Mexican flavour to your meals. Alexa grew up in El Paso, Texas, a border community where the US & Mexican cultures interact and depend on each other. Her family is from Northern Mexico and the way she learned about her heritage was through the food and cuisine of Mexico. She launched Chili Maven in December 2021, with their flagship product salsa macha – a sophisticated condiment made with a blend of Mexican chillis, preserved by oil nuts and seeds to give you layers of taste. It is handmade in Mexico, has been awarded two Great Taste awards and is stocked in over 50 independent shops across the UK.

Lisa Meyer is a Japanese-British cook. She set up Yum Bun in Hackney’s Broadway Market in 2010 and joined Kerb in its infancy. In the early years Yum Bun traded at many of London’s street markets and night markets. She then took Yum Bun’s big yellow food truck on the road to festivals before settling down into street food kitchens within two of London’s most iconic food markets.

Tal Maginelle is the co-owner of The Cheeky Pea which she runs with her husband Shay. Since opening their restaurant in Kingston, Surrey back in 2013, they have built a reputation for serving up delicious, homemade, Middle Eastern food. However, each weekend they go on road in their Cheeky Pea van, a mobile hummus and falafel bar, to cater at street markets and food fairs.

Alice Di Chiara is the founder of Mezzo an Italian Street Food business that recently opened in Cucumber Alley at Seven Dials Market. Born in Rome, Alice followed her heart to London and rediscovered her love for cooking. Putting her career as a lawyer on hold, she founded Mezzo to bring authentic Italian flavours to the streets of London.

Key take-aways from the street food panel event

Alexa from Chili Maven said

“It was especially nice to share the stage with Tal Maginelle, Lisa Meyer and Alice Di Chiara who have super successful street food business.

Some of the key take-aways from our talk were:

✅ Market Research – the best and most authentic feedback you can get is on the street; you get the best interactions with your customers and their reactions are invaluable
✅ Work experience – if you don’t have experience working in the food industry, work for 6 months or so at a food truck to learn all the tricks of the trade
✅ Outsource – focus on what you do best, and outsource what you don’t know (be it social media, finance or cooking)
❌ Mistakes – you will make mistakes and they’re unavoidable; fix them and move on”

Event Highlights:

The experience connected you with like-minded individuals, you could  learn from experts, and enjoyed networking in the heart of Covent Garden market. All in all it was way to celebrate the vibrant and exciting street food world. Event is open to all – men and women!

WATCH THIS SPACE AS WE UPDATE WITH MORE PHOTOS FROM THE NIGHT

You may also like our Interview with Alexa Fernandez – Founder of Chili Maven.