Special Report: Food trucks
It’s a phenomenon that has captured the attention of the world. While food trucks are ubiquitous in certain cities in the USA, Australia, and the UK, the UAE is now getting its fair share dotting the skyline. Caterer Middle East investigates the trend, its staying power, and what restaurateurs need to think about if they decide to get in the driver’s seat
When the movie Chef was released last year, it captured the attention of foodies the world over. In addition to making viewers absolutely ravenous after watching it, the concept of food trucks was firmly fixed under the spotlight.
Not an unknown concept in foodie capitals such as Los Angeles, London or Melbourne, food trucks were not the norm in the Middle East. Certainly in the UAE, the primary obstacles used to be regulations, especially surrounding food safety and hygiene.
A few years ago, ice cream truck Desert Chill pioneered the concept in the UAE, and it was the first time mobile food was introduced in any way. However, soft serve was not an option allowed in the truck, but it was the first step.
More recently, we saw the likes of Ghaf Kitchen (read the September 2014 issue for the full story) cater at events. What was next? A roving burger truck called Salt that announced its location through Instagram. It was food truck season, and still is.
Over the last few months, we’ve seen announcements from various companies about moving into this niche market, and have had whispered conversations with restaurateurs on their plans to conquer the roads.
To support the industry, relevant government departments are also involved. In Dubai for example, aspiring food truckers need to look at what requirements need to be fulfilled with the Directorate General of Civil Defence, Road & Transport Authority, Department of Economic Development, and the Dubai Municipality. A hefty number of permissions, but worth it in the end if all the boxes are checked.
The word on the street was that a company called Eat Street was working on simplifying this process.
Eat Street’s Lawrence Assadourian says: “Eat Street, within its own talent pool, has vast exposure to mobile food, and we are very proud to be able to mentor entrepreneurs in the right direction when it comes to translating their food concepts into viable operations. And of course, an element is the current regulation of Dubai.
“As you know, there is a food safety policy in Dubai — it’s one of the best in the world. But it is very brick-and-mortar restaurant specific. Often a lot of entrepreneurs wishing to start mobile food have found it challenging to pinpoint the exact regulations.
“So we act as a one-stop-shop for them to really understand how the government is currently approaching mobile food, and the licensing requirements, whether it’s from Dubai Municipality, the RTA, the DED, or the Directorate of the Civil Defence.
“We hope that in the months to come, we will be able to build a symbiotic relationship with the different authorities to help them in their endeavour to develop a final tool-kit, if you will, that entrepreneurs can follow to set up their food business in an official capacity.”
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But why has this concept been so popular with the country’s restaurateurs? It appeals to the broad population for a variety of reasons — for a largely Western expat population, food trucks bring with them a sense of nostalgia, a touch of home, while its appeal for the locals and long-time residents is one of novelty.
People in the F&B industry are also seeing it as a way to further promote their brands, while new entrants are looking at the smaller start-up costs as beneficial to their cash-strapped cause.
Assadourian says: “Indeed there is a movement with regard to food trucks worldwide. Why it’s particularly important in Dubai is that it is increasingly important across all sectors for entrepreneurial initiatives to take place.
“There have been many of those initiatives in many different sectors, but not many within the culinary sector.” He adds that the current make-up of the city is very franchise-driven. “For Dubai to position itself on the world map from a culinary perspective, it is very, very important for home-grown brands to come to the forefront.
Mobile food as a channel for those entrepreneurs is a very appropriate one because it limits their risk in terms of exposure and investment compared to your traditional brick-and-mortar establishments.
“It therefore encourages more of these entrepreneurs to take that plunge and share their love for food with the consumers of the world that are in Dubai, which they may not have traditionally done given the large risk associated with any brick-and-mortar establishment.”
Moti Roti founder Tahir Shah, who is soon going to have his own food truck by working with Eat Street, echoes this sentiment and says: “The upfront cost is less compared to renting and fitting out a location in Dubai. You don’t have to pay super-premium rents, and you have lower overheads than traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants. So for an entrepreneur, it’s easier.”
He continues: “Definitely, the culture is shifting away from fine dining and commercial malls.” Vida Hotels & Resorts executive chef Spencer Lee Black agrees: “It was definitely a missing link in the country.” Figjam business development manager Simon Duke adds: “It’s not a new concept globally and is a common sight in most major cities around the world. There seems to be a fascination here in the UAE, as they’ve not been seen here before.
Also the trend is moving away from five-star fine dining towards more street, traceable, local produce, and trucks are one of the outlets that sell and promote this.”
However, Assadourian says entrepreneurs need to be realistic about their expectations from a truck. “First and foremost, many entrepreneurs who are considering mobile food as a vehicle to launch their food concepts have been recently influenced by the movie Chef, which romanticises the idea of a food truck, and the reality is, the operation of a food truck is not a glorious one.
It’s quite a lot of hard work, maybe even more so than some of the traditional establishments, and often people miscalculate the enormous amounts of work it takes — not just to get it started, but to actually run it.”
Shah also says the fad is slightly concerning. He explains that if big brands are allowed to run food trucks, “trucks will be cramming the roads and there’s nothing we can do about that”.
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He adds: “We just hope the guys whose concepts are strong will make it. The others will fall by the wayside eventually. There isn’t enough room.”
Taqado Mexican Kitchen general manager Timothy Hocks agrees: “I am obviously worried this is bit of a trend at the moment and everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Trucks are a great thing but they need to be done by foodies to be done properly.”
He continues: “What I generally believe will happen, is that there will be a big influx of people doing this and the buzz will die down. And like everything, the strong will survive and the weak will disappear on the side. A lot of people think it’s the case of going into the market and buying 10 trucks and plonking them and hoping you make money. As we all know, with F&B in Dubai, it’s not the same as it used to be. They need to be really aggressive and the product needs to be strong.”
Jake’s acting general manager Nicolas Cuomo, however, says: “We’re not here to compete with anyone but complement everyone. Happy days if more food trucks were to open up. In fact, the more open up, the better it is, and the more people start accepting the idea of food trucks serving good food.”
Assadourian says: “Our view is that Dubai should definitely limit the number of licences it is giving. We’re very fortunate to be able to take lessons from some of the best practices that have been developed by other world capitals such as Sydney or Boston, which have developed quite thorough regulations around mobile food.
“Sydney has limited licensing to 50 trucks. I think the same needs to be true to Dubai to ensure that the government is not overwhelmed by the vast amounts of requests that are coming in. And also to ensure that the consumers are able to experience the most high quality food trucks possible.”
He is also keen to promote the idea that food truck licences be limited to home-grown brands only, in line with the company’s mandates.
So what’s next for this trend? There are a number of people who haven’t publicly announced their move in the market, but there are quite a few in the wings working on their own vans or trailers. We can confirm at least one more hotel brand, other than Vida, has had a food truck delivered to them — so it’s no holds barred on who can enter this sector.
Duke says: “There is an ever-growing interest in the concept and with the increasing venues that can accommodate food trucks across the Emirates, we see this as a growing industry.”
Shah concludes: “In most of the cases, it’s very unpredictable about what will happen in 2015 with food trucks. We’re all wading in there like the Wild West… and we just hope for the best.”
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Food for thought: safety and hygiene
Apex Food Consultants consultant and trainer Judy Sebastian gives us a breakdown about what businesses need to factor in when investing in a food truck. She says: “These are the ingredients to having a set-up for your food truck, because the real success is not dependent on how many products you’re able to sell per minute or per hour.
The real success is: are you able to deliver it in a safe manner? Because the worst thing that could happen to any business, regardless of it being mobile or a fixed unit, is food poisoning.”
Understand the concept. Are you looking at fast food, are you looking at anything to do with dairy products like frozen yoghurt? You really need to understand your product to understand your risk.
Who are you going to cater to? When children enter the equation, then your risk analysis expands.
If you’re looking at large-scale events, you need to see if your truck will be able to keep up with that kind of flow. Do you have good waste management? Do you have a contingency plan in case one of your equipment fails? Is there a backup?
Approvals before everything else! You need to comply with the concerned municipality, depending on the emirate you’d be operating in.
Think about contamination: Most food trucks have mise en place happening in the central kitchen, so the central kitchen will also have to be pre-approved.
Also consider ingredients. If you’d like to promote gluten-free — it’s quite easy to bring gluten-free ingredients but it makes no sense if the kitchen that you’re operating in happens to have cross-contamination with products with gluten. Figure out the flow of your operation, which needs to be approved as well.
Educate staff members about ingredients and advertise these. People need to be aware of different allergens they should look out for. It’s a sense of accountability and responsibility. Staff should ask in advance: ‘is there something we should look out for in your food, so we can help to serve you better?’.
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VIDA FOOD TRUCK
Not just independents, but Vida Hotels and Resorts has also jumped into the fray with its food truck parked right outside Vida Downtown Dubai. The executive chef Spencer Lee Black tells us more about getting the offering out on the Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard:
When did the Vida food truck launch?
The Vida Food Truck was launched on November 28, 2014, which was the same weekend as the National Day Parade in Downtown Dubai.
What is the concept of the truck, and why was the need for such an offering from the hotel considered?
The concept is to bring street-style food to Downtown Dubai. Vida Downtown Dubai always looks at innovative ways to attract new groups of customers. We believe that we have enriched our current existing offering with the addition of the food truck. Also, it’s a first on Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard.
Tell us more about the truck itself?
It’s a ground-up restoration of a 1960s Airstream. Airstreams are synonymous with a care-free, laid-back lifestyle and this is reflected on the menu, which focuses on gourmet food truck cuisine with a twist. Menu items include: steamed buns, smoked brisket and pickled radish; Vietnamese Bahn Mi sandwiches with veal bacon, smoked turkey, coriander and sriracha mayo; and our classic cheese burger.
Walk us through the logistics?
We do all the basic preparation in the hotel and everything else is cooked freshly on the truck. The truck was designed in Germany and the finishing is top quality with a brand new chassis, axle, as well as interior and kitchen equipment. It also includes four burners, a combi-oven, grooved grill and a fully integrated music player.
What has been the response to the menu and the truck’s presence so far?
The response has been extremely positive; visitors love the appearance of the truck, the food and the convenient location. It will be a permanent offering.
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THE GRILL LAB
Co-owned by Khalid Al Qassimi, a food truck called The Grill Lab has been seen in Sharjah and Ajman since January 2015. Branded by Figjam, its business development manager Simon Duke tells us more about what to expect:
Tell us more about the concept?
We want to serve our customers fresh, simple food. We think we have introduced the first real mobile food truck in the UAE. We inform our customers of our location through social media hours before we open and are in a new location daily. The brief was to create a brand that is fun and engages the audience, and challenges the norms of what you see in the UAE.
How has the response been so far?
The response to the truck and the concept has been excellent. On a normal day in Ajman or Sharjah we would usually serve around 500 hungry customers plus our regular followers. The social media following on Instagram is ever-growing with daily interactions from our followers.
What were the key design elements considered by Figjam?
There were a few key things that had to be considered when creating a brand that challenges the norms including audience, cultural sensitivity, food offerings, and making sure it was innovative. It’s great to get briefs like this that give you free reign, but it’s also important to make sure you are delivering what the client wants.
How was the truck fitted to ensure it complied with all regulatory requirements?
The Emirate of Ajman has placed guidelines that follow the Australian NSW, and various laws from across the United States of America, making it easier to import and fit out such vehicles locally with a set of standards to follow.
Any special features about the truck?
The truck is a 1980’s GMC, which gives it that classic ‘old school’ look. It’s self-contained in the sense that it has an on-board generator and boiler, which means it doesn’t need to be ‘plugged in’ like others across the UAE.
Tell us more about the prep and service?
Most of the food is prepped at a central kitchen with some of the smaller items being done on-site. The truck has a full working kitchen including freezers, fridges, griddles, fryers, washbasins, storage and prep/cleaning areas, and of course, a music system.
Are you working on any similar concepts?
Yes, we are currently working on more concepts with the client, so watch this space!
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EAT STREET
Lawrence Assadourian from Eat Street reveals more about the platform that will support home-grown entrepreneurs in the UAE to launch their own food trucks:
What is the basic concept behind Eat Street and its vision?
Eat Street is a mobile food platform and it has a number of key mandates. Its first mandate is in line with UAE Vision 2021, Dubai Plan 2021 that complements the Dubai Strategic Vision 2015, as well as Dubai Tourism 2020 and Expo 2020 Charter.
We’re looking to support culinary entrepreneurship in Dubai. In light of this, we are hoping to continue a positive dialogue with the city of Dubai, specifically the resident stakeholders within the government to facilitate the necessary legislation around mobile food.
Our second key mandate is the identification and incubation of Emirati culinary talent and entrepreneurship. Our third key mandate is to attract, incubate, and retain global culinary talent and entrepreneurship.
That is divided into two parts; the first part is to identify current residents of the UAE who wish to enter into the culinary field, and secondly, to further position Dubai as a culinary hub by attracting global palates that may have traditionally selected cities such as London, Paris or New York to establish their food businesses. Our next key mandate is the vitalisation of urban areas.
Our last mandate is the internationalisation of local culinary talent. We hope that between now and 2020, our platform will be able to identify global talent and Dubai will become a city that not only imports international brands, but can also export them.
How do you pick the brands that will be able to rent a food truck from you?
All of the entrepreneurs that we currently work with are home-grown brands. Because of the very nature of our platform, the criteria selection is based on so many factors, and it is really on a case-by-case basis.
How does your initiative work?
Eat Street as a platform does not provide licences to operate in the city. We are the go-between for the relevant government authorities and the members of Eat Street. Our current 10 members are also case-by-case specific.
Some members have been allocated trucks from us, and some members have joined our platform with their own trucks.
When will Eat Street’s trucks be rolled out?
We did a very soft launch of our first three members on the Boulevard for NYE, which was highly successful. We are looking to launch an additional two, so a total of five, during the Dubai Food Festival, and a further four during March.
Which brands have already signed on with Eat Street?
Our first brand is called Home Bakery, started by an Emirati brother and sister team, specialising in American baked products. The second concept is Park House, which is going to have its first retail location on Kite Beach and is a surf-n-turf countryside-type brand.
Third is a company called Brooklyn Bros serving gourmet hot dogs. Our fourth is Moti Roti. Fifth is Sheburger, founded by an Emirati culinary entrepreneur. Our sixth is Melt & Co, which will be serving grilled cheese sandwiches. We also have Meylas, which is the world’s first Emirati food truck. Melt Frozen Yoghurt has joined our platform as well. The others names will be released shortly.
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MEYLAS
Seen on the street since Abu Dhabi Art in November 2014, Meylas will soon be opening a permanent location. Founder of the Emirati street food truck, Shaikha Al Kaabi, tells Caterer about the brand and its long-term vision:
Tell us about the concept and why you entered this business?
Meylas is an Emirati restaurant. The idea behind opening a food truck was simply to showcase Emirati food to the general public. It will soon have a permanent location in Al Raha in the first quarter of 2015, but while I was working on that, I realised that with the number of events in Abu Dhabi, it would be great to have a food truck so people can try the food. Not everyone may get the chance to try the restaurant, so I got the truck just to let the people try authentic Emirati food.
Give us an insight into the logistics?
I have a central kitchen where I do the prep, and most of the items are cooked in the truck, and some are reheated.
Was it challenging to set up?
Yes, it was a very challenging job for me. I had to go through a lot of channels to get the approvals. I currently have a catering permit for events but I cannot go and park anywhere I like.
What’s next for you?
I have a long-term vision. I strongly believe and am proud of Emirati food. The cuisine has potential and I will do whatever it takes to take it to the next level — to an international level.
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JAKE’S
Jake’s acting general manager Nicolas Cuomo reveals more about the concept of the blue truck spotted at many of Dubai’s beachfronts, and tells us about more brands that will be rolled out under The Food Truck Dubai umbrella:
Bagel burgers? What’s that about?
The menu is my brainchild. Our investor wanted burgers, and because I am passionate about bagels, I thought, ‘let’s have a burger with a twist — a bagel burger’. And it’s proven quite popular.
Jake’s is just the first of from The Food Truck — how many are planned?
Very good question because we don’t know; the market will teach us. Right now we have six planned, in addition to Jake’s; we could take it up to nine, but we’re letting the market show us the needs. There will be a coffee truck, Mexican, ice cream, dessert truck, a healthy one, and Italian.
Walk us through the cooking process?
In the food truck, all the ingredients are assembled and the burger is cooked. We wash the vegetables and so on, in the central facility, and it all comes sliced. This is how all the trucks will run.
How did you work through the approvals that were needed?
We understood the municipality’s needs from a hand-wash point of view, where the sinks are, where the flow works, and food control approvals. We designed it to ensure we complied with the requirements of the food control department.
Where can we find your trucks?
Primarily we are on the beaches and are exploring other venues as well. Our vision right now is Dubai, because we think the market is under-served.
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MOTI ROTI
The Pakistani street food brand, founded by Tahir Shah, is probably a great fit for the food truck bandwagon. Shah expands on his plans and the sub-continental truck art he’s keen to promote:
Finally, a food truck! Tell us more?
It’s could not be a more perfect evolution for a mobile pop-up shop to become a food truck. Our artwork and design is based on truck art which is a sub-culture in northern Pakistan. Sub-continental folk will understand ‘Horn OK Please!’ for example. These will directly translate into our trucks.
What can we expect from the menu offering and operations?
Currently we have a central kitchen and then the food goes to the pop-up shop, and it’s served very quickly. The truck is now an extension of that operational model. The menu will stay the same, but the best thing with the truck is that we can have live cooking, which is not possible with the pop-up trucks. People will finally get the roti fresh and live, and we will debut a new breakfast menu.
How do you feel about this development in the brand’s lifecycle?
It’s really exciting. I’m sure we’ll face difficulties. For example, in some places, the footfall isn’t there. But it will be a great experience and a great showcase for Moti Roti. That truck driving down Sheikh Zayed Road with wonderful truck art, with colours that cannot be missed... People will ask, what is this food concept and what are we doing, and it gives us a real visual platform and that’s what we need.
TAQADO MEXICAN KITCHEN
Taqado Mexican Kitchen general manager Timothy Hocks is usually a tough one to pin down. And when you do, he talks so fast, you need to double check what he’s said. But Hocks has finally told us more about Taqado’s top-secret plans:
Are you confirming you have a food truck?
I am confirming I do have a food truck. It’s not here, but it’s on the way.
Is Taqado partnering with anyone on this?
As of now, we are am doing this on our own. This is something we’ve been working on for around two years. We started off with an events licence and we may not be joining any of the schemes right now… we haven’t made a decision. Until the truck arrives, we’re not sure how we’re going to use it. I am, as you know, taking a more independent point of view.
Tell us about the truck?
It’s a 1968 Airstream that has been fully rebuilt from the ground up, including chassis. It was then fitted out with a hatch and everything else to be used as a food truck. It is will be branded as Taqado but it’s slightly different; it’s taken its own identity.
When do you see it launching?
If everything goes according to plan, we will probably have the truck in a little over a month. When it arrives, we will find out where other people are, what’s happened with everything else. The idea would be to get it out as quickly as possible. We haven’t decided where we’re going to launch it yet, but it will be pretty big.