In Italy, the number of street food related events is incredibly increasing in the last few years. Festivals, fairs, food and wine events and even town-fairs choose to offer an appealing choice with food trucks that cook and sell street food.
These trucks nowadays are true restaurants on wheels and offer high quality meals that can combine modern and traditional kitchen, local and international, in an attractive and entertaining way.
Contemporary street food is becoming a catalyst for economic growth and socio-cultural innovation – on one hand it offers to many, as private citizen, shops or even companies, the chance to develop their business and to promote it on the road, on the other hand it creates new gathering moments, gives new life to neighbors relationships, recovers the local dimension, rekindle it with flavors from all over the world.
We introduce here 3 street food events in Italy that in the last few years have drawn attention for the quality of food and food trucks, and the great public success.
3 great street food events in Italy:
- Castle street food
- Urban & lake street food festival
- Mangia Street Food Festival
Event: Castle Street Food
Subtitle: An italian “merenda”. Underlying the recovery of culinary traditions and production craftsmanship.
This event was born in the province of Parma in 2015 and it involves everyone: kids, youngsters and families. Its aim is to transform street food in a chance to re-discover cultural and artistic traditions connected to that area. Food, music, celebration become an excuse to live the territory and leave in legacy a better awareness of its historic and cultural value.
The format was an idea of Gianluca Capedri, in charge of the academic project “Merenda Italiana”, and was promoted by the communication agency Giroidea.
In its first edition in Fontanellato, Castle Street Food offered delicious food and a great gastronomic variety, a series of events to experience the food culture, like showcookings, workshops and truckers challenges. Moreover, chefs and big names of the food industry responded, together with authors of book about street food. There were even laboratories for children on the topic of “merenda”. All harmonized with music and DJ sets.
During the 3 days of “gastronomic siege” STREET ACADEMY was presented, a very interesting project. Food truckers have shown the need to have a “guide”, so with the help of qualified instructors, there were short lessons on various topics, from the correct communication to how to change the menu according to the specific street food event.
The theme of the Castle Street Food that took place in April 2017 was Robin Food. A 4-days-adventure where the whole area of the castle, navigable moat included, was transformed into the County of Nottingham and the Sherwood Forest. In this way, the public was drawn into shows in costume, medieval battles and dwells by professional actors.
And after the shows, when cravings began, the ever-present street food: panzerotti, meatballs, tigelle, mondeghini lombardi, hamburger of Chianina meat, pittule of Salento, frittate of Cascina, arrosticini abruzzesi, chickpeas farinata, bears and artisanal ice-cream, just to mention some of the delicacies “on the road” offered by the food truckers from all over Italy.
Click below to see the charming video of the event:
This is the video of the 2016 event:
If you don’t want to miss the next Castle Street Food event and you need a reminder, please register on the dedicated Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/303643753403243/
Event: Urban & lake street food festival
The first edition of this festival took place in 2016 in Varese, in Piazza della Repubblica and at least 30.000 people attended the event.
This year the event has evolved in a 6 stops tour, starting in Varese in May, has already stopped in Rho and Arona. The next stop is a 3-days in Sesto Calende, on 7th, 8th and 9th on the ticino rivers’ banks. More info about all stops on the official website:
https://www.lakestreetfoodfestival.com/
The Urban & Lake Street Food Festival is an event realized in collaboration with some important organization of the territory, like baVARESE PROST FEST, l’ASD Rolling Maple e Twiggy Cafè. They will be liven up the selected places for the 3 days festival, with events that aim to engage youngsters and families as they combine good food, music, sport, design and fun!
Da domani a Sesto Calende, the lakeside will be liven up with about 30 modern food trucks from all over Italy. They are true mobile restaurants and offer gourmet meals with high quality ingredients.
If street food is undoubtedly the center of the offer of this festival, music is the side dish that enhance it.
Live performances with big names of the jazz national and international scene, fantastic atmospheres to the sound of trumpet, violin, san and percussions. DJs and musicians take turns in mixing different styles with quality DJ-sets.
And then shows, skateboard competitions, live painting, street artists, clowns and jugglers, will all contribute to full up the days of the festival with colors and joy.
THE FOOD TRUCKS
The food trucks that take part in Urban & Lake Street Food Festival offer regional and international delicacies: from arrosticini to tacos and burritos, from fried fish cartocci to fancy Japanese sushi, from homemade meatballs to US bagels, paella and sangria from Spain, products from Salento, Sicilian cannoli, Brazilian picanha and much more!
Among the best food trucks, obviously there are VS Veicoli Speciali trucks:
- Ape Bedda
- Bobson
- Rock Burger
- L’Apuccia
- BBQ Valdichiana
- Dillo Food Truck
Now all you have to do is coming to the next Urban & Lake Street Food Festival from 7th to 9th of July in Sesto Calende. Here you can see the event on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/lakestreetfoodfestival/
Event: Mangia Street Food Festival
Mangia Street Food Festival is an itinerant wine and food event dedicated to street food and to the best food trucks in Italy. Food trucks are vehicles with a fully equipped kitchen built on them that can offer fresh and quality meals to an everyday more demanding public.
The aim of the festival is to let people try gourmet street food regional and local traditional recipes.
The format was imported in Italy from the USA and it is expanding so much that even important chefs are embracing the idea of the moving restaurant to promote their cuisine and specialties.
After the success of the first edition in San Donà di Piave (Venice) in September 2016, the Mangia Street Tour was organized in 2017, the itinerant version of the Mangia Street Food Festival, that will go through various cities in Triveneto.
In MARCH, there was the event in Pordenone: 3 days of quality food and fun, 18 among the best food trucks in Italy, live music, DJ sets and street artists.
In APRIL, the Tour stopped in San Donà di Piave, liven up the city with cooking specialties of all kinds and for all tastes, DJ sets, entertaining shows, live performances of important artists and fun for everyone.
In MAY, the festival touched Stra, in the suggestive location of Villa Loredana, one of the most attractive houses of Riviera del Brenta.
In JUNE, the festival reached Baia del Forte in the province of Mestre. Here as well there were bands and street artists, shows, music and original food trucks to indulge the palate of young and old.
An intriguing video about Bobson food truck at the Mangia Street Food Festival:
The advantages of taking part in a street food festival
Why a peddler should participate in a street food event? Here some good reasons:
- Accessing a great number of clients
- Promoting your products to a wide public in just a few days
- Entering a specific context that highlights the quality of food and of food trucks
- Relating to other food truckers and establishing a net, that might provide useful information for your business
- Opening opportunities outside the conventional channels, gaining visibility and reputation in the sector
- Exploiting the event to rise your popularity in social networks and web
