Helsinki to Host the Best Street Food Conference in the World

Helsinki's new street food carnival Streat Helsinki will be held 21-22 March 2014. The most international part of the set of events - a conference tackling the status quo and future prospects of street food - falls on 21 March 2014, as a part of the Gastro Helsinki fair at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre.

"This is a first-of-its-kind conference in the northern hemisphere. The array of speakers is top-level, truly inspirational, and also personally inspired. It is magnificent to welcome this crowd to share a platform in Helsinki. We are looking forward to a non-conventional conference with great talks and conversation with a rock-and-roll attitude. I am especially happy to help very different organisations to dive deeper into the world of street food", says Ville Relander, Streat Helsinki kick-starter and head of Helsinki's Food Culture Strategy.

Streat Helsinki TALKS invites to get acquainted with successful street food entrepreneurs and pioneers from different cities, and business incubators with know-how on growth and exit strategies. How is central Stockholm preparing to accommodate 100 food trucks? How was legislation in San Francisco altered to make street food vending easier? How was setting up shop made free of charge in Copenhagen? No-one knows the answers better than the experts speaking at the conference.

"Streat Helsinki TALKS is a meeting place for anyone interested in trends, start ups, urban development, food communities, and service design. Entrepreneurs and city officials should pay close attention - a platter of networking and speakers like this is rarely served within a tram ride's distance. The conference has even raised interest worldwide, with participants signing up from Denmark and Sweden, and from as far as Brazil", Relander continues.

The pre-registration is now open at www.streathelsinki.com. While free of charge, there is a limited capacity.

TALKS Speaker List Boasts 17 Top Innovators, Entrepreneurs and City Developers

The conference welcomes five North-American guests. Representing New York is Eric Demby, co-founder of the city's biggest market places, Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg. Demby oversees the brand, daily operations, and curating of vendors. Traveling from San Francisco are Chris Ying, Editor-in-Chief of the acclaimed food magazine Lucky Peach, Business Development Manager Geetika Agrawal and Executive Director Caleb Zigas from kitchen incubator La Cocina, as well as Bini's Kitchen owner Binita Pradhan.

Representing the London food circles, TALKS welcomes MEATliquor founder and food entrepreneur Yianni Papoutsis, as well as the city's first kitchen incubator Kitchenette's founder Cynthia Shanmugalingam. Papoutsis is one of Britain's leading street food pioneers, and named as one of London's most influential people two years in a row by Evening Standard. Specialising in food entrepreneurship and food economy, Shanmugalingam has also managed Britain's largest education innovation fund.

Arriving from Denmark, Roskilde Festival's food strategist and all-around food culture spokesperson Mikkel Sander is joined by countryman Mikkel Halbye Mindegaard, who, in turn, promotes street food as Project Consultant for the City of Copenhagen. Swedish experts on the menu are Project Leader Petra Dalunde from the City of Stockholm, who deals with administrative questions and permit issues, as well as owner of Nordic Street Food, Pernilla Elmquist, whose street cuisine is based on seasonal, local ingredients.

The longest trip is taken by the godfather of food trucks and founder of Cape Town Food Trucks, Luca Castiglione. Hailing from the current World Design Capital, the street food pioneer acts as the self-made South African info desk of street food in the region, in addition to managing a fleet of 35 food trucks, ranging from DIY vans to gourmet trucks.

Finnish additions to the speaker list are Jussi Puutio from the City of Helsinki's Public Works Department, Restaurant Day's very own Kirsti Tuominen and Pertti Kallioinen, owner of Street Gastro street food trailer and restaurants. Reporting back from their gastronomic world journey are the Tuk Tuk Travellers Juho Sarnonen and Pyry Kääriäinen. The master of ceremonies at the conference is food journalist and writer Kenneth Nars.

PARTIES and EATS Keep the Celebrations Running

The nighttime street food revolution - Streat Helsinki PARTIES - takes place on Friday 21 March at 7pm - 2am in the Abattoir's Kellohalli restaurant. The entrance includes the evening programme and the street food menu designed by chefs Sasu Laukkonen and Richard McCormick. Tickets (including handling fees) from 38 € at Tiketti (www.tiketti.fi).

The most visible part of the festival - Streat Helsinki EATS - is organised on Saturday 22 March at 11am - 7pm in the Tori Quarters in the centre of Helsinki. Streat Helsinki EATS will gather more than 30 Finnish and international street kitchens to a compact area to cook up tasty treats on-spot for an eager audience. The festival area is open for all and free of charge. The day is expected to draw 10 000 visitors.

Streat Helsinki's main organisers are the City of Helsinki's Food Culture Strategy Team, Tori Quarters (Streat Helsinki EATS), the Abattoir (Streat Helsinki PARTIES), and the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre (Streat Helsinki TALKS). The main force behind Streat Helsinki is the City of Helsinki's Food Culture Strategy team, joined by several local and international partners.

The event production by the Abattoir, Tori Quarters and the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre is additionally supported by ministries and small businesses alike. In practice, the events are a collaboration between a big group of communities, food activists, professionals, amateurs, entrepreneurs, and other hungry street foodies.

Additional information:
– streathelsinki.com
– facebook.com/streathelsinki.com
– Streat Helsinki EATS: Producer Anna Pakarinen, anna.pakarinen@torikorttelit.fi, +358 50 588 2561
– Streat Helsinki general inquiries: Project Manager Nina Ruotsalainen, nina@streathelsinki.com, +358 40 765 9387
 – Press images and Streat Helsinki logo: streathelsinki.com/press/
– gastrohelsinki.fi