What do you hope to achieve with this event?
To preserve artisanal craft and heritage for the next generation, create opportunities to professionalize the street food industry, and delve into new ways to strengthen the scattered and fractured street food players worldwide.
How long did it take to plan this event?
Two years!
You’ve got quite a line up of guest speakers. How did you approach them to join the project?
These are people who are captains of the industry and movers and shakers in their own right. Many of them are good acquaintances of event creator and curator KF Seetoh. He personally paid a visit to each of them and sought their views and advice on the potential of this movement. No one declined and many more came and offered their expertise once word got around.
Which speaker are you personally most looking forward to hear from?
Professor Simon Tay from the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA). He is from the SIIA—which is dedicated to the research, analysis and discussion of regional and international issues—and he’s speaking on street food culture? I’d be very interested to know how this connects with what he does!
What was the most upsetting thing about the current street food scene?
The fact that street food culture isn’t more loved and isn’t institutionalized. You can’t go get professional training and few have access to opportunities to learn.
How do you hope the World Street Food Congress will grow?
We hope to have the World Street Food Congress in San Francisco, Mexico or even Israel one day and to be a truly global event, with countries and partners who believe in what we do.
The World Street Food Congress is on May 31-Jun 9 at the F1 Pit Building.
