<p>The country’s street food culture has been synonymous with food vans, often spotted parked at various locations, primarily serving Chinese, tandoori or South Indian items.<br /><br /></p>.<p>While the queue at such vans cannot be ignored, the quality of food served remains a cause of concern. However, now a few entrepreneurs have jumped on the street food bandwagon and taken it a notch higher with the introduction of food trucks that offer quality food at pocket-friendly prices, while also becoming a competition for restaurants.<br /><br />“Being a diverse nation, we have a versatile palate and the street food culture is already quite prevalent in the country, which is similar to the food truck concept of quick and tasty food on the move. The food truck is a modern day concept serving various cuisines with innovative fusions, and catering to people in different areas of a city,” says Keshav Suri, executive director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, which operates four food trucks in the city.<br /><br />“We offer a ‘grab and go’ experience with food quality of a five star hotel. Our hygienic food sets us apart from street food vendors. Food trucks are attractive and cool spots to eat at; the trend is here to stay and grow,” he adds.<br /><br />Adding, Ankur Gupta, co-founder, operations, Drifters Cafe says food trucks have become a true competition to restaurants as they offer restaurant quality food and drinks with great varieties and creative variations at a fraction of the price. “Also they are a great way for serious foodies to get into the food industry and showcase their food with a small capital investment,” he says.<br /><br />With skilfully-crafted menus, these food trucks offer a variety of cuisines ranging from American and Continental (Eggjactly); Sushis and pan Asian dishes (Sushi House Mafia), Mexican food and pizzas (The Lalit Food Truck Company); Asian street food inspired by the streets of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore (Drifters Cafe); and a mix of Continental, Italian, Mexican, Lebanese and Chinese (Oh Buoy Food Truck).<br /><br />Vikrant Misra, co-founder and CEO, Eggjactly and Sushi House Mafia, says that most food trucks have chefs who are trained at the Institutes of Hotel Management and have worked at the Taj, ITC hotels. He tells Metrolife that his trucks, both parked in Gurgaon, were born after he and his partner realised that a “brick-and-mortar” cafe or restaurant was way out of their budget because of the high rentals in the Millenium City.<br /><br />“The risk was on both ends, to start a cafe or a food truck. We took some time, took calculated risks, and finally started a food truck. The initial plan was to move around Gurgaon — different days, different locations at different times. But, a lot of our regular customers found it difficult to track us, so we fixed a location and started business at the same location 5 pm onward,” Misra says.<br /><br />So, how important is the location for food trucks? Answering, Gupta says that location plays an important role as “it’s important to be at a place that has a lot of food traffic and is close to your target customers.”<br /><br />He adds, “It can sometimes be a hit and a miss initially till you find a niche. However, as our name suggests, we drift and change locations. One can easily follow us through our Facebook and other social media pages. Mostly we are parked at sector 29, Leisure Valley Road in Gurgaon for dinner and One Horizon Center at Golf Course Road for lunch”.<br /><br />Giving an idea of the costs involved, Varun Yadav from Oh Buoy says the amount highly varies as per the menu plan, size of the truck and the target group. “One can start with a capital of Rs 4-5 lakh and go up to Rs 30-35 lakh per truck,” he says.<br /><br />And what about the challenges that come long? While some say it is the parking woes in public spaces, and maintaining food quality away from an elaborate kitchen set-up, Yadav says , “The biggest challenge in the prevailing scenario for food trucks is the lack of a clear policy and guidelines which leads to many grey areas and is a big hurdle for all food truck operators. Lack of laws should not be a roadblock for budding businesses.”</p>
<p>The country’s street food culture has been synonymous with food vans, often spotted parked at various locations, primarily serving Chinese, tandoori or South Indian items.<br /><br /></p>.<p>While the queue at such vans cannot be ignored, the quality of food served remains a cause of concern. However, now a few entrepreneurs have jumped on the street food bandwagon and taken it a notch higher with the introduction of food trucks that offer quality food at pocket-friendly prices, while also becoming a competition for restaurants.<br /><br />“Being a diverse nation, we have a versatile palate and the street food culture is already quite prevalent in the country, which is similar to the food truck concept of quick and tasty food on the move. The food truck is a modern day concept serving various cuisines with innovative fusions, and catering to people in different areas of a city,” says Keshav Suri, executive director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, which operates four food trucks in the city.<br /><br />“We offer a ‘grab and go’ experience with food quality of a five star hotel. Our hygienic food sets us apart from street food vendors. Food trucks are attractive and cool spots to eat at; the trend is here to stay and grow,” he adds.<br /><br />Adding, Ankur Gupta, co-founder, operations, Drifters Cafe says food trucks have become a true competition to restaurants as they offer restaurant quality food and drinks with great varieties and creative variations at a fraction of the price. “Also they are a great way for serious foodies to get into the food industry and showcase their food with a small capital investment,” he says.<br /><br />With skilfully-crafted menus, these food trucks offer a variety of cuisines ranging from American and Continental (Eggjactly); Sushis and pan Asian dishes (Sushi House Mafia), Mexican food and pizzas (The Lalit Food Truck Company); Asian street food inspired by the streets of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore (Drifters Cafe); and a mix of Continental, Italian, Mexican, Lebanese and Chinese (Oh Buoy Food Truck).<br /><br />Vikrant Misra, co-founder and CEO, Eggjactly and Sushi House Mafia, says that most food trucks have chefs who are trained at the Institutes of Hotel Management and have worked at the Taj, ITC hotels. He tells Metrolife that his trucks, both parked in Gurgaon, were born after he and his partner realised that a “brick-and-mortar” cafe or restaurant was way out of their budget because of the high rentals in the Millenium City.<br /><br />“The risk was on both ends, to start a cafe or a food truck. We took some time, took calculated risks, and finally started a food truck. The initial plan was to move around Gurgaon — different days, different locations at different times. But, a lot of our regular customers found it difficult to track us, so we fixed a location and started business at the same location 5 pm onward,” Misra says.<br /><br />So, how important is the location for food trucks? Answering, Gupta says that location plays an important role as “it’s important to be at a place that has a lot of food traffic and is close to your target customers.”<br /><br />He adds, “It can sometimes be a hit and a miss initially till you find a niche. However, as our name suggests, we drift and change locations. One can easily follow us through our Facebook and other social media pages. Mostly we are parked at sector 29, Leisure Valley Road in Gurgaon for dinner and One Horizon Center at Golf Course Road for lunch”.<br /><br />Giving an idea of the costs involved, Varun Yadav from Oh Buoy says the amount highly varies as per the menu plan, size of the truck and the target group. “One can start with a capital of Rs 4-5 lakh and go up to Rs 30-35 lakh per truck,” he says.<br /><br />And what about the challenges that come long? While some say it is the parking woes in public spaces, and maintaining food quality away from an elaborate kitchen set-up, Yadav says , “The biggest challenge in the prevailing scenario for food trucks is the lack of a clear policy and guidelines which leads to many grey areas and is a big hurdle for all food truck operators. Lack of laws should not be a roadblock for budding businesses.”</p>
