Twelve participants were selected to participate in this two-day event held at Mission Kitchen, New Covent Garden, where they cooked their hero dish and pitched it to a judging panel of representatives from McCain FS and KERB+.
The panel interviewed each participant as they cooked their hero dish asking them questions about their food and what led them to create their dish. The judging panel deliberated on each dish and pitch to determine which of them would each receive up to £10,000 to help fund their new business.
The judging panel decided all 12 participants deserved a level of investment and wanted to further support each of them to continue their journey into street food. Four participants received £10,000 investment, five participants received £6,000 investment and three received £3,000 investment.
Richard Jones, McCain Foods commercial director, said: “Our ambition for the McCain FS Streets Ahead programme was to help the future of operators flourish and support individuals in building skills where they wouldn’t ordinarily receive it.
“What has become of Streets Ahead is a new network of soaring talent in the food service industry. I’ve been moved by the incredible resilience and passion of the participants and proud we have been able to support their dreams of becoming street food operators.”
Of the £100,000 investment from McCain FS they have funded 12 new start-up businesses with £79,000. The remaining £21,000 will be used to host a showcase market in partnership with KERB+ for the winning participants to trade at towards the end of this year.
Mark Hodge, McCain Foods vice president of marketing, added: “Our participants have seamlessly built new skills and relationships and we are proud to be working together with them, supporting them on journey to realise their opportunities. This is why we have decided to provide the well-deserved investment to all participants and further help develop their businesses until they can trade.”