My first visit to a Street Food facility was with my friend Peter who insisted that I was “missing out on a new dining trend”.
We started at Seven Dials Market, which is located in an old refurbished warehouse that used to house bananas and I have to say, I was impressed. On entering the building, we were greeted with several food stalls with goods such as artisan bread, wine, divine chocolate and even a bookshop. As we moved further inside, we came across several more food stalls as well as a wine bar with an abundance of offerings.
Moving to the lower level we found additional food stalls offering a wide variety of cuisine. These were stationed around the parameter of the large room while the middle of the room was filled with seating – comfortable benches and long tables. Open seating was available and although it was still early in the day, most of the spaces were taken.
I began to think about how a space such as Seven Dials Market could work for events. It would be ideal for early evening events … cocktails on the upper level with guests moving to the lower level for dinner. I have been told that using a space like this for an event might allow the charity or organisation to use some of the vendors for the evening’s cuisine. Now there’s an interesting thought … a wide variety of food choices for dinner so everyone is happy (well, you can only hope).
I have also been told that some of these dining spaces can accommodate a stage. Needless to say, this would be excellent for an event that includes a programme or an auction. As you might imagine, Seven Dials Market is not the only unusual space for this new concept for Street Food. Check out pages 14 and 15 for some additional places and if you haven’t visited a Street Food Hall, gather your friends and try one!
You might also want to check out page 20 of this issue.
It now appears that Street Food is making its way into the world of corporate catering. In fact, to quote the article, “when it comes to sourcing exciting dishes that are bursting with flavour, Street Food is hard to beat”.
It sounds to me like
Street Food is here
to stay.
Mary Kay Eyerman
Editor