As summer rolls around again, spending the weekend outside starts to seem like more and more of a real possibility – and our addiciton to street food shows no sign of wavering. In fact, in 2014 it's reckoned that 2.5 billion people across the world eat street food daily. Food stalls are responsible for some ridiculous crazes (last year's ramen burger anyone?) and they've helped shape some of the food world's biggest trends that run all the way to some of the world's top restaurants.
This summer, we've definitely reached peak street food with the release of Chef, Jon Favreau’s new film about a guy who leaves his job as head chef at one of LA’s most prestigious restaurants after a Twitter spat goes viral (it's the most 2014 movie ever) to set up his own food stall. But how easy would it be to do the same thing? We spoke to Tom Warden, founder of Colonel Tom's Gumbo, about how the hell he went about setting up his own food stall.
Hello, Tom! So how come you jacked it all in to join the world of street food?
Oh, loads of things, mostly a combination of stagnation, disillusionment and boredom in years of office jobs, and a love for food and cooking meant that eventually I had to find a way out. The explosion in street food around the capital was a perfect opportunity to see if I could turn my passion into an actual job.
But you’d worked as a chef before right?
I had spent five years working in hospitality, but had no real kitchen experience other than what I’d taught myself at home.
Ace. There's hope for us yet. How come you picked gumbo, though? Isn't it normally all burgers and burritos?
Bascially because Cajun and Creole food is criminally under represented in the UK.
A fine reason. How difficult is it to get plots at markets and street food festivals?
It’s all about making yourself stand out from the crowd. Some of the more popular markets will not have any pitch spaces, so be prepared to bide your time and wait for a spot to open up. That said, as long as you sell yourself well enough and serve great food, you should be able to talk yourself into anywhere.
Yes, should being the operative word. What if, like us, your bantering skills aren’t all that good?
Try to cut your teeth on smaller markets, before stepping up to something busier, even if it means your profits aren’t as big. This’ll help you to gauge what you should be doing when you do move on and will mean you make your mistakes when they won’t have so much of an impact. And, if you have done well somewhere else, it’ll encourage others to take you on.
Have you got to spend loads on decoration?
You don’t have to spend loads, but you should make your stall stand out while providing clear information as to what you’re selling.
What about Twitter? How important is it?
Social media plays a large role in getting you out there and seen. Twitter is choc-a-bloc with food businesses, chefs, events, festivals and countless other things that you can get in touch with at the drop of a hat. I have got quite a bit of business and recognition via Twitter alone.
What sort of hours do you work throughout the week?
I’m up very early in the mornings to go to the wholesale markets twice a week, and then my afternoons are split between prepping the food for the weekend and updating my accounts/balancing the books. If I have a busy weekend, I can be working ten-plus hours a day for six days a week, so it’s not easy!
Realistically, do you need a big lump sum of money to get going?
I got a £5,000 loan, which enabled me to buy a van and gazebo set-up, but it could feasibly be done with much less.
How long should you expect to work before breaking even?
I've taken my time and have probably made a small loss in the first year. However, it's to be expected. I would hope that the second year will see me turn a profit. It’s important to be realistic and know that while you build your brand, your margins aren’t going to be huge.
Do you end up living off the leftovers?
Increasingly less so, which is nice! As long as you’re inventive with what you’ve got, then you can keep your leftovers exciting – though I’ve still not found a successful gumbo dessert recipe.
Do you ever get sick of gumbo?
I think if you keep toying around with things, then you’re less likely to get tired of them. I do try to develop new recipes for gumbo and also introduce other types of Cajun food, too. I’m currently developing a version of the po’boy sandwich to sell on the stall, which should be debuting after I get back from a research trip/awesome holiday to New Orleans.
Nice. Have you noticed more and more people getting into the industry recently?
I have yes, but I’ve also noticed that a lot of people are wanting to because they think it’s an easy route to success. It’s tougher than most might presume. It can be very physically demanding and quite demoralising if you have a pitch and make little or no money, and some things just might not work!
To find out where Colonel Tom's is popping up next, follow them on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.