Street Food 2.0

As Dubai's latest food trucks prepare to hit the road, we talk to the new kids on the block, and why they're excited to change the concept of eating out

In just a couple of months, a foodie clarion call is about to be sounded, and it will usher in Dubai's very own, evolved street food culture. If you happened to venture out to Emaar Boulevard or JLT Park this past February during the Dubai Food Festival, you may have seen some of Dubai's food trucks on display. At that time, regulations pretty much restricted meals on wheels to stationary kiosks at designated locations. But all that's changing - rather, changed - and come as early as September, food trucks are going to be a mainstay; a regular part of Dubai's many kerbs and, most importantly, given the licence to be mobile, like they were always meant to be.
Food and beverage enterprise 54° East's senior director consultant, Kris Haggie, says that food trucks have literally been let off their leashes, and thanks to their comprehensive programme, called Roundup, anyone who wants to own and operate a food truck in Dubai can do so. "Over the past two years, we've witnessed a massive surge in people wanting to get into the restaurant business, particularly through food trucks. After a lot of back and forth with government agencies, we have put together a framework - with government help - to help with everything from licences and permits to getting your own customised food truck in the UAE." It's an achievement he's particularly proud of spearheading, especially since many countries around the world - which also have food trucks - have no regulatory infrastructure. "What we've essentially created here is a community of food trucks for the community," he says. And it's drawing people from all walks of life into the food truck business. "We've had people who've quit their jobs and put their life savings into the trade, and we just say - welcome to the party."
When local Jassim Najjar returned last year from the US, he was on a mission. "I'd just graduated and come back with this idea to have my own food truck. I fell in love with them while I was there - obsessed, actually - and determinedly knocked on all the doors here that needed to be knocked, but I wasn't getting anywhere." He eventually found Roundup, but wanted to do something special. "My brother, Mahmoud, used to be extremely overweight. He was 125kg and very unhealthy." A trained chef, Mahmoud changed his lifestyle and started cooking healthy foods with a twist. "He got better, shed the weight and I loved his food, so we thought, 'Why not put this on a menu?' That's how f!T came about and we're both thrilled to bring healthy, delicious food to the streets of Dubai."  
Then there's Gobai, the brainchild of Cara Davies and her business partner Kevin Vaz, who decided to transport some Goan street food flavours to the emirate. "Dubai is such a melting pot of flavours, so we couldn't help but give the food a Dubai twist, but it's essentially traditional Goan food. It's a hugely underserved USP in Dubai and to transform it into a food truck concept has been challenging, but we're pretty excited to roll it out," says Cara. Like f!T, Gobai is a home grown brand, run by passionate foodies. "We'd been boun-cing the idea around for some time and we were looking to build something fun, so we decided on Gobai. I've been here for five years and Kevin's been here for more than 10, so we both call Dubai home and feel this is a great way to follow our passions where we're both comfortable."
Now, food trucks have been around for a while, but the world's obsession with street food and the abundance of innovative chefs and their takes on various cuisines has ?resulted in an explosion of food trucks, particularly in the US. Post-recession, many chefs turned to staying employed by repurposing construction trucks and making cheap, accessible food. Of course, that's not quite the case in the UAE, but that doesn't mean that we aren't ready for a street food revolution.
Amjad Zayed, an IT consultant by day and avid foodie, also came across the trend while he was in the US for a while. He decided to do something along the same lines once he returned to Dubai recently. "When I was there, I really got used to the American street food scene, and was drawn by the food trucks in particular." He loved the trucks that used to do simple Tex-Mex grub, like tacos, and started imagining himself running his own someday. "It has always been a dream and passion of mine to own a restaurant," he says, "and now I can." When I ask him how many dishes will be on the menu, he says, "Seven - but I don't cook!" he laughs.
"What we're doing is elevating the status and standard of street food here," says Amjad. "It's the evolution of the roadside vendors that I think a lot of us have seen in other places. The quality of the food is just as good, if not better than restaurants, it's just that you're getting it kerbside, in a much more open and informal setting."
Calle Tacos (meaning street tacos) is what he'll be driving around the streets of Dubai, serving up a small menu of tasty treats wherever he's wanted and welcome. For people like Amjad, operating a food truck frees them from the high costs of setting up a traditional brick and mortar outlet. "This way, I can do what I love on a budget I can afford, without being tethered to high leases, or operating in a mall, where I'm heavily at the mercy of footfall."
But just because it's informal, doesn't mean that the food's going to be cheap, which makes sense, because many food trucks in the US and the UK are going gourmet. "But in Dubai," says Jassim, "people appreciate good food, and will pay for the quality."
Cara says they are not looking to compete with the US or UK food truck markets. "And I wouldn't, even for a second, want Dubai's food truck scene to mimic those places. The challenges are there, but I think Dubai's residents offer a great base of foodies to cater to."
Kris adds, "Even though we're a lot smaller - population-wise - than those countries, where the food truck industries are worth $2bn and $1.7bn respectively, we feel that the foodie culture is very diverse here, and enough to compete with those markets in our own way." And Roundup has lofty targets - 25 trucks by September this year, 100 by the end of the year, and upwards of 1,000 next year. "We want to expand regionally and then go global."
Currently, 54° East provides prospective food truckers with customisable, pre-fabricated trucks that are compliant with all the road-worthiness legalities of the UAE. And if you're looking to join the foodie convoy, there's no better time than now! 
Photos: Leslie Pableo 
rohit@khaleejtimes.com

• Food and Dining