
Thanks to everyone who attended the First Annual Street Food Conference, an exploration of food, policy and economics. We all enjoyed the lively discussions about the creation of viable economic models that allow small-scale food entrepreneurs to bring the foods they love to the cities in which they live.
All conference activities took place at the Hotel Vitale, a luxury Joie de Vivre hotel on the San Francisco waterfront. We launched the First Ever Conference with a pre-conference brunch featuring Chef Kory Stewart’s American food vs. the carts of San Francisco. It was a lovely morning with all you can drink mimosas and bloody marys on a patio overlooking the Bay.
This event would not have been possible without the generous support of
Union Bank and
Joie de Vivre, the Official Hotel Sponsor of the 2010
SFSFF Conference.
Detailed pod casts of the sessions will soon be available thanks to
Pinnacle Communications.
Below are this year’s session descriptions. We hope to see you at next year’s Conference!
Sunday, 8/22 – Session #1, 1:45–3:15pm:
Open-Air Markets, Hawker Stalls and The Art of Making One Great Thing
Global street food is an unintended celebration of entrepreneurial spirit, the nature of giving and the drive to make one great thing. Across the world, chefs and informal cooks use open-air markets and mobile vending opportunities to bring their culinary creations to the masses. In every place, this means something different, and the ways in which the world sells and eats food can tell you a lot about a place. In this panel, join some of our favorite chefs as they tell you, and show you, the ways food makes it from the chef to the consumer.
Moderator: Jessica Battilana, Food Editor, 7×7 Magazine
Panelists: Charles Phan, Chef, The Slanted Door
Mourad Lahlou, Chef, Aziza
Iliana de la Vega, El Naranjo
Sunday, 8/22 – Session #2, 3:30–5:00pm:
Truck-Food Nation; The Streets of America
American street food is nothing new, but over the last couple of years there has been an undeniable explosion in the presence, attention and differentiation in the foods that are made and consumed on the streets of America. Some of this is lamentable, as we’ve seen the past get erased, but there is also immense creativity and opportunity in the ingenuity of these vendors. In this panel, John T. Edge will drive us across the country with the insights of some of the leading innovators across the country.
Moderator: John T. Edge
Panelists: Kamala Saxton, Marination Mobile (Seattle)
Bryan Petroff and Doug Quint, Big Gay Ice Cream Truck (New York)
Veronica Salazar, Chef, El Huarache Loco
Jon Ward, Kung Fu Tacos
Monday, 8/23 – Session #1, 9:00–10:30am:
Meet and Eat – The Culture and Face of Street Food
There is an undeniable connection between the people who create street food and those of us who enjoy consuming it. Perhaps its allure lies in the faces behind the food, and the human connection that results from a street food transaction. In America, and across the world, the people who take to the streets to make food are defining the locale and its culture. In this panel, we will examine the faces behind the food, how they are perceived, and the ways in which our expectations are often contradicted by our experiences. We will discuss the race, culture and gendered issues of street food and how we as consumers, and all of us as cities, approach these identities.
Moderator: Sanjit Sethi, Assistant Professor, California College of the Arts
Panelists: Erin Glenn, Los Loncheros – Los Angeles,
CA
Molly O’Neill, Food Writer
Sean Basinski, Director, The Vendor Project and The Vendy Awards
Monday, 8/23 – Session #2, 11:00am-12:30pm:
A Cart on Every Corner? Urban Public Space, City Policy and the Informal/Formal Business Model
Our cities are emblems and innovators. Across the country, cities are trying to deal with the history, present and future of street food. In doing so, there have been successes and failures. This panel brings those experiences together to create an understanding of the best practices and realistic outcomes for an urban public planner to create a healthy infrastructure to support a successful street food venue.
Moderator: Margaret Crawford, Professor,
UC Berkeley
Panelists: Alma C. Flores, Economic Development Planner, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, Portland, Oregon
Marianne Moroney, Executive Director, Toronto Street Food Vendors Association
Warren Hansen, Madison, Wisconsin
Greg Smith, Atlanta Street Food Coalition
Shelley Garza, Rising Sun Entrepreneurs
Monday, 8/23 – Session #3, 2:00–3:30pm:
Mobile Vendor Economic Policy
Using the Bay Area as a case study, we will discuss the economic viability of the street food venture and its ability to produce a sustainable individual income. The panel will look at a few existing models, from the illegal food vendor to the ultra-formalized truck. We will explore how specific cities support these individual vendors and how this affects each local economy. The panel will examine urban policy that works and doesn’t work while discussing steps that cities can take to encourage and support mobile food business.
Moderator: Kate Sofis, SFMade
Panelists: Larry Bain, Let’s Be Frank
Dan Sider, San Francisco Planning Department
TBD from Parks
& Rec
Matt Cohen,
SF Cart Project